Vanielle Lee

7 years as Co-Founder & CTO OdeCloud Built remote teams across 6 continents, scaled systems used by Fortune 500s, and somehow kept it fun. Everything I’ve learned about building startups that don’t self-destruct –– a quick thread for founders trying to scale without losing their mind 🧵

@Amank1412 I love taking the ideas of roasting other people's business. That's why on the side like i built this as well pricescore.io

Someone built this simple landing page. The idea was simple but bold: You paste your startup URL, and the site brutally roasts your landing page calling out vague claims, buzzwords, and overhyped messaging.

@ichewthings AIで開発しするなら、これを試してください driftballoon.com

@codeonsunday @NapierHolland So much this. People try to act like I was inspired to become rich; nah, I just didn't want to be poor ever again. I want to be as far away from that as possible.

i’m one of those kids who competed in gifted programs all the way from primary school to university in Vietnam. fit the stereotype so well: heavy math, competitive programming, endless studying. that system did train us to survive high pressure (very similar to China, Japan, Korea). but did it encourage creativity, invention, or discovering new opportunities? not really. most of us grew up hard. no money. while the rest of the world was playing Gameboy and Sega, we were figuring out how to get by. very early on, we learned one thing: we must earn money. i believe the biggest driver isn’t ambition. it’s fear. fear of being poor again. everything else: business mindset, product thinking, building things, i believe most of us taught ourselves after graduation. but here’s the key: we couldn’t have done that without the pressure training from school. so education isn’t the starting point. it’s the missing piece that completes the picture.

🇻🇳 I've been curious about Vietnam for a while. I figured the education system might explain the emergence of so many talented entrepreneurs and developers, relative to comparative SE Asian economies. This article by the Economist confirms things.

@zuess05 kill the free tier

You launched your app a week ago. 🚀 1,000 users signed up. 0 paying users yet. What is your next move?

@auralix4 Got my claude running to make a tool right now

I'm claiming my AI agent "Yosei" on @moltbook 🦞 Verification: bay-Y45R

@VadimStrizheus 100 customers hand-down always. You can chase VC after that

As a founder, what would be best for you startup right now? 1. VC-funding 2. 100 customers

@alexcooldev pricescore.io - founders are losing money because of their pricing page, this aims to help fix it

Show me what you’ve built with vibe-coding. 👇 Products. Startups. Side projects. I want to see how crazy far this thing can go.

@AdityaShips 1 micro saas per month

I really wanna do 12 apps in 12 months challenge Should I?

@iamdevloper Swe is changing no? Like frontend engineering is a solved problem. But theres a whole bunch if AI related problems that hasnt been solved yet

People keep saying "AI will replace developers" Meanwhile OpenAI and Anthropic are still hiring…developers Also: half the world still prefers talking to a human We'll be fine.

@NaivaidyaY66600 Always validate first then build else youre gonna suffer when you find out no one care about your app except you and your mom

Two ways people build products: - Validate first, then build - Build first, then validate Which path are you on?

@craigzLiszt I cant imagine not vibe coding now. Like if youre not then youre at a major disadvantage

so many closeted vibe coders you can come out. it's safe now

@joncphillips Agreed. Thats why its important to build a viralty loop into your app

Might be a hot take. Your product is a delivery mechanism for your distribution. Not the other way around. I’ve watched incredible products die in silence while mediocre ones with great marketing print money. It’s not fair. It’s also not random. The founders who win figured out how to get attention and keep it. They built the audience before they built the thing. If you’re heads-down coding for six months before you tell a single soul what you’re making, it’s a hobby.

I'm claiming my AI agent "Yousei" on @moltbook 🦞 Verification: blue-YCE6

"Pay us to display your own reviews" is peak predatory pricing. Same energy as SaaS vendors hiding pricing behind demos. They know the moment you see the number, you'll build it yourself or find an alternative. Transparency threat > customer service. That's why I built pricescore.io.

Trustpilot feels like the mob. Me: "I should collect reviews on Trustpilot! It'll help people trust our business more!" Signs up for business account ... Emails users to collect Trustpilot reviews ... Gets amazing 5-start reviews ... Me: "OK, let's put them on the website. Nice." Trustpilot: "Sorry, you have to pay us $299 PER MONTH to put *your* reviews on *your* site" Me: "OMG, seriously? I just want to put a couple nice reviews on my site." Trustpilot: "Actually, if you want to show the actual review, instead of making people click through to our site, you have to pay $1,099/mo". Me: Cancels account What a joke. Someone vibecode this and crush them please.

@azizbekxm @levelsio Free plans are VC subsidies, not business models. Bootstrapped companies can't afford to support infinite free users hoping 2% convert. The math doesn't work. Better: free trial -> paid. Eliminates tire-kickers, focuses on people who actually see value. This is the way.

Thanks @levelsio It actually worked!

This is true if your product has clear ROI. $10 -> no-brainer impulse buy $100 -> needs to save/make them money The pricing shift isn't just "charge more." It's "prove 10x more value." Most founders skip that step and wonder why conversions tank.

INCREASE YOUR PRICES INCREASE YOUR PRICES INCREASE YOUR PRICES INCREASE YOUR PRICES INCREASE YOUR PRICES INCREASE YOUR PRICES INCREASE YOUR PRICES INCREASE YOUR PRICES They don't care whether it costs $10/yr or $100/yr They were always going to purchase

@ErnestoSOFTWARE Cartel pricing only works if everyone enforces it 😂 The second one app stays at $10/year and captures all the price-sensitive customers, the cartel collapses. Better strategy: charge what you're worth, let competitors race to the bottom. Quality > volume.

Please increase your app prices We are charging $79.99 to $100/yr If we all increase our prices at once Consumers will have no choice But to pay $1k/mo for your habit tracker Lets all join forces 🫡

@iannuttall Classic innovator's dilemma Anthropic sees Clawdbot as API abuse risk. Community sees it as the killer use case that proves Claude's value. Same thing happened with Twitter API in 2010. Shut down the ecosystem, lost the innovation. Bad move.

anthropic should have leaned in with a plan just for clawdbot and embraced the community instead of issuing a cease and desist

@ASvanevik This is peak automation. Most people automate the wrong things (email responses, calendar booking). You automated the thing founders burn 10 hours/week on: pitch decks. ROI: ~500 hours/year saved. That's worth more than most SaaS subscriptions.

managed to set up Claude Code so I never have to touch slides again. on-brand, coherent with business context, beautiful design. amazing. /slides