How Diego Built a $17K MRR SaaS with Fewer Than 100 Followers on X — The Reddit Marketing Playbook

How Diego Built a $17K MRR SaaS with Fewer Than 100 Followers on X — The Reddit Marketing Playbook

Introduction: Building Big Without an Audience

Conventional startup wisdom says you need a large audience to launch a successful SaaS. Diego’s story shatters that myth.

In just 4 months, with less than 100 followers on X (Twitter), no YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram presence, Diego built an AI-powered design SaaS making $17,000 in monthly recurring revenue (MRR) — and he did it entirely using Reddit, spending $0 on ads.

This article breaks down how Diego used Reddit to validate, launch, and scale his product App Alchemi — plus his tech stack, costs, and the biggest lessons learned.

How I Used Reddit to Hit $17K MRR (With ZERO Audience)

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From Idea to MVP: Building App Alchemi in 2 Weeks

Diego’s SaaS, App Alchemi, is an AI-powered platform that generates mobile app designs quickly, similar to how Cursor accelerates coding.

The idea came from his own pain point — paying hundreds of dollars to designers on Upwork, plus more each time he wanted minor design changes. He realized he could automate the design process with AI and save people time and money.

Rather than overthinking, he:

• Built a minimal viable product (MVP) in 2 weeks

• Focused on speed, not perfection

• Started marketing on day one

This early launch mindset helped him validate fast and start generating revenue almost immediately.

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Why Reddit Is the Ultimate Underrated Growth Channel

While most SaaS founders chase Twitter or LinkedIn audiences, Diego chose Reddit — and it paid off massively:

• Over 20,000 signups

• More than 1,000 paying customers

• About 20K monthly site visits

• Achieved $17K MRR with zero paid ads

Why Reddit worked:

• Free organic reach (if done correctly)

• Ultra-precise targeting via niche subreddits

• Authentic communities receptive to value-driven posts

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Diego’s Reddit Marketing Playbook

Here’s the exact 5-step Reddit strategy Diego used to get 1M+ eyeballs on his product:

1. Warm Up Your Reddit Account

• Start using Reddit daily

• Comment, upvote, and post to build karma

• This avoids new account posts getting auto-filtered

2. Build a Subreddit Target List

• Use Reddit Ads (no payment needed) to find related communities

• Go both broad and niche to maximize reach

• Example: searching “no-code” reveals design, development, and product-building communities

3. Craft Value-First Organic Posts

• Never start with “Check out my product”

• Instead, share valuable content (case studies, insights, how-tos) then subtly plug your product

• Structure of winning posts:

  • Catchy headline

  • Useful content

  • Natural product link at the end

4. Cross-Post for Volume

• Post the same content to 10+ subreddits

• Volume increases chances of hitting the front page

• Even 10K views per post across 10 subs = 100K impressions

5. Repeat, Experiment, Iterate

• Post 2–3 times per week

• Try new formats: videos, screenshots, tutorials, stories

• Track what resonates and double down

This playbook helped Diego go viral without being spammy, which is crucial to succeeding on Reddit.

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Tech Stack, Costs, and Profit Margins

Diego kept his tech simple and his burn rate low:

Tech Stack

• Cursor (AI-assisted coding)

• Next.js + React (frontend frameworks)

• Firebase (auth + database)

• Vercel (hosting)

Monthly Costs

• Cursor: $20

• Vercel: $40

• AI backends: ~$2,500

Margins: ~70% profit — typical of lean solo-founder SaaS.

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Key Lessons from Building a No-Audience SaaS

Here are Diego’s biggest takeaways from his journey:

• Solve a real, growing problem — Don’t build for shrinking markets

• Prioritize distribution over features — Marketing drives growth, not feature bloat

• Use speed as your advantage — Solo founders win by moving faster than bigger competitors

• Validate early and launch fast — You can always improve later

“Right now is the best time to build. If you have an idea, get an MVP out there and start marketing it immediately.” — Diego

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The Final Word: You Don’t Need an Audience — You Need Action

Diego’s journey proves that audience-first isn’t the only path to success.

By:

• Solving his own problem

• Building quickly

• Leveraging a high-intent platform like Reddit

…he achieved $17K MRR in just 4 months — with fewer than 100 followers anywhere.

If you’ve been waiting to start your SaaS until you “build an audience,” stop waiting and start building.