Customer Feedback for Product Success with Muneeb Awan

Like many startups, PostNitro didn’t start with its current idea. It began as a Twitter automation tool until Elon Musk’s API changes forced a complete reset.

With two months of development scrapped, the team had to rethink everything. During this transition, Muneeb Awan promoted its original product by designing carousel posts and infographics. The process was frustrating. Manual, time-consuming, and inefficient.

That’s when they saw the opportunity:

1. People needed a faster, easier way to create carousel posts.
2. Existing tools weren’t built specifically for this format.
3. There was a clear gap in the market.

Instead of dwelling on the failed Twitter tool, they shifted their focus. PostNitro became a platform designed to simplify carousel post creation. They built and launched an MVP in three months, gathering feedback and iterating based on real user needs.

Validating the Idea Before Writing a Single Line of Code

Before building PostNitro, Muneeb didn’t jump straight into development. He started by talking to potential users.

As a developer, design had never been his focus, so he reached out to:

• Other developers to understand their struggles with design.
• Social media marketers to see what slowed them down in creating content.

The feedback was clear:

a. Designing carousel posts was too time-consuming.

b. Aligning elements, choosing colors, and formatting were frustrating and inefficient.

c. There was strong interest in a tool that simplified the process.

Instead of assuming demand…

Muneeb pitched the idea before building anything. When they launched the MVP, the same people who gave early feedback became their first users, providing insights that helped refine the product.

By validating first, they avoided wasting time on the wrong solution and built something people actually wanted.

Building in Public

For every founder who gains traction by building in public, there are many more who post into the void. The idea sounds simple: share your journey, attract an audience, and turn that attention into growth. But does it actually work?

Most founders make the same mistake. They treat “building in public” as a content strategy when it’s really about community and engagement.

Posting Alone Doesn’t Work

The reason most founders fail at this? They post updates and expect engagement to happen. But social platforms don’t reward passive broadcasting. They prioritize real conversations. (For a little more insight, check Zach Barney’s latest appearance on the PR Podcast)

Instead of just sharing wins, the people who succeed:

1. Interact daily with their industry. They don’t wait for engagement. They create it by replying to relevant posts.
2. Share the entire journey. Wins are easy to celebrate, but real connection happens when you share failures, lessons, and pivots.
3. Become a resource. Founders who attract an audience often do so by answering questions, offering insights, and being useful first.

Growing an Audience That Actually Cares

Muneeb started with just 23 Twitter followers. Instead of chasing vanity metrics, he focused on engaging in the right conversations. By replying to relevant posts, tracking competitor discussions, and being active in his niche, he built an engaged base of 560+ real followers. People who actually cared about what he was creating.

It wasn’t about mass exposure. It was about consistent, valuable interactions. 

Over time, these relationships led to:

• Higher-quality feedback that shaped product decisions.
• Word-of-mouth growth as engaged followers shared his work.
• A network of experienced founders who helped refine his strategy.

How Founders Can Make Building in Public Work

If you’re considering using Twitter, LinkedIn, or other platforms to grow your business, don’t think of it as just marketing.

Think of it as networking at scale.

1. Find where your audience already hangs out. Not every industry is active on Twitter. some are on LinkedIn, others in niche forums or Slack groups.
2. Engage before you post. The easiest way to gain traction is to start conversations on other people’s posts.
3. Provide value, not just updates. Share learnings, not just milestones. Answer questions, not just announce features.
4. Use tools to track relevant discussions. Twitter’s pro features allow you to save search terms and reply in real time, making engagement easier.

When and How to Monetize

Turning a free product into a revenue-generating business is one of the hardest transitions for a founder. How do you introduce pricing without killing momentum? How do you convert free users into paying customers without driving them away?

PostNitro switched after building a base of 15,000+ active users, most from Twitter. The decision wasn’t rushed. 

The team focused on:

• Refining the product through real user feedback before charging.
• Building integrations with major platforms to strengthen value.
• Testing pricing models and eliminating what didn’t work.

Why Partnerships Were a Growth Catalyst

One challenge with a carousel design tool? Distribution. Creating content is one thing, but how do users post and schedule it efficiently? Instead of building a scheduling feature from scratch, PostNitro partnered with established social media management platforms.

This approach:

1. Solved a key user problem without adding unnecessary complexity.
2. Increased visibility as each integration introduced PostNitro to new audiences.
3. Created a domino effect, where one partnership led to many more.

Their first integration with CircleBoom led to partnerships with Content Studio and more than 40 other platforms.

Introducing Paid Plans Without Losing Free Users

PostNitro launched its first pricing plans, keeping a free tier with limited functionality. Instead of forcing all users to pay, they:

• Segmented users based on needs, offering plans for solopreneurs and agencies.
• Tracked which plans were working and cut the ones that weren’t converting.
• Optimized over time based on real usage patterns.

Key Lessons for Founders Monetizing a Free Product

1. Don’t rush pricing. Validate demand and refine the product before charging.
2. Solve for distribution. If your product requires another tool to be fully useful, partner instead of building everything in-house.
3. Use free users strategically. They can fuel word-of-mouth growth, provide feedback, and later convert to paid plans.
4. Iterate on pricing. Launch with multiple options, then refine based on adoption and feedback.

Conclusion

PostNitro’s growth was about solving a real problem, validating demand early, and engaging with the right audience.

Their approach highlights key lessons for founders:

1. Validate before building to avoid wasted effort.
2. Engage, don’t just post. Real growth comes from conversations.
3. Retention proves product-market fit. Renewals and referrals matter more than signups.
4. Monetization is an evolution, not a switch. Test, refine, and adapt.

Want to create high-quality carousels for LinkedIn, Instagram, and more? Try PostNitro.

Looking to build a repeatable outbound sales engine? Predictable Revenue can help you!

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