LeadWhisper

I shared my idea publicly on Reddit yesterday to see what people thought.

I didn’t drop any links. Just a single mockup image of my tool with a brief description. An AI chatbot that lives on your landing page and asks targeted questions like “What’s stopping you from signing up?”

Most of the feedback was negative.

Some people said no one would respond. Others compared it to an annoying sales rep in a store.

But here's the thing... I learned a lot.

• I saw how founders view popups vs how visitors actually feel about them

• I realized how important the framing is. Words like “interrogate” and “feedback” trigger resistance

• I discovered that even if 99% ignore it, the 1% who reply might still give you game-changing insights

It’s easy to avoid criticism by only sharing in safe spaces. But real feedback lives in the wild.

This wasn’t a launch. It was a learning moment.

Next step: tighten the value prop, rethink the UX, and test again.

Here’s the original Reddit thread if you're curious: Reddit post link

Let’s see where it goes.

Last week, I tried to get my first waitlist signups for my SaaS using Reddit. I focused on creating valuable posts and comments to help others instead of spamming.

It kind of worked. I got one signup.

Then Reddit suspended my new account without any clear reason. I suspect it was because the account was new, and I sent a few cold DMs. One thing I learned is that Reddit does not allow you to change your username later, which is why I created a new account in the first place.

Looking back, I should have used my years-old Reddit account, even though it has a random username, because trust matters more than the perfect handle.

Here are a few other things I learned:

• It is better to genuinely engage in niche subreddits first before asking anything

• New accounts are heavily monitored, so it helps to warm them up over a few weeks

• Soft call-to-actions like “happy to DM you more details if interested” feel less pushy

• Sharing personal experiences gets more trust than generic value posts

For now, I am switching back to my old Reddit account and also diversifying to Discord and X to reach potential customers. I am also submitting to SaaS directories to drive some early traffic.

Right now, I am doing things that do not scale because I want to deeply understand my customers and see if my idea truly solves a pain.

Have you tried getting your first users from Reddit or other free channels? What actually worked for you?

I would love to learn from your experiences.

(For context, I am building a small tool to help founders understand why visitors leave without signing up.)

Hey Indie Hackers 👋

A few days ago, I launched a waitlist for LeadWhisper, an AI chatbot that lives on your site and talks to visitors to understand why they are not signing up.

The idea came from a real pain I felt with my last SaaS. I was getting traffic, but people kept bouncing without any feedback and I had no idea why. I realized I did not need more visitors, I needed insight.

So I am building something I wish I had back then:
An AI powered chatbot that engages visitors, asks smart questions, and helps founders understand what is holding users back before they leave.

🛠 The MVP is in development
📬 Waitlist is live here: https://leadwhisper.vercel.app

If you have faced this problem too, I would love your thoughts. What would you want this chatbot to ask your visitors?

Let’s connect 🚀