How I would win
@colosseum again, as a 2x winner.
Following up on my previous post, lots of you were asking me great questions via DM so i decided to share more specific advice.
This is exactly what I would do if I was entering today.
1. Start with Superteam
Find your local
@Superteam.
Tell them exactly what you’re building, ask for feedback, book mentor sessions, speak with the ecosystem leads.
Do this early, not 2 days before submission.
2. Build something you actually understand
I would ignore any “startup ideas” ChatGPT or Claude gives me.
A massive problem means nothing if you have no access to the market.
Build inside your own world.
Something you’ve experienced.
Something your friends experience.
Something where you can actually reach the customer.
3. Talk to users before writing code
This is probably the most important part.
Before writing a single line of code, I’d be on calls every day.
Find 20 people with the problem.
Ask how they solve it today.
What they hate.
What they pay for.
What would make them switch.
1 real sale > 50k lines of code.
4. Use AI for everything else
Coding, research, lead generation, copy, ops.
Automate whatever you can.
Your scarce resource is time.
Spend that time talking to customers.
5. Build demand before the MVP
Don’t launch a waitlist and hope people sign up.
Go person by person.
Find potential users and manually sign them up yourself.
If you can’t convince 20 people to join before the product exists, that’s useful information.
(Ideally, complete strangers as it removes friendly bias).
6. Once it works, get eyes on it
Demo it to Superteam.
Post in ecosystem groups.
Talk about what you’re building publicly.
Engage with KOLs and creators you actually follow.
Reply with useful things, don’t spam them.
Use Reddit, Discord, Telegram, X, Whop, etc.
Distribution is part of the product.
And DON’T use bots.
Fake engagement makes a good product look like a scam.
7. Build around other builders if you can
If there’s a Build Station, coworking space, hacker house, whatever, go.
The feedback loop is faster.
You’ll work harder.
And you’ll meet people who can help you.
That’s exactly how I’d approach Colosseum if I were doing it again.
Comment your one line pitch (max 15 words) at let everyone give you feedback 👇
Best of luck builders.