About r/sweatystartup
A hub for entrepreneurs of regular old fashioned businesses.
The community at a glance
r/sweatystartup is a Subreddit for Founders and startup builders and Small Business Owners with roughly 208K members. It has been around since 2019. It uses a forum format for communication. It also includes an email newsletter. On the Hive Index it ranks #9 in the Small Business communities list.
Roughly 27K members have joined in the past year. Popular discussion topics include Business, Cleaning, and Service Business. Common discussion themes are Advice Requests and Pain & Anger. Product recommendations often mention septic tank treatment, venue booking system, and online booking system.
Community Topics
Community Features
This community has a forum
This community has an email newsletter of related content
Subreddit Analysis
via GummySearchMember growth over time
All time (yearly)
- 2020: 17K members
- 2023: 82K members
- 2024: 36K members
- 2025: 39K members
- 2026: 13K members
Past year (monthly)
- Sep: 3K members
- Oct: 2K members
- Nov: 4K members
- Dec: 3K members
- Jan: 2K members
- Feb: 2K members
- Mar: 2K members
- Apr: 2K members
- May: 2K members
- Jun: 1K members
- Jul: 2K members
- Aug: 62 members
Themes
- Advice Requests23 posts in the past month
- Some advice to prevent you from screwing yourself over for any job but specifically for Lawnmowing in this case
- I need advise 😩
- how are you finding new clients without relying on thumbtack or paying for ads?
#123Advice RequestsSome advice to prevent you from screwing yourself over for any job but specifically for Lawnmowing in this case · I need advise 😩 · how are you finding new clients without relying on thumbtack or paying for ads? - Pain & Anger8 posts in the past month
- Raised my prices by 60% and somehow got busier, trying to understand why.
- Quit corporate to buy an HVAC shop and local distributors are already ruining my margins lol
- paid a local influencer $400 for my pressure washing business and got zero calls
#28Pain & AngerRaised my prices by 60% and somehow got busier, trying to understand why. · Quit corporate to buy an HVAC shop and local distributors are already ruining my margins lol · paid a local influencer $400 for my pressure washing business and got zero calls - Solution Requests7 posts in the past month
- Issues with customers not paying solution?
- Tips on growing a solo residential cleaning business?
- Trying to optimize my cargo van office\daily non labor work setup. (A quick, organized, easy to reach\see for dealing with receipts, fuel receipts, logs\, notes, client consults, estimates, lunch, garbage)
#37Solution RequestsIssues with customers not paying solution? · Tips on growing a solo residential cleaning business? · Trying to optimize my cargo van office\daily non labor work setup. (A quick, organized, easy to reach\see for dealing with receipts, fuel receipts, logs\, notes, client consults, estimates, lunch, garbage) - Opportunities6 posts in the past month
- Software engineer thinking about starting a “dirty” service business….. am I crazy?
- Partnership in Handyman Business
- How do you guys manage the transition from "custom build" to actually scaling a product?
#46OpportunitiesSoftware engineer thinking about starting a “dirty” service business….. am I crazy? · Partnership in Handyman Business · How do you guys manage the transition from "custom build" to actually scaling a product? - Ideas5 posts in the past month
- College student with a free summer, 2k in savings, and a year to plan - side hustle ideas?
- Renting out generators (or something similar). Sense check + more ideas...
- Have an idea for side hustle but having trouble starting
#55IdeasCollege student with a free summer, 2k in savings, and a year to plan - side hustle ideas? · Renting out generators (or something similar). Sense check + more ideas... · Have an idea for side hustle but having trouble starting
Topics
- Business63 posts in the past month
- paid a local influencer $400 for my pressure washing business and got zero calls
- The more my business grows the less time I have to work on it
- With how the economy is right now, is it more worth it to create your own service business rather than beg for jobs?
#163Businesspaid a local influencer $400 for my pressure washing business and got zero calls · The more my business grows the less time I have to work on it · With how the economy is right now, is it more worth it to create your own service business rather than beg for jobs? - Cleaning16 posts in the past month
- Starting a Bin Cleaning Business
- Carpet, Sofa Cleaning Business.
- For the guys doing commercial cleaning, HVAC, or commercial landscaping for office buildings and clinics: How are you actually getting the decision-maker on the phone?
#216CleaningStarting a Bin Cleaning Business · Carpet, Sofa Cleaning Business. · For the guys doing commercial cleaning, HVAC, or commercial landscaping for office buildings and clinics: How are you actually getting the decision-maker on the phone? - Service Business13 posts in the past month
- What's actually generating leads for service businesses in 2026?
#313Service BusinessWhat's actually generating leads for service businesses in 2026? - Looking For12 posts in the past month#412Looking For
- Marketing11 posts in the past month
- Marketing a "sweaty startup" in one of the harshest climates. What local businesses are you guys scaling?
#511MarketingMarketing a "sweaty startup" in one of the harshest climates. What local businesses are you guys scaling?
Product recommendations
- septic tank treatment2 posts in the past month
- What is the Best Septic Tank Treatment?
- What is the Best Septic Tank Treatment?
#12septic tank treatmentWhat is the Best Septic Tank Treatment? · What is the Best Septic Tank Treatment? - venue booking system1 post in the past month
- Best Venue Booking System?
#21venue booking systemBest Venue Booking System? - online booking system1 post in the past month
- Recommended Online Booking System for a Residential cleaning company?
#31online booking systemRecommended Online Booking System for a Residential cleaning company?
Community Reviews
Frequently asked questions
- Who is r/sweatystartup for?
- Best for Founders and startup builders and Small Business Owners enthusiasts looking for a Reddit-based community with forum discussion.
- Is r/sweatystartup free to join?
- This listing is not marked as paid-only. Access rules and any fees are decided by the community.
- How many members does r/sweatystartup have?
- Roughly 208K members, based on figures reported by the community or its host. Member counts are approximate and change over time.
- What platform is r/sweatystartup on?
- r/sweatystartup runs on Reddit. Reddit communities (or "subreddits") are forum-based groups on the popular social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website Reddit. Reddit is commonly known as "the front page of the internet". Users submit content to the site such as links, text posts, and images, which are then voted up or down and discussed by other members. From investing Reddit communities, to professional ones, to ones just for laughs, you're likely to find a community for you on Reddit.
- What topics does r/sweatystartup cover?
- On the Hive Index, r/sweatystartup is organized under Founders and startup builders, Small Business Owners.
- How do I join r/sweatystartup?
- You can join r/sweatystartup by clicking this link, or pressing the "Go to community" button above.
- What are the Entrepreneurship communities like?
- One of the biggest categories on the site, covering everything from first-time startup founders to serial entrepreneurs scaling multiple businesses. You will find communities on Reddit, Discord, and Slack for idea validation, fundraising advice, hiring strategy, and the daily grind of building a startup or company. Good for finding peers at similar stages and getting honest feedback from people who have been through it.
Monthly Stats
- 13
- Views /mo (-50%)
- 11
- Visitors /mo (-42%)
- 1
- Referrals /mo (-75%)
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