The dark side of solopreneurship - what you dont see on Reddit

whats up fellow redditors!

This one’s a bit different—I’m not here to talk about the successes and wins of solopreneurs or how i make 10kMRR (i dont lol), but rather the lows and downs. Why? Because nobody talks about it, and I think it’s worth shining some light on the complications and obstacles. Honesntly, i think a lot of people need to hear this - inlcuding myselg.

Disclaimer: This is my story, and no, it’s not one of those “how I make 10k MRR from Bali” posts. I wish it was, and I know most of us wish we could tell that story. But it’s not, and I’m not here to lie or brag about my humble wins NOR to tell you about my app and create traffic - if youre curious, im sure youll figure out a way to find out what i built. I’m here to share the realistic side of things—the non-glamorous, no-Ferraris-and-mansions reality that today’s social media makes you think you’ll get - if youre one of those, happy for you my guy.

I wrote this over the past few days so I could show it to friends and anyone who might be where I’ve been, going through what I’ve gone through recently. So, I DARE you to say “ThIs Is Ai GeNeRaTed.” I’ve got a thick skin, and it’s not the first time I’ve heard comments like that trying to undermine effort because, more often than not, those criticizing aren’t doing better than you. Funny how the ones above you tend to offer support and help instead of hate, right? Their time is much more valuable than to post hateful comments on Reddit.

My story: (Disclaimer—it's long, so get comfortable)

A few months ago, I was laid off from my tech job—a job where I was highly comfortable but not fulfilled. The thought of going back to the job search and landing in another gig that just kept me going was scary, to be honest. Being in a job where I was comfortable but not passionate? That wasn’t where I wanted to be.

For the past five years, I’ve been really into everything related to digital nomads, solopreneurship, and basically making my own thing—being responsible for my successes and, yes, my failures too.

I decided to give it a shot and created a software tool to help me find jobs that matched my passions and skills. That way, if I had to go back to a job, at least I’d be somewhere I liked and where my presence would have a massive impact, just like it would if I were doing my own thing. I wanted to make decisions, follow my vision, and make things happen.

I created my tool, and the launch days were honestly impressive—over 100k views on Reddit, a lot of love and comments, and my first 100 “users” (youll undestand in a second why i say "users") - I was over the moon. I thought, This is it. This is what it feels like to succeed on your own. But no, that was just a glimpse of a lot of attention and a very humble win. The wins are amazing, but the lows? Damn, they’re hard. But they make you tough, they do.

Let me say this first - I knew what I was getting into. While solopreneruship generates way more stress than a full-time job with a steady paycheck, the thought of not knowing where your next paycheck will come from is, quite frankly, terrifying.

While I created this tool to help myself and others, I quickly realized that no matter how much value I add, if that value doesn’t convert into cash, it’s not sustainable. I kept developing the app, running/burning (expensive) Google Ads, driving traffic to the site, only to realize users would only use my tool if it was free—despite the 100s (for real, 100s) of comments about how valuable it is.

Nevertheless, 100k views, 100+ users led to... guess what? A lot of eyes. But that’s it—eyes. No conversions, no revenue, nothing other than an amazing $0 MRR. Just people telling you how great your idea is, but no validation that this could be something to support even a simple lifestyle, let alone one day move to Bali and work from a beach while I support my family.

So you start thinking—should I keep going? Should I freelance on the side? Find a way to generate cash flow with my expertise to support the tool’s development? Well—no. You begin to doubt yourself, and although you have a couple of wins here and there, the dark moments are really dark and lonely.

Thing is, I do love it. I’m very happy, and I’m sure I won’t give up.

This is all about discipline, momentum, and seeing things with bright eyes.

Despite the amazing win at the start, the euphoria fades, and the only thing left is your discipline and your will to fight for your dreams or settle for what you get. And I won’t settle for where I was before.

By now youve noticed I’m not talking about Ferraris or Lambos like all those gurus. And while I’ve had my fair share of wins, the dark moments are often not mentioned, and solopreneurship is glorified. So if you’re thinking about joining this journey, make sure you have the right reasons. I highly recommend it, but it takes more than what you see on Reddit and YouTube about SaaS making 50k MRR. Those stories are motivating and keep me going, but I’d love to hear about the moments when those same founders were about to give up but didn’t—and kept going, like I am now.

While my tech job was great—super well-paid—I was young, fresh out of uni, and really enjoying life, spending a lot of money only to realize it wasn’t fulfilling at all.

I know I’m not the only one in this situation, but I’m one of the few who’s sure I won’t give up. I wanted to make some comments to remember why you started in the first place. In my job, my impact was... well, close to zero. Creating decks, follow-up materials, loads of excel, product management, marketing, doing what my manager didn’t want to do, and a bunch of other monkey tasks that didn’t justify a bachelor’s and a master’s in business, entrepreneurship, and innovation. I just ended up wearing a lot of hats but never felt like i was driving value or making decisions that impacted the company.

I know my potential is there (so is yours)—I (and you) just need to find a way to get it out and reach people who find value in what you have to offer. I just wonder if I’ll be able to do that before my runway runs out. Truth is, I haven’t had a break. Right after I got laid off, I joined Buildspace and created my tool in six weeks, alone, without knowing how to code, so i learnt. And it was amzing, but the second it ended—silence.

It’s like all the momentum was lost. But I keep going, and so should you. Remember why you started. Because I want to be part of a positive change, doing something that improves people’s way of living, whether that’s finding a job or being truthful about the pros and cons of solopreneurship. I’m not doing this for money, but lets be realistic - money is always needed to keep things going and pay the bills.

I’m not trying to get attention, most people by now problably stopped reading—Im just genuine about what it takes to be a solopreneur and have a thick skin to keep going when 80% of people would give up.

I will say that in the creation of my tool, I found multiple jobs and got offered six interviews—some through using my app, some from people who saw me build the app and asked me to join their company to build it for them (recruitment agencies). But still, that’s not what I wanted. I don’t want to sell any information to recruiters to monetize this, and that won’t change even if I need to get a job again. My vision was clear—create a tool jobseekers can use to find their dream jobs. The funny thing? Building this and doing it alone is my dream job. I’m tired, losing hope, and not so motivated anymore, but that’s what this journey is all about—consistency and discipline.

I keep working on this every day and finding interesting jobs by using my tool, but nothing excites me more than doing something of my very own—not for someone else, but for myself.

I do this for myself because it’s what I like and what I want to do for a living, no matter how hard it is.

So if you’re out there reading about all the solopreneurs making 10k MRR while you are stuck at $0 MRR, DO NOT give up. Remember why you started, and know that having 0 MRR doesn’t define the value you can bring to people—or yourself. I have heard succesful people say "enoy the struggle while it lasts, because it wont always be there" while i am not one of those succesful people, I sure do hope thats true.

I hope this post reaches at least one person going through the same thing and sheds some light on their journey, reminds them why they started, and keeps them from giving up. Entrepreneurship isn’t easy—nobody said it was—BUT IT’S SO NEEDED. Innovation wouldn’t happen without people like that. Often, the dark side isn’t mentioned, so when people encounter it, they think they’re not cut out for it and give up. If you’re one of those people, I hope this post helps you keep going and motivates you to reach that goal you started this for.

If you are still here, i genuoinely hope you found some value or motivation from this, the same way you get from those 10K MRR posts we all love to read and wish to one day write :')

Also, maybe this is a great place for all of us to talk about this and shine some light into everyones journey while talkoing about realistic scenarios most people exeprience but nobody talks about :) <3