17 Brutally Honest Things Your Startup Users Want to Say But Won’t
Founders, brace yourselves. These are the things users are thinking — but won't tell you to your face.
Posted by
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🧨 17 Brutally Honest Things Your Startup Users Want to Say But Won’t
Let’s be real: your users are thinking these things. They’re just too nice, too busy, or too polite to say them out loud.
But we’re not.
So here it is — unfiltered, unsolicited, and wildly useful.
1. I don’t understand what your product actually does.
Your landing page has 12 buzzwords and 0 clarity. I’m not going to decode it. I’m just going to close the tab.
2. I signed up, got overwhelmed, and ghosted your app.
Onboarding felt like filing taxes. My brain said: nope.
3. Your UI feels like it was designed by someone who hates people.
Buttons are hiding. Modals are attacking. Nothing’s where I expect it to be. Please send help.
4. You keep launching new features but still haven’t fixed the obvious bugs.
Oh cool, dark mode. But the ‘save’ button still doesn’t work.
5. I gave feedback once. Nothing changed. So I stopped.
Asking for feedback and ignoring it is worse than not asking at all.
6. Your app looks like every other app I’ve used this week.
Rounded cards. Sans serif font. Some pastel gradient. Yawn.
7. You built this for yourself — not for me.
This one stings. But it's the truth. Your product is solving *your* problem the way *you* think it should be solved. I’m just along for the ride — and honestly, I want to get off.
(#7 will ruin your day and make your product better.)
8. You email me like a clingy ex.
Calm down. I don’t need 3 ‘We miss you 😢’ emails in one week.
9. I’m scared to give you honest feedback because you might take it personally.
Founders be fragile. I’ve seen it. I’ve felt it. So I just nod and say it’s ‘cool.’
10. Your pricing doesn’t make sense for what I get.
$29/month to do one thing? Not in this economy.
11. Your docs are a mess, and I had to go on Reddit for answers.
Nothing says ‘trust us’ like a Notion page from 2022 with broken links.
12. You solved a problem I don’t really have.
It’s clever. It’s slick. But I’ve been getting by fine without it.
13. I clicked ‘try for free’ and got asked for my card. Instant nope.
That’s not a trial. That’s a trap.
14. Your product feels like it was made for other startups — not for me.
Stop assuming I know what ‘Zapier integration with webhook fallback’ means.
15. You asked me to rate your product after 2 minutes of using it.
I haven’t even found the ‘settings’ button yet, my dude.
16. Your competitors do one thing better — and that’s enough.
It’s not fair. But I go where the friction isn’t.
17. I wanted to love your product. I still kinda do. But I’m tired of waiting for it to get better.
You’re *this close*. Fix the core experience, and I’ll sing your praises.
If even 2 of these hit a little too close to home, good. That’s where the growth starts.
Want to actually hear what your users think — before they churn in silence?
Backsy lets you collect brutally honest, anonymous feedback (no awkward forms, no pressure, no fluff).