Join the Huzzler founder community

LaunchDirectories has been getting so much traffic lately that I just maxed out my DataFast plan :)

I just added promotional emails to Huzzler and reminded myself why I use Laravel and why it beats the javascript ecosystem for so many tasks.

• Integrate with Resend in 3 mins
• Queue mails with rate limiting and auto retries
• Write templates in markdown and use variables from my models

Sure php is an "ugly" language and sure you can do the same in Next.js but you'd need 20 external dependencies and manage them all.

In Laravel, you also have (out of the box):

• Queue workers: background jobs
• Task scheduler: Cron jobs without touching crontab
• Mail system: Supports multiple drivers, markdown templates, queuing built in
• Built-in notification system: Email, sms, slack,.. whatever
• Eloquent ORM: Arguably the best ORM out there
• Authentication: social logins, 2FA,... you name it
• Database migrations

While most js devs are out there in dependency hell, Laravel developers are shipping features.

Hey Huzzler community!

After watching 1000+ of you launch here, I've started noticing a common pattern among SaaS launches:

Month 1-6: Build incredible product ✅

Month 7: Launch on Huzzler and get great feedback

Month 8: "No customers.. Maybe I need more features?" 🤔

Month 12: Still struggling with real customers... 😰

Here's the thing, almost everyone in this community can build. You're all incredibly talented.

We try posting on Product Hunt, tweeting, building in public... but our acutal customers are not browsing these sites. They're busy doing their jobs at companies.

That's why I'm building Customer Engine: a systematic approach to getting customers where you get exact daily tasks to get your first B2B customers.

Instead of: "What should I do today to get customers?"

You get: "Send 8 LinkedIn requests to marketing managers using template #3"

And you can actually see what's actually working for other founders (with real numbers).

Question for you guys: What's your biggest problem after launching your product? Is it getting the first real customers (who are not founders themselves)?

Would love your thoughts!

Waitlist: customerengine.co

I have around 1-2 years of experience. I want to build an Ai based react-web SEO optimizer, and I'm looking for co-founders in tech world.

Some of you on Huzzler may have seen these notifications pop up 👀

As of today, you can start earning $$$ in ad credits by posting helpful content on Huzzler 😎

Every day, our admins check for content that genuinely helps other founders and reward generously!

Hello Huzzler, nice to meet you all! 

I’m the CEO and co-founder of TTP.TODAY, a cyber threat intelligence provider based in the UK.  We are a self-funded operation, rejecting investor interest as we are very passionate about growing the service and company ourselves,

Collectively, our team has over 15 years of experience across cybersecurity fields, including malware research, attack analysis, OSCP-certified penetration testing, and darknet intelligence operations.

We also run a live darknet leak checker at https://leak-check.net, where you can freely see what data sources are available - or sign up for full domain and data access.  

Eight months ago, we launched LeaksAPI, a darknet data checker that provides easy access to a wealth of data (over 1,300 leaked databases and 400 million malware logs) sourced from darknet data brokers and private intelligence networks.  

Today, we support 400+ users and handle over 1 million requests per day, served through geographically distributed AWS load-balancing.  

I’m excited to connect with other founders here. I also wanted to share my top two lessons from the past eight months for anyone on the same journey:  

--- 

1. Verify your value proposition with real users  

Believe in yourself, but be patient - real value sells itself, even if slowly.  

KEEP COSTS LOW UNTIL PEOPLE PAY REAL $. KEEP. COSTS. LOW.

Find a real user to demo their need, even if it’s free. Too many people spend months building an app nobody wants. It should be the opposite: start with the need.  

Our first and only huge client fell through while we were waiting for the invoice to be paid - they had a security breach and froze all new supplier onboarding.

It was disappointing and scary.

After three months of work, bills had to be paid and we were excited to cross the finish line before it all fell through, but we realized they weren’t the only fish in the sea.

We found new traffic sources and clients over time.

Their feedback was still extremely valuable in helping us understand real-world requirements.  Their loss didn't change a thing.

--- 

2. 10% of users will cause 90% of the problems/work - respect yourself and your boundaries  

This includes people begging for discounts, extra features, or credits. Don’t be afraid to set minimum price points and turn down business where appropriate.  

Early on, we had a client sending malformed API requests that ruined our 100% error score.

They ignored three contact attempts across multiple methods, so we blocked their access for the sake of service quality.

This risked losing a $99/month customer, but it was worth it for our long-term reputation. After blocking, they finally reached out and we resolved their issue and saved our reputation score.  

--- 

Thanks if you made it this far!

If you’d like a free trial of the API, drop a comment below and we’ll set it up.  

Crabclear just 5 days after listing on launch directories

Hey Huzzler community!

After running two B2B products with freemium models for 2+ years, I made a counterintuitive decision: I eliminated free plans from one of them. Here's what the data showed me.

The numbers that changed my mind

QR code analytics product:

• 600 monthly active free users
• Less than 10 paying customers
• 0% of paying customers started with free plans

Employee time tracking service:

• 80% of users stayed free for 2+ years despite daily usage
• When I removed free plans, only 1 person provided testimonials to keep free access
• The rest preferred to abandon the service rather than pay €6-10/month

The hidden costs I didn't expect

Free users weren't just non-converting, they were resource-heavy:

• Constant support tickets for features they'd never pay for
• Hours spent helping with setup (custom domains, DNS configuration)
• Server costs and infrastructure scaling with no revenue contribution

The opportunity cost hit hardest. Time helping free users = time not spent on paying customers.

What I learned about customer types

My paying customers shared one trait: they paid immediately.

No free trial period, no gradual conversion. They saw value and whipped out credit cards on day one.

Free users wanted "tools" (something that should be free). Paying customers wanted "services" (something worth paying for). The language difference revealed everything about their mindset.

When freemium still makes sense

I kept free plans for the QR analytics product because:

• It's SEO-driven with natural viral sharing
• Users create QR codes, others scan = organic exposure
• Marketing tools benefit from word-of-mouth

I removed them from the time tracking service because:

• B2B productivity tools don't get shared socially
• Target customers have software budgets
• No network effects from free users

The results

After going paid-only:

• Support tickets dropped 90%
• Infrastructure costs decreased
• All conversations became business-focused
• Total users decreased significantly
• Customer quality improved dramatically

Key takeaway

Freemium isn't universally good or bad, it depends on your market. For B2B products targeting businesses with existing software budgets, paid-only can work better than expected.

Sometimes, the best growth strategy is saying no to users who aren't ready to pay, allowing you to focus on those who truly value your work.

I made a full post of my experience on Medium.

Hey Huzzler community!

After watching 1000+ of you launch here, I've started noticing a common pattern among SaaS launches:

Month 1-6: Build incredible product ✅

Month 7: Launch on Huzzler and get great feedback

Month 8: "No customers.. Maybe I need more features?" 🤔

Month 12: Still struggling with real customers... 😰

Here's the thing, almost everyone in this community can build. You're all incredibly talented.

We try posting on Product Hunt, tweeting, building in public... but our acutal customers are not browsing these sites. They're busy doing their jobs at companies.

That's why I'm building Customer Engine: a systematic approach to getting customers where you get exact daily tasks to get your first B2B customers.

Instead of: "What should I do today to get customers?"

You get: "Send 8 LinkedIn requests to marketing managers using template #3"

And you can actually see what's actually working for other founders (with real numbers).

Question for you guys: What's your biggest problem after launching your product? Is it getting the first real customers (who are not founders themselves)?

Would love your thoughts!

Waitlist: customerengine.co

Hey Huzzler community!

After watching 1000+ of you launch here, I've started noticing a common pattern among SaaS launches:

Month 1-6: Build incredible product ✅

Month 7: Launch on Huzzler and get great feedback

Month 8: "No customers.. Maybe I need more features?" 🤔

Month 12: Still struggling with real customers... 😰

Here's the thing, almost everyone in this community can build. You're all incredibly talented.

We try posting on Product Hunt, tweeting, building in public... but our acutal customers are not browsing these sites. They're busy doing their jobs at companies.

That's why I'm building Customer Engine: a systematic approach to getting customers where you get exact daily tasks to get your first B2B customers.

Instead of: "What should I do today to get customers?"

You get: "Send 8 LinkedIn requests to marketing managers using template #3"

And you can actually see what's actually working for other founders (with real numbers).

Question for you guys: What's your biggest problem after launching your product? Is it getting the first real customers (who are not founders themselves)?

Would love your thoughts!

Waitlist: customerengine.co

-> Package your expertise into clear, fixed-scope productized services

-> Simplify sales with fixed pricing & deliverables

-> Automate onboarding & delivery

Sell solutions, not hours.

#startups #productizedservice #sales #founders

High ranking content has fundamentally achieved 3 things.

1. Content that hooks people
2. It is posted in the right places at the right time
3. The right keywords are used.

This is a highly distilled version of the art of content marketing.

Purpose of this post is to provide a framework that you can use today to achieve results within days with a focus on keywords.

Why it works

This is how I grew my YouTube channel in the last year, with a few explosions here and there, as you can see.

Tutorial video for the visual learners is here.

If you want to read the longer version, check the Medium article I wrote.

Hey everyone 👋

I run LaunchDirectories.com

It's a curated list of startup launch platforms (like Product Hunt, BetaList, IndieHackers, etc.), where founders can submit their products.

To make it more useful, every month I update the Domain Rating (DR) of these directories. DR is an Ahrefs metric (0–100) that shows how strong a site’s backlink profile is. In short: the higher the DR, the more authority and SEO value you can get when launching your product there.

This month’s update came a bit early 😅 and here are the highlights:

📈 Top 3 Gains

• Firsto (+18)
• PeerPush (+7)
• Startups Lab (+7)

📉 Top 3 Drops

• FindYourSaaS (−8)
• Openhunts (−5)
• DevHunt (−4)

You can check the full list (with all DRs) here 👉 launchdirectories.com

Curious to hear your thoughts:

• Do you look at DR when choosing where to launch?
• Should I also track other metrics (like traffic estimates, social reach)?

Hey everyone 👋

I’ve been working on a Chrome extension and would love to get some early feedback and thoughts from you.

The idea is simple: help people capture and organize inspiration from the web so it doesn’t just disappear after closing a tab. With Instaboard, you can:

• Save content in one click: whether it's the visible page, a selected area, or just right-click any image to save it.
• Stay organized: create collections, add titles/notes, and search quickly through everything.
• Build moodboards: select multiple saved items, arrange them visually, and export them as images.
• Keep it private: everything is stored locally in your browser (no accounts, no cloud).

The library view is a clean, visual grid that makes browsing and rediscovering your saved items easy. Power users can also use keyboard shortcuts and context menus for a faster workflow.

I’d really appreciate your feedback:

• Do these features match how you’d want to save and revisit web inspiration?
• Is anything missing or could be simplified?
• Would you personally use something like this?

Thanks a lot! 🙏

Launching NewsperAI wasn’t just a solo run -- it felt like stepping into a competition.

Product of the Week. Product of the Month. Everyone wants the spotlight. I quickly realized: this isn’t about just showing up, it’s about being seen. And that means understanding the launch world’s rules.

The big term I had to learn -- Hunter. Sounds intense, right? Here’s the clean take:

"A Hunter is the person who posts or 'hunts' your product on Product Hunt. They bring it to the community’s attention."

-- So if you’re launching, someone else (a hunter) often submits it. You can also hunt your own product. But hunters are usually active, respected users with followers who get notified when they share something new.

Why it matters: Launches compete. Having a well-known hunter is like having someone ring the bell before you step on stage. Their followers see your product. That initial visibility matters.

Here’s the list of hunters (people who hunted or can hunt) I’ve come across as I launched:

Product Hunters : 

Kevin William David (https://kevinwilliamdavid.com/)

Chris Messina (https://chrismessina.me/)

Karthik Puvvada(https://bio.link/thisiskp) 

fmerian (dm.new/fmerian )

Rohan Chaubey (https://tidycal.com/rohanchaubey)

Anne-Laure Le Cunff (@neuranne )

Ryan Hoover (Founder of @ProductHunt)

Iaroslav Chuikov (https://buymeacoffee.com/eerie616)

Ivan Braun (https://aiandtractors.com/)

Tod Sacerdoti 

Zac Zuo 

Denys Zhadanov

They’re active, credible, and known -- and that reputation is the launch’s jetpack.

The competition? Real. Every week and month, there’s a best product. You’re racing for visibility. That means:

-- Pre-launch prep

-- Choosing the right hunter (or hunting yourself )

-- Launch timing (early morning PST works best)

-- Engaging hard on launch day

The takeaway --> In a world where launches compete for Product of the Week/Month, hunters are your wining card. 

I share the full behind-the-scenes of my launch in detail on my newsletter -->

https://hassaneddyb.substack.com/

- Another domain registered. Another logo created.

- Something is coming ...Can you guess what it will be?

(By the way i use Adobe Illustrator to design my logos)

#Startups #ProductHunt #VibeEarly #IndieMakers #Entrepreneurship #BuildingInPublic #TechFounders

Hey Huzzler community!

After watching 1000+ of you launch here, I've started noticing a common pattern among SaaS launches:

Month 1-6: Build incredible product ✅

Month 7: Launch on Huzzler and get great feedback

Month 8: "No customers.. Maybe I need more features?" 🤔

Month 12: Still struggling with real customers... 😰

Here's the thing, almost everyone in this community can build. You're all incredibly talented.

We try posting on Product Hunt, tweeting, building in public... but our acutal customers are not browsing these sites. They're busy doing their jobs at companies.

That's why I'm building Customer Engine: a systematic approach to getting customers where you get exact daily tasks to get your first B2B customers.

Instead of: "What should I do today to get customers?"

You get: "Send 8 LinkedIn requests to marketing managers using template #3"

And you can actually see what's actually working for other founders (with real numbers).

Question for you guys: What's your biggest problem after launching your product? Is it getting the first real customers (who are not founders themselves)?

Would love your thoughts!

Waitlist: customerengine.co

I wanted to see if the analytics I developed work or not, so I created a sample link https://apppa.ge/try and posted it on Reddit.

Now, I can see clicks from all across the world.

feels good :)

Here’s how to nail brand clarity from day one

Your startup or business name is your first impression.

If it’s confusing or generic, you lose attention before you start.

Here’s a simple checklist for naming:

— Keep it short and easy to pronounce

— Make it memorable, not complicated

— Avoid generic words that don’t say what you do

— Check that the domain and social handles are available

— Think long term — will it still fit if you expand?

A clear name helps you stand out, makes marketing easier, and builds trust fast.

Don’t overthink it or chase trends.

Pick a name that clearly tells what you do or the value you bring.

Strong brand clarity starts with a strong name.

#startups #branding #business #founders #namestorming #marketing #buildinpublic #growth

You can now send DMs to each other and talk in a group chat, all powered by Telegram.

To get started: set your Telegram username in your profile and a "message" button will appear on your public profile. You'll also show up in the chat window in the bottom right.

Join the group chat to network, talk and connect with the brightest founders ✨: t.me/huzzler_founders

Because startups don’t die from lack of ideas.

They die from scattered energy and diluted execution.

Here’s the tactical truth:

— Context switching burns time → you think you're getting more done, you're just leaking energy

— Focus compounds → deep work creates leverage, not surface-level output

— Use time blocks to protect focus → 90 mins on, 30 mins off

— Batch tasks by mental mode → build, write, decide — never mix

— Cut your task list in half → keep only what moves the needle

— Kill fake progress → busy work ≠ traction

— Pick one north star per week → every task must ladder up to it

Multitasking feels productive.

Focus is productive.

Startups move fast when founders move with intent.

#startup #focus #productivity #founders #mentalclarity #buildinpublic

Trends come and go — chasing them risks building something nobody truly needs.

Here’s how to focus on pain points that lead to real product-market fit:

— Start by deeply understanding your target customers → what keeps them up at night? What frustrates them daily?

— Identify problems that cause real pain or loss → not just nice-to-have features or fleeting interests

— Validate these pain points through direct conversations, surveys, or observing behavior → data, not assumptions

— Build solutions that directly address these pain points → simplicity and clarity over flashy trendiness

— Focus on creating value that customers will pay for repeatedly → sustainable demand beats short-lived hype

— Keep iterating based on real feedback → trends shift, problems endure

Remember: Trends fade but real problems create lasting opportunities and loyal customers.

Focus on what matters → build for true pain points, not passing hype.

#startup #productmarketfit #founders #entrepreneurship #buildinpublic #leanstartup

I've worked in open offices, coworking spaces, even coffee shops, and there's one universal truth: people constantly interrupt you when you're trying to focus.

Colleagues dropping by for "quick questions" coworkers starting random conversations, people assuming you're available just because you're at your desk.

Whether it's an open office environment, shared coworking space, or even working from home, the struggle is real.

I used to try everything. Noise-canceling headphones? People still tapped my shoulder. "Do not disturb" signs? Completely ignored. Even putting up barriers around my desk just made people more curious.

Then I noticed something weird. On days when I had actual video calls, nobody bothered me. Not once. Even my usually chatty coworkers would see my screen and quietly back away.

That's when it clicked: people don't just avoid interrupting YOU, they avoid interrupting what looks like a group of professionals who might see them through your webcam. It's like social anxiety on steroids, but in the best possible way.

So I started leaving old Zoom recordings playing on my screen during deep work sessions. Worked like magic, but felt sketchy and the audio was distracting.

This got me thinking - what if I could create something better? I started working on https://meetingsimulator.com, and here's where it gets interesting.

During development, I was constantly testing different versions on my screen. Early prototypes with stock video watermarks, people not even looking directly at the camera, super obvious placeholder content - basically anything that remotely resembled a video conference grid.

The results blew my mind. Colleagues would approach my desk, see these clearly fake, watermarked test videos on my screen, and immediately back away without saying a word. They weren't analyzing whether the people looked realistic or if the lighting was perfect. Their brain just registered "meeting = don't interrupt" and that was it.

Even when I was using completely random stock footage that obviously wasn't a real meeting, people would whisper "sorry, didn't know you were in a call" and leave me alone. The pattern recognition is so strong that the mere visual suggestion of a video conference triggers the avoidance behavior.

It's like having an invisible force field of social pressure protecting your focus time. When someone walks by and sees what looks like a professional video conference on your screen, their brain immediately triggers two things:

1. "I shouldn't interrupt this person's meeting"
2. "Those people on screen might see me interrupting"

I've been using the finished version at meetingsimulator.com for months now and my deep work sessions have gone from 20-minute fragments to solid 2-3 hour blocks. The difference in my output quality is honestly night and day.

Yeah, it might seem like a weird "fake it till you make it" approach, but if it gives me the uninterrupted focus I need to actually get stuff done, I'm not complaining. Sometimes the best productivity hacks are the ones that work with human psychology instead of fighting against it.

Anyone else struggle with this? How do you handle interruptions during focus time?