Mike

The origin thread is up - x.com/FreeBudgetMike… I’ve never told that story out loud before. If you read it, thank you. Short version: woke up at 2am unable to stop thinking about why budgeting tools cost money. A year and a half later, here we are.

@nxhaaa19 I don’t know why but I never think about the money back guarantee when I buy a product

Founders, You can only pick one: • Free trial • Money back guarantee Which one converts better?

@hiarun02 It’s certainly easier and less risky

Unpopular opinion: 9-5 with a high salary is better than owning your own startups.

@KaiXCreator Still using VS code

Be honest As a developer, which code editor is worth in 2026?

@1Umairshaikh Bugs and frustrating/confusing UI

What makes users leave a product immediately?

@nickvnturi Would love to connect! Building FreeBudget.org

My feed suddently went full motivational ai slop. Get me out. Please algorithm, show me builders and saas founders. If you are growing from $0 MRR to $10K MRR let's connect

@salisedev Would love to follow your journey and connect!

I FINALLY DID IT !🎉 600 followers in just 2 weeks 🚀 Grateful for all the love ❤️ If you’re in tech, let’s connect & grow together 💻🤝

@TTrimoreau Very helpful though!

Unpopular opinion: You don't need to know data structures and algorithms to build real products today

Been live a few months now. Closing in on 2k signups. Probably about 300 active users. Our ARR is only through bank linking fees which we have to charge to cover Plaid fees and other costs so fees are minimal but we’re at about $3-4k. We’ll probably roll out a premium plan as our costs scale but will keep a meaningful free plan for sure. Main distribution is through SEO & influencers. Actively trying to build other channels.

@FreeBudgetMike Would be interesting to know your ARR/MRR, active users, and distribution channels.

Pitch your product under this thread. I’ll pick 5 of my favorites and promote them here later.

1) There really are no good free tools in the space and it’s a big differentiator for us in terms of user acquisition. 2) FreeBudget as a keyword is crazy good for SEO & GEO purposes 3) This started as a passion project for me to build something cool and just turned into something much bigger. We’ll probably roll out a premium plan as our cost scale more but gaining users right now is my first goal.

@FreeBudgetMike Amazing! Why you go for the free path?

Be honest: Would you pay for your own product?

@GodsonicAgency @mscode07 Glad you like it. Yes, we are engaging in different platforms (mainly Reddit & X).

Hello Mike, Really impressed by the positioning and execution of your product. I noticed many brands in your space are beginning to acquire users through discussion platforms and organic community engagement, is that something your team has explored yet? Looking forwards to your response

Drop your project URL Let’s drive some traffic Curious to know what you all are building 👇🏼

@Oliver_Clingain Distribution isn’t complicated it just takes a lot of time, consistency, and dedication.

People overcomplicate getting clients. I did not build my business with some genius funnel. I found people with a problem. I reached out. I followed up. I closed. That is less exciting than what people want to hear. But it is a lot more useful.

@SimonHoiberg This is when you realize you don’t need to build a product no one has ever built before. You just need to build something great that people will use. If you’re not trying to be a unicorn there are many “boring” products to build that can get you somewhere with modest adoption!

It's cool when you realize you only need 1000-2000 paying users to have a very serious SaaS and the internet has an almost inexhaustible number of people you can target.

@TimJayas Not a hot take! The reality is you don’t have a sustainable business until you crack some level of distribution!

HOT TAKE: you're not a founder until you crack distribution

@kzitouni1 Job well done! Would love to connect. I’m building FreeBudget - a personal finance budgeting and tracking app. Been seeing solid user growth since we launched several months ago. freebudget.org

cant believe we we hit 1400 followers thank you all if you're new here I'm Karim, founder of Elevate $1M ARR fully bootstrapped happy to meet and connect with new faces what are you building?

@DevenPatil_007 Would love to connect! Built a free personal finance budgeting and tracking app called FreeBudget. freebudget.org

Founders/builders! 👋 Drop your product/SaaS below, let's connect and grow together!🤝

@hello_code_ Yep! Been live several month and closing in on 2k signups. SEO with a name like FreeBudget has been huge haha.

@hello_code_ Happy to connect! Building a free personal finance budgeting and tracking app called FreeBudget. freebudget.org

Hey builders 👋 looking to #connect with more people building cool things. if you’re working on: 🤖 ai tools 🧑‍💻 saas 📱 mobile apps 🌐 web apps 🛠️ devtools 🎨 design tools 🎮 game dev 📈 growth / marketing 💸 fintech 🧪 side projects

@DerekFeehrer Looks like a cool product. Have you been seeing a lot of adoption?

I just took this screen recording and turned it into a full product demo video in 20 minutes, using only one app. 3D animations, text, AI voiceover, music, and 3D gradient callouts to draw attention to the important parts. But sure, keep posting Loom videos.

When I started FreeBudget, I never would have guessed we would have such a famous user base.

@pcshipp I think it’s just really really hard haha. I don’t know if there is a set formula. Some formula some luck maybe?

Literally, AI helps founders ship faster But 99% of founders still don’t succeed What is the one thing 99% of founders keep doing wrong?