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 213K 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 #4 in the Small Business communities list.
Roughly 25K members have joined in the past year. Popular discussion topics include Business, Looking For, and Struggling. Common discussion themes are Advice Requests and Solution Requests. 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: 18K members
Past year (monthly)
- 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: 2K members
- Sep: 2K members
- Oct: 798 members
Themes
- Advice Requests10 posts in the past month
- Leaving tech in ~2 years to own an HVAC/blue collar business. I could use some advice
- Thinking about starting a 3v3 youth basketball league — anyone have experience with this?
- Odor removal business in Dallas, 3 months in. How do you find consistent leads?
#110Advice RequestsLeaving tech in ~2 years to own an HVAC/blue collar business. I could use some advice · Thinking about starting a 3v3 youth basketball league — anyone have experience with this? · Odor removal business in Dallas, 3 months in. How do you find consistent leads? - Solution Requests6 posts in the past month
- Transportation for employees in a cleaning business?
- Post-Construction Cleaning – 4,750 sq. ft. Fast Food Restaurant Quoting Help!
- Business owners: How do you manage bookings, inventory, and daily operations in one place?
#26Solution RequestsTransportation for employees in a cleaning business? · Post-Construction Cleaning – 4,750 sq. ft. Fast Food Restaurant Quoting Help! · Business owners: How do you manage bookings, inventory, and daily operations in one place? - Ideas4 posts in the past month
- If your parents had 5 acres of land, what skills would you develop for businesses purposes?
- Weighing 2 business ideas. Which would you bet on?
- Dumb question: Would esports promotion be considered a sweaty startup?
#34IdeasIf your parents had 5 acres of land, what skills would you develop for businesses purposes? · Weighing 2 business ideas. Which would you bet on? · Dumb question: Would esports promotion be considered a sweaty startup? - Pain & Anger3 posts in the past month
- Denver SMB owners - what's eating your time?
- Why the gap between finishing a job and getting paid quietly kills so many service businesses
- If you're selling internationally, what's your biggest payment headache?
#43Pain & AngerDenver SMB owners - what's eating your time? · Why the gap between finishing a job and getting paid quietly kills so many service businesses · If you're selling internationally, what's your biggest payment headache? - Self-Promotion2 posts in the past month
- Starting a TCG Vending Machine Business
- We Built a Six-Figure Dog Poop Business in About 18 Months. AMA.
#52Self-PromotionStarting a TCG Vending Machine Business · We Built a Six-Figure Dog Poop Business in About 18 Months. AMA.
Topics
- Business34 posts in the past month
- If your parents had 5 acres of land, what skills would you develop for businesses purposes?
- Weighing 2 business ideas. Which would you bet on?
- 28 years old, former Army equipment operator, current business owner. Thinking about starting a small excavation company.
#134BusinessIf your parents had 5 acres of land, what skills would you develop for businesses purposes? · Weighing 2 business ideas. Which would you bet on? · 28 years old, former Army equipment operator, current business owner. Thinking about starting a small excavation company. - Looking For12 posts in the past month#212Looking For
- Struggling10 posts in the past month#310Struggling
- Clients7 posts in the past month#47Clients
- Cleaning6 posts in the past month#56Cleaning
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 213K 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
- 51
- Views /mo (+168%)
- 48
- Visitors /mo (+200%)
- 7
- Referrals /mo (+75%)
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