Community guides · Business
How to write a comment that actually lands in r/startups
r/startups treats business advice the way engineers treat code reviews — show your work, name what didn't compile, and don't sell anything.
What's hot in r/startups now
What people are actually discussing
Top threads from the last month — what's getting engagement right now.
- 3 years into building a startup. Here’s what no one warns you about (I will not promote).
- If your goal is getting rich, a tech startup probably isn’t the way (I will not promote)
- I read every YC Request for Startups since 2016. The pattern nobody talks about is embarrassingly obvious in hindsight. - I will not Promote
What this sub rewards
How replies earn upvotes here
- No self-promotion. The reply must stand on its own as help, not a pitch.
- Sound like a fellow community member, not a vendor or service provider. Speak as a fellow operator, not a vendor. 'When I tried X' beats 'Our platform offers Y'.
- No corporate or marketing tone. Plain, human language only. Drop ROI / synergy / leverage. Use 'I tried' / 'cost me $X' / 'didn't work because Y'.
- Emphasize process and method over outcomes or boasts. Lead with 'here's how I did it' not 'we hit $1M ARR'. Outcome-only posts read as bragging.
- Use specific numbers, metrics, or benchmarks when they strengthen the point. If you have numbers, share them. 'Spent $400 on ads, got 8 signups' beats 'ads worked OK'.
What good looks like
Real comments that landed in r/startups
Two recent highly-upvoted replies. Notice what they have in common — concrete, no preamble, no self-promotion.
"goooodddd, these are some of the realest lessons i’ve seen from reddit in a while. I’ve been running a startup since summer last year and started building around september. We are still pre-launch but the loneliness, anxiety and inertia are all there for me. Just gotta grind through them and really lock in. I’ll come back to this thread in…"
"Ig people pick tech coz it needs almost no investment in the initial days compared to other businesses. If you fail in tech startup you can walk out with almost zero loss compared to other buisnesses where you need to setup everthing before you even start"
The one rule that gets posts removed
Strict self-promo rules; only post product in designated threads.
Your pre-reply checklist
Before you hit Reply — four quick checks
Does my comment add something specific, not just an opinion?
A useful reply names a number, a method, a personal experience, or a concrete example. If you could replace your draft with "I agree" and lose nothing, rewrite.
Have I read the top 3 comments already on this thread?
If the highest-upvoted reply already says what you were about to say, your comment will sink. Add what's missing — counterexamples, edge cases, the next step — not what's there.
Would my reply still work if my username was removed?
If it only makes sense because it promotes you, your product, or your platform, this sub will spot it. Frame the value as "this solved it for me," not "check out my…"
Did I skim the sidebar rules one more time?
Every sub has at least one rule that surprises outsiders — peer-review only, no images, no specific tags, no off-topic. Five seconds in the sidebar can save you a removal.
Want to draft this reply with the rules already baked in?
Try Redimates — free, 10 replies / week