r/startups for B2B sellers
2,141,140 members · rules and posts checked 17 October 2026
r/startups is a startup discussion community with about 2,141,140 members, and its moderation is strict. Sellers can take part by sharing useful startup knowledge. Direct sales, advertising and self-promotion are banned outside the areas moderators have set aside for them.
People here often ask for recommendations, alternatives and real-world feedback on software, vendors, hiring, operations, finance, HR, growth and technical startup tools. Most of these requests are about weighing options and hearing how other founders fared.
Self-promotion: strict
Direct sales, advertising, and self-promotion are prohibited. Promotion is only allowed in specific moderator-designated threads such as the startup-sharing thread, and other special content types (feedback requests, AMAs, blogs) have tightly controlled locations or approval requirements.
1Relevant Content Only
Post only about startups, not traditional businesses.
2No direct sales, advertisements, or promotion
Do not advertise, sell, or promote yourself except in the designated startup-sharing thread.
3Submissions Serve a Specific Purpose
Discuss startup topics without naming or linking your own project, and do not post legal questions.
4Feedback Has a Place
Feedback requests, surveys, and polls must go in the designated feedback thread.
5Rules for Links in Comments/Discussion
Only share relevant non-affiliate links in comments and explain why they matter.
6Do Not Solicit PM Requests / Post DM Notices
Do not ask people to contact you by DM or post that you sent a DM.
7Sharing Your Blog is To Start a Discussion, Never For Self-Promotion
Your own blog content requires prior mod approval and cannot be used for self-promotion.
8Always Be Kind and Supportive
Be respectful and constructive when interacting with others.
9No Unscheduled AMAs
AMAs require moderator approval and advance scheduling.
Summarised from the community's posted rules on 17 October 2026. Moderators change rules; read the current rules before you post.
What buyers ask for here
Sample requests from public posts, paraphrased and anonymised, found 17 October 2026.
- “Seeking affordable AR SDK or similar technology for a beauty app with virtual try-on features.”
- “Looking for alternatives to an online banking platform for a tech startup.”
- “Seeking a technical cofounder to help build a startup in exchange for a cofounder role.”
- “Looking for alternatives to a cap-table management platform and feedback on competing vendors.”
- “Hiring first technical team member and seeking advice on recruiting an intern who may convert full-time.”
- “Seeking advice on whether to use an employer-of-record service or establish a local entity for one employee.”
- “Evaluating an integration platform vendor and looking for user experience and implementation feedback.”
- “Looking for tools or methods to track competitors’ marketing activities across channels.”
- “Seeking lower-cost alternatives to expensive lead-generation and contact-enrichment tools.”
- “Looking for forecasting tools and workflows used for sales, demand, revenue, inventory, or staffing forecasts.”
Of 147 recent posts we checked, 7% read as someone looking to buy or hire. How we collect this
Who it suits
Good for
- B2B SaaS products for startups
- Developer tools and engineering software
- Startup operations, finance, legal and HR services
- Marketing, sales and growth software for founders
Less useful for
- Aggressive lead-generation or cold-pitch services
- Direct-response advertising sellers
- Businesses focused on non-startup local or traditional small-business topics
How to take part without getting removed
- Keep contributions on startup topics, not traditional business topics.
- Do not advertise, sell, or promote yourself or your product outside the designated startup-sharing thread.
- When discussing startup topics, don't name or link your own project.
- Put feedback requests, surveys and polls in the designated feedback thread.
- Share only relevant non-affiliate links in comments, and say why each one is useful.
- Do not ask people to contact you by DM or post notices that you sent a DM. Keep interactions respectful and constructive.
What a good reply looks like here
Good replies answer the question directly and share relevant experience or evaluation criteria. They help the founder decide without pitching a product or pushing for private contact.
Sample reply: For an affordable AR SDK for a beauty app, I would compare options on virtual try-on accuracy, device support, implementation effort, mobile performance, and how pricing changes as you scale. If you can, build a small proof of concept with a few candidates and check image quality, face tracking stability and integration complexity before you commit. Teams that have already launched similar features can also tell you about limitations the product documentation doesn't make obvious.
When to skip r/startups
This community is usually not worth prioritizing if your approach depends on aggressive lead generation, cold pitching, direct-response advertising or promoting services directly. It is also a poor fit for businesses built around local or traditional small-business topics, since the discussion here stays on startups.
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