Linkeme
Your Social Media, Fully Automated
Hey Indie Hackers 👋
I’m Julien, founder of Linkeme, an AI tool that automates social media content — from idea to visual to publishing.
Like many builders, I have a Notion full of ideas.
Features. Prompts. “Wouldn’t it be cool if…”
But the more we grow, the more I realize:
A good product isn’t what you add — it’s what you leave out.
So here are a few things I almost built… and deliberately didn’t 👇
❌ A real-time “content calendar” view
Sounds great.
But 80% of users want automation — not to manage a calendar manually.
I’d be solving my anxiety, not theirs.
❌ Auto-reposting best-performing posts
Looked smart on paper.
But felt too robotic in practice — and a bit risky in terms of brand tone drift.
Also: harder to track performance when posts repeat.
❌ Full brand kit customization (fonts, logos, aspect ratios)
Some early users asked for it.
But it would have made onboarding heavier for the 90% who just want to post and move on.
I focused on speed, not “design completeness.”
❌ Daily AI “content suggestions” by email
Too noisy. Too many ideas. Too much pressure.
Users need calm automation — not one more inbox firehose.
Each of these ideas looked like “value.”
But when I asked:
Will this increase clarity?
Will it reduce friction?
Will it help non-experts take action?
The answer was no.
What I’m learning:
Good UX is subtraction.
And every “nice-to-have” can quietly erode simplicity.
What I’d love to hear:
What feature did you decide NOT to build — and never regretted?
Let’s trade stories of things we didn’t do (and are glad we didn’t).
Julien
Hey Indie Hackers 👋
I’m Julien, founder of Linkeme, a tool that automates your social media posts from idea to image to publishing.
Right now, we’re wrestling with a UX dilemma that’s more strategic than it looks:
Should we require users to validate each post manually…
or should we publish automatically unless they say no?
Here’s the problem:
We currently let users approve every post before it goes live.
It’s safe, transparent, and gives them full control.
But we’ve seen a recurring pattern:
Post is ready
Email is sent
User doesn’t open it
Nothing is published
Trial ends with zero visible output
User churns thinking: “It didn’t really work”
That’s on us.
We gave full control — but also created the risk of delivering zero value.
Now we’re considering this alternative:
“Here’s your next post. If you don’t reject it by Tuesday, we’ll publish it for you.”
Not spammy. Not manipulative.
Just a simple bet:
That no-post = no result = no retention.
And that default to value might serve the user better in the long run — even if it makes some slightly uncomfortable at first.
But here’s what we don’t want:
❌ Surprising people who trusted us
❌ Publishing something that feels “not quite right”
❌ Losing trust from a founder who values tone + brand
So I’d love to ask:
What would you do in our place?
Have you ever shipped something like this?
Where do you draw the line between automation and user control?
Julien
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I would be frustrated if I saw AI published without my consent, I would rather think about how I could facilitate this approval process, maybe if they don't open emails, we could think of other channels or other communication strategies
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It seems like you’re being overly cautious and hedging towards this ethical transparency, and I understand the motivation, but who’s using your service that wants the friction that creates? Why would they schedule a post that they didn’t want to happen?
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I’d lean toward default publishing with clear opt-out most users want results, not friction. Just make sure the tone feels personal and brand-safe to maintain trust.
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I think you should change and stop the publication only if the user refuse !
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💡 Broke but Building — I’m Starting My First Startup with $0 in Nigeria
Hey everyone!
I’m Lilian, and I’ve decided to stop waiting for the "perfect time" and start building from scratch.Right now, I don’t have funding or a laptop — just a phone, ideas, and the will to work hard. My background is in coaching, healing, and branding, and I want to create a startup that helps people turn pain into purpose.
Here’s what I’m considering:
Starting a blog + digital coaching platform
Offering startup branding services (names, logos, slogans)
Building a resource hub for African entrepreneurs
If you’ve built something without money, I’d love to hear your story. And if anyone wants to partner, share tools, or just encourage I’m all in.
Let’s build! 🚀
Lilian
Hey IH 👋
I’m Julien, founder of Linkeme — a SaaS that automates social media content for solo founders and small teams.
Our goal from day one was clear:
Build something invisible.
Set your brand voice.
Review a few suggestions.
Then Linkeme takes over — generating, scheduling, and publishing posts weekly.
You don’t even have to log in.
Great in theory.
But then I hit a problem I hadn’t expected:
“If the product works so well… they forget it exists.”
The Set & Forget Trap
Automation is a blessing.
But it also means:
Users don’t log in
They don’t explore features
They don’t check results
They stop feeling connected to the product
They still benefit…
But when the trial ends, or when something breaks, they’re already emotionally checked out.
That’s what I’m facing now.
What I’m thinking of testing:
Light rhythm emails — not marketing, just “here’s what Linkeme posted for you this week”
Visual summaries — a mini digest with thumbnails + stats
Small nudges — a monthly “Want to tweak your tone?” prompt
Occasional surprises — like new templates or post types, delivered automatically
The goal is not to bring them “back” —
It’s to keep them feeling like the product is quietly moving forward with them.
What I’d love to hear:
Has anyone here faced this with a “background” product?
How do you stay visible enough — without becoming annoying?
Do you send updates? Automate check-ins?
Have you seen something that made you, as a user, feel engaged with a tool you rarely touch?
Any examples (good or bad) are welcome — this feels like a subtle but important challenge.
Julien
Hey IH 👋
I’m Julien, founder of Linkeme, a SaaS that automates social media content — from idea to visual to publish — for founders and solo marketers.
Early on, I collected feedback manually:
✅ One-on-one calls
✅ DMs on LinkedIn
✅ Open-ended “what do you think?” messages
And honestly… it worked.
The feedback was rich, nuanced, honest.
I learned what made people stay. What confused them. What they expected but never said.
But now we’re growing.
And I can’t scale those personal conversations forever.
So I’m trying to figure out:
How do you collect consistent, useful feedback without making it robotic or annoying?
What I’m considering:
Short in-app QCMs
→ Example: “This post felt… [like me] [too generic] [off-brand]”
a follow-up: “Want to tell us more?”
Trigger-based emails
→ After publishing 3 posts: “How do you feel about the tone?”
→ After skipping validation: “Why did you skip this one?”
Feedback on success, not failure
→ Instead of asking why someone churned, ask them why they kept going.
(“Why did you choose to keep publishing?”)
Simple tags on actions
→ “Was this post good? 👍👎” just after generation — optional, fast, low friction.
What I want to avoid:
❌ Long surveys that get ignored
❌ Biased responses from overly happy users
❌ Feedback that feels like a chore
❌ Interrupting the product flow just to “check in”
I want it to feel like:
“Hey, we’re listening — but only if you’ve got 5 seconds.”
What I’d love to learn from you:
Have you industrialized feedback in your SaaS?
What prompts worked best?
When is the right moment to ask?
Do you use open text? QCM? Emoji? Screenshots?
If you’ve built a lightweight but smart feedback engine, I’d love to steal your ideas (and I’ll happily share what we test next).
Julien
Souhaites-tu que je t’aide à préparer un template de micro-questionnaire intégré ou à rédiger les premières questions pour email / app ?
Hey Indie Hackers 👋
I’m Julien, founder of Linkeme, a SaaS that automates your entire social media workflow — from idea to caption, visual, tone, CTA, and publishing.
We’re not building a flashy dashboard that people stare at every day.
Linkeme is meant to disappear into the background — users configure their brand once, approve a few posts, and content goes live each week like clockwork.
That’s the promise.
But also… the risk.
The Problem
When your product is designed to be “set & forget”, users do just that:
They forget.
If everything works as planned, they:
Don’t log in often
Don’t ask questions
Don’t feel urgency
Don’t even realize the trial is ending
And when the system goes quiet… they do too.
Even if they loved the output, even if they got results — without a real trigger or emotional investment, they vanish.
What We’re Testing
To solve this, we just built a 40-day lifecycle email sequence, designed to stay gently present — long after they click “Start Free Trial.”
Not just reminders.
Not just offers.
But context.
We try to:
Highlight what they’ve created (not what they’re missing)
Remind them of the rhythm the tool is supporting
Ask how the content feels, not just what it says
Frame the product as a trusted assistant, not a dashboard
Build familiarity over time — like a quiet team member who checks in
We don’t hit hard with discounts or countdowns.
We speak the same tone the product has: simple, useful, calm, reliable.
Why This Matters
I underestimated something early on:
Automation without emotional hooks = easy churn.
Users love the results. But if it doesn’t feel like they created it — or if they’re not reminded of why it helps — they quietly walk away.
Our email flow isn’t just a conversion tool. It’s part of the product.
And right now, we’re learning:
Which touchpoints keep the connection alive
When to gently surface the product again
And what makes someone stay, not just sign up
I’d love to hear from others building “invisible” tools:
How do you stay top-of-mind without being noisy?
Have you built post-trial nurturing flows that worked?
What’s your best lesson in converting users you rarely see?
Happy to share our numbers soon — and always curious to trade playbooks.
Julien
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Amazing, very well said👏,and it's true after all, emotional attachment plays an important role to get recurring clients.
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Love this approach..
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This looks like a great tool! Love it.
Like @sean is saying, what is the impact this is having on your user? So it posts to socials automatically and saves time. That's great. Why did they want to do that in the first place? Lead gen? Awareness? Build their influencer profile?
In general people buy results not tools.
If you're posting regularly now...what does that give them? To me, I'd want this to build me an audience that I can eventually utilize. So help me do that. What's my engagement like? How does that compare to others in my industry? etc. Very cool product, just need to hone the problem you're solving and for who I think.
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I think the solution to staying top-of-mind without being noisy or intrusive is a challenging task to achieve. On one hand, you want to engage when needed and only when required (in your case), but you want them to think about the value they are getting from your product, so they do engage when needed. The solution for this can be a lot of things, but I think the simplest solution is an email.
We have done x for you this past year. Y is happening now and look at the results. Z is about to expire, and we have A, B, & C lined up to fire based on past results. Are you ready to push ahead?Another approach would be using their task management tools API to deliver them tasks as a seamless integration (yes, my company is a TMS).
I think both of these approaches are the easiest and most effective approach for any tool that is automating processes for the user.
Hey Indie Hackers 👋
I’m Julien, founder of Linkeme — a SaaS that automates social media content (idea, visual, caption, CTA, scheduling) for founders and small teams.
We recently passed $1K MRR, and while the product is working…
I’ve noticed a consistent hesitation from prospects:
“Is this really me speaking?”
“Will my audience know this was written by AI?”
“What if the content sounds generic or fake?”
These are fair concerns.
And they made me realize something:
When you sell AI-generated content, you’re not just selling time saved — you’re asking users to trust something invisible.
What’s worked for us so far:
✅ Letting users see their content before it’s published (not just fully automated)
✅ Using Linkeme ourselves — so people see the results on our real social feeds
✅ Framing the product as an assistant, not a replacement
But trust still takes time.
And there’s no shortcut for making users feel safe putting their voice on autopilot.
So I’m asking:
If you’re building (or buying) an AI product — especially in content — how do you create trust?
Is it about tone?
Transparency?
Giving users control?
Or just building up confidence over time?
Would love to hear how you’ve handled this.
What made you trust an AI tool enough to let it speak on your behalf?
Julien
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Yes. I find that if I use AI, it has to sound like me, what I would say, and how I would say it, for people to feel comfortable with it. Always be transparent, just a wee disclaimer saying you have used some AI tools to help you is usually enough. Let them always have control by giving them ample opportunities for feedback. Feedback can give you a heads up in advance as well, reducing mistakes. Time and how people package AI in a professional and open manner will inspire confidence eventually. But it's a long road to that.
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I think the current problem with AI is that without a bit of human touch all AI writting seems similar - so posts from different people/companies may end up sounding the same. Since the idea is to automatise as much as possible I think this can be prevented if AI is able to fully absorb the tone, style, branding and mission of a specific company - so basically training the AI properly with the specific company insights before the first post is released.
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Yes, good question !
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Hey – love what you're building!
If you're already getting users, you might find value in something I'm working on.It’s called Droon – a way to turn your existing users into a real-time feedback engine to help guide smarter product launches.
Not launched yet — just validating right now. Already got 20+ on the waitlist.Would love your thoughts if you're curious: https://droon.vercel.app
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Hey, i too am working on same idea and I'm just starting out.. I thought about the same issue, but i am thinking the content it'll generate would not be coming totally from randomness, suppose a content creator want to create content on a certain topic, and we will take his view of that certain topic maybe a tweet of him, and with having all the knowledge base of his previous tweets, thoughts, videos that he has created and by also including his tone,voice etc. So this is not comming random, neither its something that's is different than him, it's just that we are taking creators overview,his insights on the topic and genrate output based on trained knowledge base.. by this way it is not difficult to get trust of user and there nothing which is loosing it's originality, essentially it's just ai layer topped on users insights..hope this helps..
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In my experience, any AI good is all about editing. By this I mean: I think everybody got over the "I want AI to do everything for me so I can turn my brain off and do literally anything else," mentality quite quickly. Instead what people want is, "I want AI to do 97% of the work so when I apply my 3% of polish, I feel good about making something quality, personal to me but with 1/20th of the effort."
What most AI tools are failing at these days is providing documentation on what their human users can do after using the tool to make the output into something unique and spectacular.
After all, we're all human. I'm of the (potentially caustic) opinion that a 100% perfect good is less desired than a 98% perfect good - people crave being presented with something that can be improved upon, because in that way there's the opportunity to make it their own.
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Reliable output -> When the output is not generic and has context of what you are looking for. LLMs are not trained to provide a context driven output, this needs a lot of due diligence by the users
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It depends on the person, some people know what they want when they want their voice automated by ai , and for others you can explain the concepts for them and how it will work.
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Personally, I think it's about the context of the AI.
Take those Peter Griffin comp sci videos.
No one cares that it's Peter griffin, as long as the topic is articulated well and it's factual (ie. explanations of a heap or stack) -
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I usually try to create it manually and let AI refine. And then get rid of 90% of the emoticons it added :)
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The trust challenge is universal for AI tools. Our smart conversational search platform addresses this by showing buyers exactly how matches are made:
🔍 Transparent Matching
Real-time supplier metrics:
Avg. response time: <2 hrs
Verified transaction history
Peer buyer ratings
💡 Explainable AI
Every result includes:
"These suppliers were prioritized for:Your requested lead time
Compliance with your specs
Historical reliability"_
This approach increased user trust by 58% in field tests.
For content generation, would showing the 'why' behind outputs (like "This style matches your top-performing posts") help build similar confidence?
Hey Indie Hackers 👋
I’m Julien, founder of Linkeme, a SaaS that automates social media content — from idea to image to publish.
After years of consulting, I made the jump to SaaS thinking:
“If I build something valuable and launch it right, it’ll grow steadily, with low effort.”
Here’s what I imagined…
And here’s what actually happened.
💭 What I Thought SaaS Would Be Like
People would understand the product right away
Users would come through organic search or a launch
Feedback would be structured and clear
Churn would mean “wrong market”
If the product works well, growth is inevitable
🔥 What It Actually Was
Explaining the product is 10× harder than building it
Users don’t find you — you have to chase conversations
Feedback is vague until you ask 3+ times in 3 different ways
Churn often means “I didn’t onboard them properly”
Growth requires constant storytelling, positioning, and iteration
A few humbling moments:
I launched Linkeme without a landing page.
Nobody knew what it did until I showed them, one by one.
I lost 20+ users in a week just because I didn’t explain the value before asking for payment.
I spent 2 weeks building a feature only 1 user wanted — because I confused enthusiasm with demand.
I realized too late that posting consistently with my tool was the best marketing. (Now it’s our core growth engine.)
And still… it’s worth it.
SaaS is slower than I expected.
It’s messier. Less predictable.
But every user who sticks, every message that says “this saved me time,”
every bit of momentum — feels earned.
And it compounds.
If you’re early and frustrated, just know:
You’re not doing it wrong.
You’re just seeing what it actually takes.
Happy to share what worked (and what didn’t) if you’re in the same phase.
Julien
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Of course, nothing is easy with software, but what is easier than SaaS? I worked with on-premise systems, and those are hard to deal with. How do you patch them, how do you monitor them, how do you make sure your clients are using them correctly, so many unknowns
With SaaS I just have a stable API in the backend, a trusted cloud provider and UI (which is always the hardest part for some reason). I have everything in my infra I can directly interact with it. -
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This sounds like one of those hard-earned lessons that only come from doing.
Thank you for sharing it so openly.
You mentioned that you introduced the product with Loom videos instead of a landing page. I found that really interesting.
Also, when you said you lost 20 users because you didn’t explain the value before asking for payment, does that mean they were on a free trial and then got a paywall after a month?
I’d love to understand more about what “not explaining the value” looked like in your case.
This is a tool I’ve only thought about building, so seeing you actually ship it and make revenue is truly inspiring.
Body:
Hey Indie Hackers,
I’m Julien, founder of Linkeme, a SaaS that automates social media content — from idea to visual to scheduled post.
Today, Linkeme passed $1K MRR, and users actually rely on it.
But 6 months ago… I almost quit.
Not because I ran out of time.
Not because the product was broken.
But because nothing was working.
The messy middle
I launched without a landing page → no one understood what it did.
I DM’d 20 people → 3 replied, 1 tried it, no feedback.
I posted on LinkedIn → almost no engagement.
I made product updates → no one noticed.
I tested free trials → people signed up, but didn’t use it.
It wasn’t failure.
It was silence.
And silence is brutal.
What kept me going?
1.Using the product myself
Even when no one cared, I used Linkeme to post content daily.
It saved me hours.
It worked.
And that gave me just enough motivation to keep tweaking.
2.One “yes” at a time
Every time someone replied “That looks cool” or paid €15 — I screenshotted it.
Small moments of traction = emotional fuel.
3.Treating feedback like gold
When someone finally gave real feedback (even criticism), I leaned in.
It made the product better.
And it made me feel like it mattered to someone.
Why I’m glad I didn’t stop
The silence became momentum.
I built something real, not just shiny.
Now I get messages like:
“Linkeme is saving me 6 hours a week.”
“I look like I have a marketing team now.”
And that’s everything.
If you’re in that phase:
Where it feels like you’re pushing and nothing’s moving —
You’re probably closer than you think.
Keep going. Talk to one more person.
Fix one tiny thing. Send one more message.
Sometimes traction doesn’t come in waves — it comes in whispers.
Happy to talk more if anyone’s in this same spot.
Julien
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Good job ! Very inspiring.
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Inspiring!!
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Glad to see this! Congratulations! You are doing amazing.
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Congratulations on reaching this milestone. I am also in the same silence phase as you. Hope I will achieve success.
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Hey Julein,
Im Rafi, on a journey to be an accountant.
And im gonna be 100% honest with you,
I respect the story of you pushing through the brutal silence more than the product.
I’d love to work with you to manage your Ins and Outs of your money while you focus on creating something that will save people’s times.
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congratulations Julien on this milestone of $1K MRR! It must feel very special, especially that you almost gave up on going forward. Your learnings are very inspiring to others who are in a similar situation and it's great to read that patience and perseverance pay off eventually. I guess in today's ever-changing world, we're so trained to expect immediate results, without appreciating the hard work and the daily grind it takes to achieve something long-lasting. I'm happy for you it paid off in the end and will give Linkeme a try!
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still kinda in that space tbh. just launched KitlyHub recently — lotta work, big vision, but right now it’s mostly me whispering into the internet and hoping someone hears.
but you’re right. it’s those small moments — a reply, a DM, someone actually using your thing — that remind you it’s moving, even if slow.
appreciate this post. made the grind feel a bit less lonely.
Hey Indie Hackers 👋
I’m Julien, founder of Linkeme, a SaaS that automates social media content for founders and small teams — from idea to visual to scheduled post.
A few weeks ago, we quietly crossed $1,000 in monthly recurring revenue, with no big launch, no ads, no SEO traffic, and no Product Hunt push.
Here’s exactly how we did it — and what didn’t work.
🚫 What we didn’t use:
No paid ads
No influencer shoutouts
No SEO strategy (yet — we’re working on it)
No Product Hunt (launch is planned, but not yet done)
✅ What actually worked:
1.Personal DMs with zero pitch
I made a list of 50 founders, freelancers, and agency owners in my network.
Then I sent them a simple message:
“Hey, I built a tool that helps me post consistently with AI. Saves me 6–8 hours a week. Want to try it?”
No CTA. No link. No pressure.
Just curiosity + value.
20+ replied. 8 converted.
2.Using my own product, publicly
I used Linkeme to post 4–5 times a week on LinkedIn.
The quality + consistency made people ask “how are you posting so regularly?”
That was the best inbound channel we had — and still is.
3. Loom demos instead of landing pages
In the early days, I skipped the classic landing page and sent short, personal Looms instead.
I walked people through the tool like I would a friend. It made a huge difference in trust and clarity.
4. Charging early (even a little)
We started charging €15/month early on — even for the rough MVP.
It filtered out casual testers and made feedback sharper.
Paying users take the product more seriously — and so do you.
Lessons so far:
“Build it and they will come” is a lie. But “Show it to people who feel the pain” still works.
Starting small, slow, and direct built better momentum than any hype launch would have.
You don’t need a funnel. You need a reason to reach out — and something real to show.
We’re still early — but now we have real users, real feedback, and real growth.
No budget. No shortcuts. Just small bets that worked.
Happy to go deeper on what we’re testing next (like SEO + use-case pages) if that’s helpful.
Let me know what got your first users — I’d love to learn from others in the same phase.
Julien
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You could remove the fake customers reviews. And fix the horizontal scrolling in the home page.
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I recently received two messages on X.
One person had clearly read my pinned post, understood what I'm building, and invited me to join their lab it felt relevant and personal. I replied, but haven’t heard back yet.
The second one just said, “You seem like someone who needs my product,” with no context. It felt like a cold sales pitch, so I didn’t respond.
This was my first time receiving outreach like this, and it really made me realize:
A little bit of context and empathy goes a long way.Even a simple call message that reflects the other person’s situation can create a totally different experience.
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Love this honest breakdown, Julien! It's refreshing to see a grassroots, authentic approach to growth that relies on genuine connections and the product's value.
How did you decide on the initial €15/month price point? Have you found that sweet spot where users see enough value but it's still accessible for your target market of founders and small teams?
Thanks for sharing your journey so transparently; it's inspiring for those of us in the early stages!
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Great work!!
Would you share an example of your loom video?
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Insightful and practical learnings
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Great story! Really appreciate what you shared as me with my self doing a lot of argues what is the best way, and I always had hunch that what you did works better than the regular "standard way", I knows there is no one solution fit them all - but great to see it succeed to you!
Tons of luck! -
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I also realised that the only ways to succeed when just starting are cold outreach and marketplaces.
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Amazing feat 🔥
I run IndieHustle.co where I've featured many indie founders like yourself on how they've started and grew successful digital businesses.
Would love to share your story and feature your business, if you're interested!
Congrats on the milestone once again!
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Congrats on $1K MRR— absolutely love the hustle 🔥
A tighter hero headline might push that even further
I’d love to revise your current headline or subhead with no nonsense—DM me if you’d like a free sample. Honestly love whatever you're doing!
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you are true genius, loved it
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Love this ... real hustle, real results..
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In the early stages of reaching out to potential customers now- I love the idea of using your own tool, which is something I might have to steal from you!
Congrats on the early success -
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That's a great start but what you did needs courage. Just getting ghosted or denied in first few dms is discouraging but you showed how business is not about few people.
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This is gold. I'm also building a small SaaS (for indie products), and so much of this resonates — especially showing value early and skipping the hype.
The Loom demos tip is 🔥 — never thought of replacing a landing page like that.
Bookmarked — and rooting for Linkeme’s growth!
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How do you see the next step ?
Hey Indie Hackers 👋
I’m Julien, founder of Linkeme, a SaaS that automates your entire social media workflow — from idea to image to scheduled post.
When I started building Linkeme, I naively thought:
“People hate posting. I’ll make it faster.
It’ll be like Buffer, but with AI. Simple.”
Spoiler: it didn’t work.
❌ The problem with competing on features
I launched the MVP with a few cool tricks:
GPT-generated captions
Branded visuals
One-click publishing
People were interested, but… hesitant.
Feedback sounded like this:
“This looks nice, but we already use Buffer.”
“Can’t I just ask ChatGPT and paste it myself?”
And honestly? They weren’t wrong.
If you’re just another tool in a long list of tools — you’re easy to ignore.
🧠 The pivot: From “tool” to “assistant”
So I changed the pitch.
I stopped saying:
“We help you schedule AI-generated content.”
I started saying:
“Linkeme is your invisible content assistant. It thinks like you, speaks for you, and posts while you work.”
Same product.
Different framing.
Completely different reaction.
✅ What changed:
People stopped comparing us to Hootsuite.
They started asking, “Can it post for my agency too?”
I got fewer “feature requests” and more “can this handle X situations?”
Pricing objections dropped. Why? Because now they saw outcome, not tech.
🔄 Positioning = leverage
Competing on features is exhausting.
Competing on positioning is empowering.
Once I repositioned Linkeme as a “done-for-you content system,”
not a “better scheduling tool,” things moved faster:
Conversions improved
Word of mouth increased
Users started using the product more than once
Takeaway:
If your SaaS is being compared to a bigger player…
You’re probably speaking the wrong language.
Instead of being a better tool —
Become a different solution.
Curious to hear if anyone else had to reposition a product mid-build.
Happy to share how we handled messaging, onboarding, and churn if that’s helpful.
Julien
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Loved your product idea !
I help bootstrapped founders like you get real, verified leads from USA/Europe using simple outbound systems (no ads, no complexity).
Would love to send you a sample list for free — just reply here or DM me 🙌
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Your 'one yes at a time' approach is gold. Early traction isn't about virality - it's stacking small wins until they compound.
Question: What was your breakthrough moment from silence to active users?
P.S. 'Traction comes in whispers' is the perfect description of indie hacking.
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Love how you reframed the whole product without changing the core...
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This was a captivating read. Thank you
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Thanks for this!!!
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thanks for sharing this. i had once built an "all-platform-posting" for a magazine client. it was horrible and was never used, because only "when its able to handle all" it will be useful, they said.
loved to read your story.
Masih -
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Wow Julien, really inspiring to read about your journey with Linkeme — especially your honesty around what didn’t work and how you pivoted.
I’m currently building a SaaS called ZugFlow, aimed specifically at hair salons, barbershops, and beauty professionals. In the beginning, I positioned it as a basic “appointment scheduling tool,” thinking that solving calendar chaos would be enough.
But like you said — competing on features alone quickly becomes a race to the bottom. Once I shifted my mindset from “tool” to “solution,” everything changed. Now we present ZugFlow as a complete business assistant: not only does it handle bookings, staff shifts, inventory, and customer management, but it also sends WhatsApp/SMS reminders and will soon automate client loyalty and invoicing too.
Your point about changing the language, not the product, really resonated. That small mental switch — from talking about features to talking about outcomes — is so powerful.
Curious: when you repositioned Linkeme, did you change just the messaging, or also your pricing tiers and onboarding flow? I'd love to hear more about how you approached that shift step by step.
Thanks again for sharing this. Posts like this are gold for founders building without a huge audience or brand behind them.
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That sounds amazing, very good repositioning. I have to questions, if you don't mind sharing.
1. How are the social media APIs? Don't they cost a lot / block you ?
2. What does your MRR or MAU look like ? -
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Positioning is very important
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Cool stuff, positioning is everything in a competitive environment. Great job!
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This comment was deleted a year ago
5 Comments
you show real product maturity by killing features that sounded cool but added clutter, proving you care more about user simplicity than flashy bloat. Highlighting how you filtered ideas through “clarity, friction, action” is gold — more makers should think that way. Only tweak: maybe tighten a couple examples so it reads faster, but overall it’s damn solid.
Sometimes it's HARD to kill features.
I killed the full gamification feature.
I killed the reminders.
I killed the AI chat integration
Will I eventually integrate them? Yes, they weren't features that were needed immediately as we work to find product market fit.
I'm someone who's naturally good at finding options — but I’ve learned to work hard to reduce the options I present to users.
As an idea person (and an engineer who can bring ideas to life), I used to think offering more choices meant offering more freedom. It felt like I was empowering the user.
But I realized that too many options can actually create anxiety and hesitation.
Now, I try to protect users from complexity — even if it means holding back some of my "clever" ideas.
I really resonate with your points about avoiding features that solve our anxiety rather than the users'. Great insights, Julien!
Sometime it's the most difficult part !