Who are you? Tell us more about your background?
I'm Praneeth. I've been a UX designer for over 10 years and have also written code for as long as I remember. After dropping out of my Computer Engineering bachelor's, I started a Product design agency working with early-stage startups. After 4 years of Agency, I went solo as an Independent consultant working at companies like Nestle Purina, etc., and also building my ideas.
Recently, I've launched RabbitHoles.AI as a solopreneur / indie-hacker
How did you validate your business idea?
Launched RabbitHolesAI initially as a web app with a free trial. It didn't attract the right audience. Later, I relaunched it as a downloadable desktop app for Mac with a lifetime deal and doubled down on the ICP - AI enthusiasts / Pro AI users. That bought us 100+ paying users.
How did you build the product?
I built it all with my experience being a Design engineer for over a decade. Also used cursor + o1-preview + claude for productivity benefits.
What problem does your business solve?
Linear chatbots are not made for deep work. LLMs are forced to see all the messages in the thread during any given conversation. This causes the LLM to go over their context limits pretty quickly.
We'll have to prompt repetitively in a long conversation to remind the AI models to stay on topic. They also create friction if users want to explore tangents.
RabbitHoles AI allows users to have multiple connected conversations with AI models on an Infinite canvas. Each conversation is a node on an infinite canvas that can be connected to share context.
This allows for long conversations without context loss, and almost no hallucinations. Different AI models can be stringed together to contextually use the appropriate AI.
Which acquisition channels did you use to scale your startup?
Mostly X (Twitter). Been building in public. And engaging with the community while sharing the product at every chance I got.
Also listed on 100+ directories.
Could you share more about the growth hacks you've tried and found successful?
Ran Life Time Deal sale with 30% off during Black Friday. It got us the initial 30 who then shared on their own Facebook / Discord communities.
What was your biggest challenge in the first year?
Before removing the free trial it was hard to know if the product idea was validated or not. However, after having a hard paywall to use the product, the signal became more clear that it is indeed a product people are willing to pay for.
What are the top 3 lessons you've learned so far?
- Free trials are not for validating ideas
- Downloadable apps create a sense of commitment in users. They see it on their computers every day. I hypothesize that this made users more invested in the product. 45 users have joined the discord community to actively participate in feedback and feature discussions.
- Lifetime deals are good to validate the idea, especially if people don't know you yet. It is good to build a reputation as they don't demand a huge commitment.
What advice would you give to startup founders struggling to scale?
- Kill the free tier.
- Nail down the ICP, and focus only on them.
- Your website copyright from the heading to the OG image should call to the ICP
- Design matters, invest in a decently product and landing page.
If you could do one thing differently, what would it be?
- Would have launched the apps sooner
- Focused on the ICP from the beginning
- Create more video content
Where can people find and connect with you?
On Twitter / X at www.x.com/@praneethpike
Comments