Intentsly turned a personal failure story into its first paying customer

Product snapshot

Intentsly is a tool that finds people already showing interest in what you offer on platforms like LinkedIn, Reddit, and X. It then automatically reaches out, starts conversations, and helps turn those prospects into booked meetings.

Before the first customer

The founder built Intentsly to solve a problem they knew well finding leads who were actually open to a sales conversation. The idea was not brand new because an earlier MVP had reached $600 in monthly revenue four years earlier, but the project was shut down during a hard period in life. Before the first paying customer this time around, the founder tried X, TikTok ads, and cold email, but X had almost no reach, TikTok burned a few hundred dollars on the wrong audience, and cold email replies stayed below 3 percent.

What actually worked

The first real traction came from a Reddit post in r/Solopreneurs, where the founder shared a personal story about running a software agency that failed after seven years, going bankrupt, and eventually building a product that solved a problem the founder already had. That post got a few thousand views and brought in about 40 signups. The founder then emailed each new user directly, started real conversations, and offered hands on setup help to the people who replied.

The breakthrough moment

One of those users was Kyle Sparzo from LogicMelon (LogicMelon is a recruitment software platform), who was interested but skeptical. The founder reduced the risk by letting Kyle use the tool for free until it booked the first meeting, then helped with setup and made sure the tool was working in a real sales flow. Within three days Intentsly booked two or three meetings, and Kyle became a paying customer at $59 because the value was no longer a promise but a result he could see.

Key takeaway

The winning move was not just posting on Reddit. It was pairing a story that felt real with direct follow up and a low risk offer that made it easy for a skeptical buyer to try the product. People often do not pay for potential on day one, but they will pay quickly when the founder helps them reach a clear outcome.

How you can apply this

Share the problem behind your product in a place where your exact buyers already spend time, and make the story honest enough that people want to respond. When signups come in, talk to them one by one, help them get set up, and remove risk with an offer tied to a real result. Once you see what works, use your own product or process to repeat that motion every day, just like the founder now uses Intentsly and LinkedIn outreach to book two or three calls daily.