Marketing · Do this yourself

Submit new startups to the directories that matter.

How it makes money: Charge founders $99 per launch package to submit their startup to the directories that matter.

Agent setup: Easy · One Grok Bot agent on a schedule, a no-code page and a checkout link. How we rate this

💰 u/startupsubmit: $5K+ total revenue since April (self-reported, r/indiehackers) $5K+ total revenue since April (self-reported, r/indiehackers)

🔥 127 posts this week · 23 likes

Based on u/startupsubmit on Reddit (opens in new tab)

Where this came from (Reddit)

Founders waste days submitting to hundreds of launch directories without knowing which ones help.

The threads (in our words)

Reddit blocks automated reads, so we couldn’t record upvote or comment counts. Revenue figures are the poster’s own claim (self-reported), not verified. The business below is our own design inspired by these threads.

Who it’s for

Indie founders and small SaaS teams launching products.

Adapt it to your industry

  • Start with one niche or customer type, then expand.
  • Ask your first 10 customers what they would pay before you build more.
  • Keep a human check on anything sent in a customer’s name.

Step by step

  1. Keep a vetted list of launch directories and their rules.
  2. Have an agent write each listing (tagline, description, categories) from the founder’s site.
  3. Submit where directories allow it, or hand the founder a checklist for the rest.
  4. Track live links and report them.
  5. Sell one-time packages by Stripe.
  6. Grow by posting results and tips on X and in founder communities.

Ready-to-copy prompt

Here is my product site: [URL text]. Write a tagline under 60 characters, a 160-character summary, a 500-word description and 5 categories for startup directories.

Start with AI

Opens the AI with this guide and the prompt filled in.

Open in ChatGPT (opens in new tab)Open in Claude (opens in new tab)Open in Grok (opens in new tab)
Time
2–6 weeks for a first versionOur estimate

Your autonomous stack

Autonomy: Agents draft, schedule and report on content for each client. Your part: Weekly: skim the queue and client reports (about 1 hour).

Every layer an agent-run business needs, in order. Prices are public list prices, checked Oct 16, 2026.

  1. Agent (the brain): Grok Bot (agent + scheduled routines) (opens in new tab) (Included with The X Subscription Premium $30/mo (Super $100/mo for more usage; Plus $8 does not include Grok Bot)). Grok Bot runs the business day to day: writes, answers, decides small things and reports to you. Claude Code or Codex are alternatives.
  2. Build and hosting: Vercel hosting (opens in new tab) (Hobby free · Pro $20/mo). The product or service your customers use.
  3. Payments: Stripe payments (opens in new tab) (No monthly fee · 2.9% + 30¢ per card payment). Automatic checkout and receipts. Other options: PayPal Checkout (3.49% + 49¢) or Lemon Squeezy (5% + 50¢, handles sales tax).
  4. Customer acquisition: Buffer (scheduled X posts) (opens in new tab) (Free plan (3 channels, 10 queued posts each) · Essentials $5/mo per channel, billed yearly), beehiiv newsletter (opens in new tab) (Free up to 2,500 subscribers), Apollo (find business emails) (opens in new tab) (Free tier · Basic $65/mo). Agent-written SEO pages, scheduled X posts and a weekly newsletter, plus cold email to businesses that follow CAN-SPAM/GDPR (real sender, opt-out link, no bought consumer lists).
  5. Delivery: Grok Bot (agent + scheduled routines) (opens in new tab) (Included with The X Subscription Premium $30/mo (Super $100/mo for more usage; Plus $8 does not include Grok Bot)). A Grok Bot routine delivers the product or result as soon as someone pays.
  6. Support: Grok Bot (agent + scheduled routines) (opens in new tab) (Included with The X Subscription Premium $30/mo (Super $100/mo for more usage; Plus $8 does not include Grok Bot)). Grok Bot answers the support inbox; anything unclear is flagged for you.
  7. Monitoring and schedule: Grok Bot (agent + scheduled routines) (opens in new tab) (Included with The X Subscription Premium $30/mo (Super $100/mo for more usage; Plus $8 does not include Grok Bot)). Grok Bot scheduled routines run each day: send, check for failures, alert you if something breaks.
  8. Analytics: Google Analytics (opens in new tab) (Free). Tracks visits, signups and sales so the agent can report what works.
  9. Human checkpoint: Weekly: skim the queue and client reports (about 1 hour).
  10. Price: charge $99 per package (one-time submission package). Offer the first 3 customers a founding price for honest feedback.
Monthly cost$30–$120/monthFree tiers → paid plans of the tools above. Card fees come out of each sale.
What you could earn · EstimateEstimate: 20 packages a month × $99 = $1,980/moOur estimate, not a fact or a promise. It’s simple math if you land these customers at this price.
Details: source, numbers and tags

What they did

Agents prepare listings and track submissions to vetted launch directories for founders. We designed this business from real Reddit threads; it is an idea for you to build, not a description of the posters’ businesses.

How it went

Found on Reddit in r/indiehackers (2 threads). Upvote and comment counts weren’t retrievable, so none are shown. On X, 127 posts matched our search for this idea in the 7 days to 2026-10-16.

Worth knowing

Follow each directory’s rules; no fake accounts or votes.

Difficulty
BeginnerOur rating
Time to build
Not reportedOur estimate
Monthly cost
Not reported
Revenue
$5K+ total revenue since April (self-reported, r/indiehackers)Self-reported: The founder’s own claim; not verified by us
Engagement
No public countThe source shows no number
X buzz
26.6 · 127 posts in 7 days23 likes, 4 reposts, 21 replies, 1 quotes on 23 top posts · fetched Oct 16, 2026 · query: ("directory submission" OR "submit to directories" OR "launch directories" OR "startup directories") -is:retweet lang:en

Posted · Added Oct 16, 2026

Original builder recipe

  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  1. Keep a vetted list of launch directories and their rules.
  2. Have an agent write each listing (tagline, description, categories) from the founder’s site.
  3. Submit where directories allow it, or hand the founder a checklist for the rest.
  4. Track live links and report them.
  5. Sell one-time packages by Stripe.
  6. Grow by posting results and tips on X and in founder communities.

Tags

Read the original

More ideas like this

no count

No X data

NEW Marketing

Sell AI local SEO software to local businesses

LocalRank.so is an all-in-one AI tool for local SEO: Google Business Profile, local rankings and content.

💰 $20,329 MRR, verified via Stripe on TrustMRR (synced 2026-10-16)Advancedby Jacky Chou

The weekly top 5.

The five hottest AI business ideas on X each week, with the steps and costs. Free.