From Layoff to Launch to Landing first 500 users in a month. Here is my story
About four months ago, one of my coworkers was caught in a wave of layoffs. During a conversation, he shared his job search challenges and discussed automating various processes. He pointed out that while numerous AI tools exist for different tasks, the sheer number can be overwhelming. A single, streamlined platform could save job seekers significant time. With this in mind, my coworker, despite having no development background, built an MVP (thanks to Cursor!). The MVP, while not visually polished, was functional. It offered easy job tracking, job fit analysis, and interview recommendations. We onboarded a user to validate the idea, and the feedback was positive. This initial validation, though limited to one user, encouraged me to develop the project further, alongside my full-time job. After working on this for a while, we reached a point where we felt comfortable releasing a public version. Side note: AI tools helped us do 2-3x more work and save a lot of time. January 2025, We discussed various rollout strategies, focusing on organic growth: No paid marketing until significant user validation. Leverage product directories. Target specific subreddits on Reddit. Avoid marketing to the wrong audience. Our initial goal for the end of January was a modest four users.
About four months ago, one of my coworkers was caught in a wave of layoffs. During a conversation, he shared his job search challenges and discussed automating various processes.
He pointed out that while numerous AI tools exist for different tasks, the sheer number can be overwhelming. A single, streamlined platform could save job seekers significant time. With this in mind, my coworker, despite having no development background, built an MVP (thanks to Cursor!).
The MVP, while not visually polished, was functional. It offered easy job tracking, job fit analysis, and interview recommendations. We onboarded a user to validate the idea, and the feedback was positive. This initial validation, though limited to one user, encouraged me to develop the project further, alongside my full-time job.
After working on this for a while, we reached a point where we felt comfortable releasing a public version.
Side note: AI tools helped us do 2-3x more work and save a lot of time.
January 2025, We discussed various rollout strategies, focusing on organic growth:
- No paid marketing until significant user validation.
- Leverage product directories.
- Target specific subreddits on Reddit.
- Avoid marketing to the wrong audience.
Our initial goal for the end of January was a modest four users.
