Heya there builders, I just launched and alpha phase of a product I've been working on for around a week. Since yesterday, I got 7 out of 10 members to agree to be my alpha users; I give them the product for free, they give me (very valuable) feedback! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Here is what I did in this week, to give you a real life example of how to research, plan, build and test the waters when you're building: Day #1: I came up with the idea in the morning, by midnight I had a very solid working proof of concept. (You know, AI does make that work really easy for builders when you know what you want). Day #2 - Day #5: Iterating on the product, making it a real prototype/MVP. Strategizing about marketing and exposure, and general plan of building this product. Day #6: Find community who suffers from the problem you're solving (Luckily, I had a community already very close to me, which I have built a very solid reputation in for the last 2.5 years). I mapped out 10 people whom I've had contact with (Familiarity), and reached out to them with a message that goes something like this: "Hey! long time, I've been building XYZ, would you be interested in getting access as an alpha user and provide feedback in return?". Day #7: I ensure all systems are ready to welcome the alpha users.. We're talking product deployed online, with a functional end-to-end user journey flow (From signup until problem solved / value). 7 out of 10 people have responded to me, and have agreed to be alpha users. (Still crossing my fingers for the last 3 to respond with a yes). Finally, I sent them out the sign up link with minimal instructions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REASON FOR RUNNING AN ALPHA PHASE (Or Stealth launch, as I'd like to call it) is as follows: I want to quickly validate OR invalidate my idea.. If 6/10 users tell me that this is something they would use, I'll invest more time into developing it. Otherwise? I'll kill the idea without remorse. And move onto the next.

Had an idea of a product that solves a real problem last week, I built the MVP, prepared it for an alpha launch, and currently tying up the knots in order to get a stealth "Alpha launch" out along the first 10 alpha users tomorrow. Luckily, I have a network that face this problem on a daily basis already, therefore I don't have to do a lot of effort in order to get these alpha users. I haven't reached out to anyone just yet, will let you know how it goes!

Hey everyone 👋 I realized I never properly introduced myself, so here it goes. I’m Loai, a builder, educator, and startup founder. Over the years, I’ve worked on and led multiple projects across software, AI, education, and startups — from building full products from scratch to designing curricula that teach people how to think and build, not just code. Most recently, I’m working on DataDripper.ai — a startup focused on turning scattered competitive and marketing data into clear, actionable insights. It’s been a real-world lab for everything we’re doing here: idea validation, MVP building, feedback loops, launches, and scaling systems. I created Cracked Startup Builders because I kept seeing talented people stuck at the same point: - too many ideas - not enough clarity - overthinking instead of building This community exists to fix that; step by step, with real frameworks, real feedback, and real momentum. I’ll be building in public here, sharing lessons as I go, and helping you do the same. If you ever feel stuck, unsure, or just need a second brain - post it. That’s what this space is for. Glad you’re here.