Grow a Business to $1,000 MRR

Proof required

Submit your problem statement (1 paragraph), a summary of 10 customer conversations (one paragraph per conversation: who you talked to, what they said, and what you learned), and your decision: build or pivot, with the reason. Each conversation summary must include what the person currently does to solve the problem today.

What gets checked

• At least 10 conversations, each with a different person — not 10 conversations with the same 3 people
• Each summary includes what the person currently does to solve the problem — behavior beats opinion as validation evidence
• At least one pivot or scope change happened as a result of the conversations — if your original idea is unchanged, you did not learn enough

Common mistakes

• Asking 'would you pay for this?' instead of 'how are you solving this today?' — people lie about future behavior; current behavior is the truth
• Only talking to friends who want to encourage you — they will not tell you the problem is not real
• Moving to M2 without at least 3 people saying 'I want this now' — enthusiasm without urgency is not validation

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Count the conversations: fewer than 10 is not milestone-complete regardless of quality
• Check for diversity: if all 10 people are the same type (same job, age, community), validation is narrow and the submitter should note that risk
• Look for the pivot: if there is none, ask the submitter what stayed the same versus what changed — genuine learning almost always produces at least one scope adjustment

Proof required

Share the public URL (or Gumroad/Stripe payment page for a service), a screenshot of the landing page, and a link to a launch post you published publicly (on HN, Reddit, LinkedIn, or a relevant community — not just a tweet). The post must include a real description of the problem and solution.

What gets checked

• The product is accessible at a public URL with a working payment mechanism — not a waitlist or a PDF
• The launch post is findable and describes the specific problem and solution — no vague 'AI tools for X' copy
• The payment mechanism is active — clicking it proceeds to a real payment step, not a 'coming soon' message

Common mistakes

• Building for 3 months before launching — by month 3 you are attached to the product and early feedback becomes harder to act on
• Adding feature 2 before feature 1 has any users — every hour on feature 2 before feature 1 is validated is waste
• Launching to a community where your target customer is not present — a B2B tool for accountants does not need a Product Hunt launch

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Open the URL at review time — do not rely on screenshots; the live URL must work
• Click the payment button and confirm it proceeds to a real payment step — pending or 'coming soon' states are not M2-complete
• The launch post must be linked and publicly findable — posts with replies or upvotes carry more weight than posts with no engagement

Proof required

Screenshot of your Stripe Dashboard (or equivalent) showing at least one successful payment from an email address you did not previously know. Include the date, amount, and payment status (must show 'Succeeded', not 'Pending'). Optionally include a short quote from the customer about why they paid.

What gets checked

• Payment is from a real external customer — 'my friend paid to help me out' does not count
• Payment status shows 'Succeeded' — not pending, refunded, or in dispute
• The email domain in the screenshot is not a personal address of someone the founder knows personally

Common mistakes

• Waiting for inbound instead of doing direct outreach — the first customer almost never arrives without founder effort; reach out personally to your M1 validation list
• Not following up after launch — most people who say 'I'll try it later' forget in 48 hours; a personal follow-up email within 24 hours of launch converts far better
• Charging too little out of fear of rejection — $10/month pricing signals low value; charge at least $29+ for anything with recurring value

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Verify the email domain in the payment screenshot — if it is a personal email of someone the founder knows, ask them to confirm it was an organic acquisition
• Confirm payment status shows 'Succeeded' — not refunded or in dispute
• Amount is not a quality signal — a $1 test payment from a genuine stranger is more valuable as evidence than a $99 payment from a family member

Proof required

Screenshot of your Stripe MRR dashboard or ChartMogul showing ≥$100 MRR, with the current date visible. Alternatively, screenshot the Customers tab showing ≥3 active subscriptions with their subscription amounts. The timestamp must match the claimed date.

What gets checked

• MRR is from active subscriptions, not one-time payments — a single $100 purchase is not $100 MRR
• The figure comes from Stripe, ChartMogul, or equivalent — self-calculated spreadsheets are not accepted
• At least 2 customers contribute to the MRR — single-customer MRR is too fragile to call a milestone

Common mistakes

• Counting annual plans at their full value — a $360 annual plan = $30 MRR, not $360
• Treating trials as MRR — $100 MRR means $100 that has been charged and settled, not 10 trial users who might convert
• Not following up on failed payment notifications — Stripe flags failed cards; manually follow up within 24 hours or you will lose the customer

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• The MRR figure must come from Stripe, ChartMogul, or a connected analytics tool — ask for the data source if it is unclear
• Count active subscriptions in the screenshot — if fewer than 2 unique customers, ask for clarification
• Verify the screenshot date matches the claimed milestone date — screenshots can be taken at any time from any state of the account

Proof required

Two screenshots of your MRR dashboard 30 days apart, both showing ≥$1,000 MRR, with dates visible. Also provide your current monthly churn rate and how you calculated it — even if the number is high. A known churn rate, whatever it is, is more mature than not measuring churn.

What gets checked

• $1,000+ MRR confirmed in two screenshots 30 days apart — a single screenshot at $1,000 does not meet the 30-day hold requirement
• Churn rate is disclosed with calculation methodology — even high churn (20%+) is accepted; undisclosed churn is not
• Revenue comes from at least 5 distinct customers — fewer than 5 means you have a concentration risk, not a business milestone

Common mistakes

• Celebrating at $1K on day 1 then losing 3 customers before the 30-day mark — one day at $1K is not the milestone; the 30-day hold is the standard
• Discounting aggressively to reach $1K, destroying unit economics — a customer paying $5/month from a discount is worth less than they appear
• Ignoring churn while chasing new revenue — if 3 customers leave for every 4 who join, you will never reach $2K

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Both screenshots must be present and show dates 30 days apart — one screenshot at $1K is not sufficient
• Churn rate must be disclosed — if the submitter does not know their churn, ask them to calculate it before approving; knowing it is a prerequisite for scale
• Customer count: fewer than 5 contributing customers is a fragile milestone; acknowledge it in your review comments but do not block approval on this basis alone