By the time most of us see a trend on our feed, it s already "dead." Using it makes you look out of touch. But as a founder/small team, you don't have 8 hours a day to rot on TikTok or $10k for a trend consultant
How I try to stay ahead (the manual way):
Ignore brands, follow creators: I track specific photographers/creative directors. They are the ones actually creating the aesthetic everyone else will copy in 6 months.
Deep-dive guides & niche resources: Using things like the Reddit 2026 Seasonal Moments map to prep months in advance.
I posted a random thread on X about the cost of living in the Netherlands. Nothing about what we're building. Just genuine thoughts about life in the Netherlands.
It hit 1M+ impressions. And here's the weird part we got a ton of signups and paid users for Starnus from it. Without ever mentioning the product.
Meanwhile, my "here's what Starnus does" posts? Way less engagement.
This genuinely messed with my head. I'm sharing the actual X post below
Two years ago, Lovon was made for couples who were already in a relationship.
We offered packs of psychology-based questions, quizzes, and mini-games. They helped partners talk about hard topics like trust, jealousy, and intimacy.
AI visuals are suddenly everywhere and much easier to make. I m curious what s been the real impact for makers .
Has it actually affected your team and budget? Did you hire fewer designers, work with freelancers less, or did it mostly just speed up and improve the same process?
