r/Entrepreneur
Our community brings together individuals driven by a shared commitment to problem-solving, professional networking, and collaborative innovation, all with the goal of making a positive impact. We welcome a diverse range of pursuits, from side projects and small businesses to venture-backed startups and solo ventures. However, this is a space for genuine connection and exchange of ideas, not self-promotion. Please refrain from promoting personal blogs, consulting services, books, MLMs, opinions.
Self-promotion
Rule 1 explicitly bans promotion, sales, solicitation, driving traffic, or telling people to check profiles or DM, with free offers restricted to designated weekly threads; violations can mean a permanent ban.
Patterns that work
Recurring patterns in the top 100 posts of the past year. Counts and scores are measured from those posts.
- Score lift1.0×About the same
Ask-the-crowd wealth question
10 of 100 top posts 10%
A direct question posed to high-net-worth or successful members asking how they achieved a specific financial milestone.
Why it works: Low effort to post but generates long threads because everyone has an opinion or story about wealth.
Top posts using it - Score lift1.1×About the same
Milestone or exit reveal with number
8 of 100 top posts 8%
Post announces a concrete financial milestone, sale, or revenue figure as the hook.
Why it works: Specific numbers create instant credibility and curiosity, prompting requests for details in comments.
Top posts using it- Sold my business695 upvotes
- Third exit458 upvotes
- I almost died. A year later I built a business that changed my life.412 upvotes
- Score lift1.1×About the same
Uncomfortable truth callout
6 of 100 top posts 6%
Post asserts a blunt, often contrarian claim about entrepreneurship, business failure, or the audience itself.
Why it works: Provocation drives engagement through agreement, argument, and personal anecdotes in comments.
Top posts using it - Score lift1.3×
Quit job for business reveal
5 of 100 top posts 5%
Poster narrates leaving a stable or high-paying job to pursue entrepreneurship, detailing the emotional and financial stakes.
Why it works: Taps into a core fantasy/fear of the audience and invites vicarious risk-taking commentary.
Top posts using it- I quit my $300k finance job at 30 because I finally admitted I hated it - and the lifestyle downgrade has been absolutely brutal.3,977 upvotes
- Got laid off 33 days ago. Here's everything I've built since.653 upvotes
- A year ago I quit my 9–5 and posted here and went viral. Today I’m back with an update.472 upvotes
How top posts are laid out
Most top posts read as a short personal narrative that opens with context, builds through a specific turning point or lesson, and closes with reflection or an invitation for discussion.
- Opening line establishing identity, job, or business context
- Statement of the specific event, decision, or number that triggered the post
- Short paragraphs expanding on what happened or was learned, often chronological
- Occasional bolded or numbered list when giving advice or steps
- Closing reflection, emotional statement, or direct question to readers
Best times to post
- #1 Sat, 9–10am ET
- #2 Fri, 5–6pm ET
- #3 Thu, 4–5pm ET
When the top 100 posts of the past year were published, in US Eastern time. Each square counts the posts that went up in that hour.
What formats win
100%text posts. Nothing else made the top.
Share of the top 100 posts of the past year by post type.
What top titles have in common
- Confessional first-person reveal of a decision or outcome, often starting with 'I' ("I quit my $300k finance job").
- Numbers and dollar amounts used as credibility hooks ("$1,000,000 from 100 outbound emails").
- Blunt or provocative claims that challenge conventional wisdom ("most of you shouldn't be entrepreneurs").
- Open-ended questions inviting crowd wisdom, often aimed at a specific wealth or income tier ("People with a net worth of $10M+, how did you do it?").
- Loneliness or emotional-cost framing paired with entrepreneurship ("no one talks about how lonely entrepreneurship really is").
The culture
The subreddit functions as a mix of confessional diary and informal advisory board for founders, where raw personal narratives about risk, failure, loneliness, and financial outcomes outperform polished advice or generic questions; members clearly value authenticity and specificity over generic hustle-culture content.
It rewards vulnerable, detailed personal stories with concrete numbers or stakes, and blunt contrarian takes that spark debate, while it ignores or removes vague get-rich-quick questions, reposted blog content, AI-generated text, and anything reading as promotional.
Do
- Open with a specific personal stake (dollar figure, job title, or timeframe) in the first line.
- Use plain paragraph storytelling rather than marketing language or bullet-heavy pitches.
- Engage in other threads before posting your own, since participation is a stated rule.
- End posts with an open question or invitation for others to share their experience.
- Keep claims grounded in real, specific entrepreneurial experience rather than hypotheticals.
Don't
- Don't include links, DMs requests, or profile mentions anywhere in the post or comments.
- Don't post vague 'how do I get rich' or opinion-only content with no real experience behind it.
- Don't submit AI-generated text or thinly disguised blog reposts.
- Don't frame the post as a pitch for a course, service, or consulting offer.
- Don't repost commonly seen threads or duplicate the exact same discussion format others already used.
Rules (5)
01No promotion, sales, or solicitation
Do not use this community to sell, promote, recruit, hire, job-seek, solicit investment, or drive traffic to your profile, company, or external content. No dropping URLs, asking users to DM you, telling people to check your profile, or offering private resources. No crypto or investment pitches. Free offers and promotions belong only in the designated weekly threads. Violations may result in a permanent ban.
02Civility and inclusivity
Be civil and professional to those around you. Personal attacks, hostility, harassment, discrimination, or unprofessional conduct are not tolerated. Treat others like colleagues. If someone is abusive, report them. Do not escalate or engage.
03Posting requirements and contribution standards
You must participate in the comments of other posts on this subreddit before posting yourself. Engage meaningfully first and get to know the community. Posts must be specific, practical, and grounded in real entrepreneurial effort. “How do I make $X?” or get-rich-quick style posts will be removed. Low-effort, vague, diary-style, or purely opinion-based posts are not a fit here.
04Original and human content only
Posts must be original to this community. Do not repost content from blogs, other subreddits, or duplicate common threads. AI-generated posts or comments are not permitted. If your content is generated by AI, it may be removed and may result in a ban.
05AMAs must be approved
Amas requests can be sent directly to modmail. Users must have a positive history of contribution on Reddit, have a story to tell that would specifically appeal to the subreddit, and meet our posting standards. In your message to the moderation team, please detail how your AMA will uniquely benefit the community.
Top posts this month
- Business is failing. No idea what to do next.298 upvotes302 commentstext
- 2008 Crash. What business booms in economy downturn? Was your business affected?256 upvotes159 commentstext
- Why do people sell startups that are already making decent money?246 upvotes128 commentstext
- What’s an employee appreciation gift people actually liked?223 upvotes254 commentstext
- How did I accidentally ended up making a successful startup...!197 upvotes82 commentstext
- Now that anyone can build a web or mobile app, what's the real competitive advantage?146 upvotes268 commentstext
- Do most successful founders end up without a family life137 upvotes96 commentstext
- Business is tough...125 upvotes109 commentstext
- One short drama made our 5-person team $120k in 30 days102 upvotes34 commentstext
Similar subreddits
Want this for any subreddit?
Know what works before you write: rules, self-promo limits, timing, formats and culture for the communities you care about. Then check your draft against them before you post.