Absolutely brilliant preview video! Alan Moore’s voice and storytelling talent are just mesmerizing. His course looks fantastic. I could honestly watch him talk about stories all day. Wish he had a whole YouTube channel. Seriously tempted to invest time in this. Has anyone here taken the course?
If you already have a clear problem and real demand, you’re a step ahead, and 3 months is very feasible, just focus on execution.
But if not, I’d make validation your priority.
TL;DR:
Start with the problem and real users. Get a commitment, build the absolute minimum, and be relentless about learning from feedback. Three months is enough to make something real, maybe not beautiful, but definitely valuable.
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I’ll throw in my two cents, speaking as a dev who’s been at this a while (definitely not a 10x’er, imposter syndrome still hits now and then).
If you’ve got three good developers, that’s a huge advantage. But before you dive into the building, focus on the problem, not just the product.
1. Validate the pain first.
If you already have a clear problem and real demand, you’re a step ahead, just focus on a well planned execution. But if not, I’d make validation your priority. Reach out to your network or a niche you know.
Don’t just brainstorm ideas, talk to potential users and ask what actually frustrates them or what slows them down.
Example: My local gym used to distribute paper fitness programs. Challenges included managing clients' programs, tracking fitness progress and client engagement. A local software team built them a simple app, proved it worked, and is now selling that app to other gyms. That’s finding demand before building.
2. Land a real-world test partner.
Critical in my opinion. If you can get a business or a group of users to commit to trying your MVP (even a rough version) as a pre-sell access, you’re way ahead.
3. Build first the smallest thing that solves the problem. Once you’ve validated there’s real demand, ruthlessly focus on those features first. What’s the absolute minimum you can build that proves value? If your MVP feels “almost too basic,” you’re on the right track in my opinion.
In three months, you won’t ship perfection, but you can absolutely deliver a working, usable V1.
4. My own experience:
Right now, I’m working on a SaaS for a niche industry. I partnered up with a company, went to their annual conference, and spoke with managers about their biggest headaches. After presenting a mockup built over a weekend, I proposed a free plan to a pilot group (50 users) in exchange for honest feedback, and made it clear that we’d refine it before moving to paid customers.
I’ve spent about six months on it (part-time, mostly solo dev, with two part-time teammates handling design/support). We’re about to launch it to the pilot group. The whole thing only worked because we started with the problem, not the tech.
5. If your goal is $1k/mo in SaaS revenue within 3 months, you’ll need a real buyer lined up from day one, but it’s possible.
For a YC interview, I'm far from that ecosystem but I can only assume it’s similar to pitching to a potential client. For me, it's always been about solving a clear issue and showing progress.
Fundraising? Same as above, you’ll need to prove users actually care about your product even if it's minimal and rough.
For me, the biggest wins came from real user validation, listening to feedback and fast execution.
3 months totally possible!
Hope your hypothetical turns into something real, and worthwhile, in three months or less.
For example, I always believed ostriches buried their heads in the sand to hide, turns out I was naively wrong.
From wiki page:
Ostriches do not stick their heads in the sand to hide from enemies or to sleep. This misconception's origins are uncertain but it was probably popularized by Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), who wrote that ostriches "imagine, when they have thrust their head and neck into a bush, that the whole of their body is concealed".
This hits home. Before I published my first blog and video, I was doing everything except creating. I was procrastinating, researching, overthinking.
YouTube is full of tutorials that can help you get started, but the real shift for me happened when I stopped planning and just hit publish. My first video is rough and super amateur, but putting it out there felt empowering. It made me want to keep going.
I’m no expert, but one thing’s clear is that you only get better by doing. Tutorials help, but nothing beats hands-on learning.
In my case, I’ve always liked Casey Neistat’s raw, authentic style. I’m still working up the nerve to get in front of the camera more, but I know I’ll get there.
I know my comment might sound a bit off-topic since you’re asking about the technical “how-to”,
but that’s kind of my point. Don’t get too bogged down too much in the setup. It can keep you from ever starting. Once you begin, the tools and improvements tend to come naturally.
Apologies for the long reply, but I hope something in here helps.
I think it's a good sign that you're reaching out for help and advice. That shows a level of self-awareness that’s important when dealing with burnout. Of course, I’d strongly recommend speaking with a medical professional or therapist, especially if it starts affecting your day-to-day functioning. But I’ll share what helped me personally.
I went through burnout after working nonstop on a project for over six months, only for it to be shut down two weeks before launch, for reasons completely beyond my control. It hit me hard, but I didn’t realize it right away. It crept in slowly, a lack of focus, no motivation, no excitement, just a kind of numb disengagement.
Here’s what helped me:
Acknowledging what I was going through was the first real step forward. Just putting a name to the experience gave me a bit of clarity.
I started reading books about stress, burnout, and anxiety. Not because one book had all the answers, but because the act of engaging with helpful material gave me structure and a sense of progress. I also read lots of fiction to change my mindset.
I talked to close friends and family. Just expressing how I felt, especially about the project, helped release some of the pressure.
I experimented with small activities that felt even slightly interesting. That varied day by day. Some days I journaled, other days I took longer dog walks or spent more time at the gym.
Recovery wasn’t linear. It wasn’t fast. But creating space to decompress and explore what helped me, even in small ways, eventually got me going again.
One important thing I learned is that burnout doesn’t go away with a single solution. It’s not like taking a pill for a headache. It took time, reflection, and consistent self-care. For some, professional support may also be a key part of that.
So my best advice is: Don’t pressure yourself to “fix” it overnight. Stay aware, try things that feel nourishing, and don’t hesitate to ask for help.
Of course, everyone’s experience is different. If it feels overwhelming or doesn’t improve, definitely reach out to a mental health professional. You don’t have to figure this out alone, support is out there.
This article of smartphones being “parasites” covers my current dilemma. While I’m not sure how far the biological metaphor goes, I do relate to the experience of being gradually nudged into compulsive behaviors.
In my case, I avoided interacting with social media for most of my life. No Twitter, no Facebook, and until recently, not even HN (aside from reading). This was to protect my focus, and my attention span. My smartphone was just phone.
But I recently started a creative writing practice, and sharing ideas has become important to me. HN felt like a safe place to engage, and I genuinely enjoy the discussions here. That said, I’ve already noticed myself checking my phone more often, anticipating replies, and chasing that little dopamine spike. What was once just a phone is now a catalyst for distraction and creative connection, all at once.
I’ve held off posting to platforms like X because I suspect it’ll get worse. But in today’s world, where writing or building anything online often means “building a following,” is it even possible to avoid the trap?
Are there meaningful ways to engage and grow publicly without becoming trapped in doom-scrolling, infinite feeds, and notification loops ? Or is distraction now the entry fee for visibility?
Would love to hear from others who’ve tried to strike this balance, especially writers, developers, and indie founders.
>Would love to hear from others who’ve tried to strike this balance
I think it's exactly that - balance.
In my experience the most important aspect is avoiding recommendation feeds. They are hyper optimized to be dopamine driven feedback loops. In a parallel universe these feeds would be customizable (sort for great discussions, thoughtful or uplifting content as the user sees fit, but most feeds are black boxes that are explicitly designed to maximize engagement, which means of course to maximize addiction.
The second most important aspect is turning off the notifications.
Another angle to attack is the hardware itself. It isn't for everyone, but there is a little corner of the tech universe with minimal phones like, well, Minimal Phone, and Light Phone. Unihertz is also coming out with a BlackBerry Passport keyboard phone soon (Kickstarter campaign coming later this month) that looks quite promising. Again the hardware is just badly suited for feed doom scrolling.
Then carefully choose the services you interact with. HN rather than Reddit home feeds, etc. Tildes is another good small one, as is Discuit.
Now if you're seeking visibility, perhaps there is a devil's bargain that you have to submit to to some degree. That said, one half of the equation is the presence that you are providing, and you can control that. For example choose to host a minimalist blog rather than a swarm of social media engagement. I like Blot.im, although there are many like it that can make simple markup style pages.
Also instead of freeform constant engagement with social media, try and use formats to your advantage. In a world with endless noise on social media a great weekly newsletter can actually get quite a following (I've noticed that I love simple weekly newsletters that curate thoughts and content for me). I would imagine that if you were trying to pursue an online following, it's probably healthier to cultivate a following through something like this rather than brute forcing engagement metrics.
Lastly, be creative! The social media space is bounded in a tight box, where black box recommendation engines optimized for engagement are considered the norm, despite there being a world of possibility out there. Don't be afraid to be a bit silly either. Sometimes that can help with taking a stand against what can otherwise look like a bit of a dystopian nightmare at times in the digital space. Those minimal phones are silly. Twitter's 160 character limit was silly. Hosting a blog that looks like it's from 1999 is silly. But it's also a bit rebellious which can actually bring more value to the table, even when it comes to things like building a following, then you lose by refusing to engage with the hyper dopamine hacking landscape.
Thanks for sharing btw.
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