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solopreneur

Interview with Avnish, the Solopreneur Who Built a $25K/Month Business Using Reddit & Facebook

Roger Mendoza

• 8 min read
Successful Reddit post introducing SaveWise after months of engagement

Table of Contents

🔥 Why You Should Even Care

Trying to get your first users without blowing your budget on ads is a nightmare. You’ve launched your app or product, but no one’s showing up. You’re stuck in that brutal early phase where every tactic feels like shouting into the void. Sound familiar?

Avnish’s story is a blueprint for anyone who’s tired of the usual “throw money at ads” advice and wants real, actionable strategies to find and grow an audience — without spending a dime on marketing. He went from zero to $25,000/month in revenue in just 15 months, using a laser-focused approach on Reddit and Facebook groups.

This interview breaks down the exact steps he took, the mindset shifts he had, and the tools he used to turn a personal hack into a thriving business. If you’re a solo founder, creator, or builder looking for a no-fluff, realistic playbook to get users and grow revenue, keep reading.

🛠️ The Setup: Who is Avnish and What is SaveWise?

Pat Walls: Tell me about who you are, what you built, and what’s your story.

Avnish: My name’s Avnish. I’m the founder of SaveWise, a platform that helps people earn credit card points and airline miles for things they’re already buying online. The idea is simple: people are already spending money, so why not help them maximize rewards without extra effort?

It started really slow — I wasn’t seeing much traction at first. But once I nailed down how to find my users, things took off, and now we’re doing about $25,000 a month in revenue.

Pat Walls: What were you doing before SaveWise? How did this idea come about?

Avnish: I worked in tech — Microsoft, Instagram, Foursquare, Dropbox — but I always had this itch to build something from scratch, something no one else had done.

While brainstorming, I kept circling back to a personal skill: I’m really good at finding deals, stacking coupons, and earning credit card points. But the process was incredibly manual and frustrating. I searched online for a product that automated this, but nothing fit my workflow.

So I thought, “If no one else is building this, I’ll do it myself.” That’s how SaveWise was born.

🚀 The Magic: How Avnish Found His Users Without Paying for Ads

Pat Walls: You built something you believed in, but then came the hard part — getting users. What happened next?

Avnish: That part was brutal. I posted on Product Hunt, Hacker News, Indie Hackers — tons of traffic but almost zero retention. Bounce rates were 95-96%. No meaningful feedback, no engagement.

I tried reaching out to influencers and creators, sending hundreds of emails and messages with almost zero replies. Turns out, people with audiences don’t care about half-baked products looking for feedback.

That’s when I realized I needed a different, more targeted approach to find the exact people who would benefit most from SaveWise.

Pat Walls: What platforms worked for you?

Avnish: Two platforms stood out: Reddit and Facebook groups. But not the tech or startup subreddits. I focused on communities where people actually used products — like travel groups, credit card points enthusiasts, and deal hunters.

Pat Walls: Can you break down your process for getting users on Reddit and Facebook?

Avnish: I boiled it down to a five-step playbook:

  1. Brainstorm keywords and interests: Start by listing 5-15 keywords or demographics related to your product. For SaveWise, that was things like “credit cards,” “travel rewards,” “coupon stacking.”
  2. Explore communities: Use tools like Map of Reddit — it’s a visual tool that maps related subreddits. For example, enter “credit cards” and it shows related communities, helping you find where your audience hangs out.
  3. Observe before posting: Join groups but don’t post right away. Watch what people talk about, how they phrase things, what problems they have. This insight helps you craft posts that naturally fit the conversation instead of screaming “BUY MY PRODUCT.”
  4. Define your goal for each community: Are you trying to get feedback? Understand competitors? Drive signups? Your goal changes your approach and messaging. Also, start by commenting rather than posting top-level threads. Comments are low risk and help you test the waters.
  5. Set keyword alerts: Use tools like F5 Bot to get real-time notifications when people mention relevant keywords. This way, you can jump into conversations as they happen and provide value or ask for feedback.
  6. Be helpful, not salesy: Always aim to add value first. Share tips, answer questions, and once you’ve earned trust, mention your product organically.

This approach helped me build trust and community engagement that eventually translated into users and customers.

Map of Reddit showing related subreddits around credit cards

📈 The Real Talk: What Worked and How It Played Out

Pat Walls: Can you show us a concrete example of a post or interaction that drove traffic?

Avnish: Sure. On Facebook, I searched for groups related to my keywords — one was “Rakuten.” I found a group called “Rakuten Stacks: How to Double Dip with Rakuten.” Thousands of people were manually hunting for deals that my product could surface instantly.

I wrote a SQL query to pull together a list of offers from my product’s data and posted a link to a spreadsheet in the group. The spreadsheet listed Rakuten offers, American Express deals, and more, plus a link to SaveWise where all the data came from.

That single post drove over 1,500 visitors to my site.

Facebook group post with spreadsheet link showing credit card offers

Pat Walls: How about Reddit?

Avnish: I didn’t just jump in with a post. I joined a subreddit related to my target audience and lurked for weeks, learning the community vibe. I noticed they had weekly Q&A threads, so I started commenting there, sharing my site and asking for feedback.

After three and a half months of this, I had built out the core features users asked for. Then I reached out to the moderator to get permission for a top-level post — they said yes.

That post blew up, driving a ton of engagement and users.

Successful Reddit post introducing SaveWise after months of engagement

💰 Numbers Behind SaveWise: What the Growth Looks Like

Pat Walls: How’s the business doing now?

Avnish: We’re at about $25,000 in monthly revenue, with tens of thousands of users and around 1,500 paying customers.

One interesting insight: consumers hate subscriptions. I launched with a subscription model, but the day I switched to a lifetime membership option, several customers emailed asking to pay upfront for two-plus years of access.

Now, 97% of revenue comes from lifetime plans rather than monthly or yearly subscriptions.

🧰 The Tech Stack Behind SaveWise

Avnish: The front end is built with Next.js, hosted on Vercel. The backend data processing and database live on Azure.

For data interaction, I use Retool — it’s a lifesaver when dealing with complex datasets. For user authentication, I use Clerk, which supports signups through Google, Apple, and more.

Analytics was a big challenge until I started using Vercel Analytics and PostHog for product analytics. These tools, combined with AI-powered coding assistants like ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor, have drastically improved my workflow.

Google Analytics rounds out the stack for real-time traffic monitoring.

🎯 Understanding Your Customer is Everything

Pat Walls: What advice would you give your younger self before launching SaveWise?

Avnish: I used to think understanding your target customer was mainly about building the right features. Turns out, it’s even more crucial for marketing — knowing exactly where your customers hang out online and how they talk about their problems.

Understanding your audience guides not just what you build but how you get it into their hands. Never lose sight of who your customer is.

🔍 FAQ

How did Avnish find his initial users without spending on ads?

He focused on Reddit and Facebook groups where his target customers already hung out. Instead of blasting ads, he engaged authentically by observing conversations, providing value, and sharing his product organically once he built trust.

What’s the five-step playbook Avnish uses to grow users?

  • Brainstorm relevant keywords and interests.
  • Explore communities using tools like Map of Reddit.
  • Observe community behavior before posting.
  • Define clear goals for each community and start commenting.
  • Set up keyword alerts for real-time engagement opportunities.

Why did Avnish switch from subscriptions to lifetime memberships?

Customers expressed a strong preference for paying upfront for lifetime access, which now accounts for 97% of SaveWise’s revenue. Subscriptions were less popular among his audience.

What tools and tech stack power SaveWise?

Frontend: Next.js hosted on Vercel
Backend: Azure for data processing and database
Data interaction: Retool
Authentication: Clerk
Analytics: Vercel Analytics, PostHog, Google Analytics
AI tools: ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, Cursor

⚙️ The Real Talk: What You Can Steal From Avnish’s Playbook Tonight

If you’re a solo founder or builder stuck in the “how do I get users?” loop, this is your blueprint:

  1. Stop chasing influencers and big launches. They don’t care about your half-baked product.
  2. Find where your customers hang out online. Use tools like Map of Reddit to map your niche communities.
  3. Be a fly on the wall. Lurk. Listen. Learn the language and pain points.
  4. Engage thoughtfully. Start commenting, helping, and adding value before you sell.
  5. Use keyword alerts. Catch conversations as they happen to jump in naturally.
  6. Build features based on real user feedback. Your community will tell you what they need.
  7. Be flexible on pricing. Test subscription vs lifetime models to see what resonates.

This isn’t rocket science. It’s tactical, targeted, and above all, respectful marketing. And it works.

⚡ Bonus: One Tool You Should Check Out Tonight

Map of Reddit — It’s free, visual, and will save you hours hunting for relevant subreddits. Just enter your main subreddit or keyword and watch it reveal clusters of communities you didn’t know existed.

Visual map of Reddit communities related to credit cards

🧠 Closing Thoughts

Avnish’s journey underscores a brutal truth: building a great product is the easy part. Getting it into the hands of the right users without wasting money on ads or annoying cold outreach takes patience, empathy, and smart targeting.

His five-step playbook for Reddit and Facebook growth is a no-nonsense, zero-budget approach that any solo builder can implement immediately. It’s about understanding your audience — not just for product development, but for authentic marketing.

If you’re stuck on how to get your first users, take a page from Avnish’s book: find your communities, listen, help, and then share your product when the time is right.

This is the kind of work that pays off — no gimmicks, no hacks, just solid, strategic hustle.

This article was inspired by this amazing video How I used Reddit & Facebook to build a $25K/month business. Check out more from their awesome channel.

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