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Shengkun Ye

I got 300 users from two Reddit posts—here’s what worked

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A01
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Hi folks,

After 4 weeks of beta testing on TestFlight, I finally launched my app on the App Store 2 days ago. To my surprise, I hit 300 downloads in 48 hours, all from Reddit, without spending a dollar.

I know these aren’t mind-blowing numbers compared to some launches here, but as a first-time founder, I’m really happy with this milestone. Here’s the breakdown of what I built, how I shared it, and what I learned.

What I’m building

I’m working on A01, your personal AI news agent. You type in what you want to follow (e.g. “recent crypto big things”), and the app pulls updates every few hours. Think of it as a simple, personalized news tracker powered by AI.

How I got my 300 users

  • Targeted subs matter: My beta testers included people in crypto and academic research, so I went straight to those niche communities. Instead of spamming, I tried to genuinely add value.

  • Tell a story, not just a pitch: I wrote about why I built this, the problem it solves for me, and my small wins and mistakes. Sharing the journey got more traction than just sharing the product.

  • Be upfront: I didn’t use clickbait. I just explained honestly what I was building and asked for feedback. People seemed to appreciate the transparency.

What’s next

Reddit is awesome for finding early users, but it won’t scale forever. My next step is to experiment with other platforms (Twitter/X, TikTok, Instagram) and see where the next wave of users comes from.

Now are launching on ProductHunt this Sunday (August 31)! Please come to follow us and support us: https://www.producthunt.com/products/a01?launch=a01

Curious how you got your first 100–500 users? Any tips or unexpected hacks you’d recommend for the next stage?

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Bob K.

How do you get around most subreddits having rules against spam and self promotion? Or did you find that when posting in the "upfront story" format they let it slide?

I tried a Reddit post asking if anyone knows of any other product that has a set of specific features, and only mentioned the reason why I'm asking is to validate my own app idea, and the response was hostile and accusing of spam.

Elizabeth Collins

That's really impressive, great work! I'm struggling with this at present - trying to gauge UK consumer demand for a product I've been working on: MySerene

"MySerene was founded to make sure people got the support they needed from their banks and service providers – when they needed it most. But real conversations made something clear – life isn’t one long crisis, it’s a series of highs, lows, and quiet in-betweens.


That’s why we’re building MySerene: a smarter layer on top of the services you already use. Expect timely support, better deals, timely nudges, and fewer awkward calls.

Bottom line? Help, minus the admin, so you get your time back for what really counts"

We've created a waiting list here for beta access to help us shape the service