Why We Built Startup Listing: Solving the Backlink Crisis for Early-Stage Founders
Tired of paying $500+ just to get your startup listed? We created Startup Listing to give founders quality backlinks and real visibility for just $2.
Remember when you launched your first startup and realized nobody could find you on Google?
Yeah, we've been there too.
You build this amazing product, pour your heart into it, and then... crickets. Your website sits on page 47 of Google search results, invisible to the world.
The Backlink Tax Every Founder Pays
Here's what we discovered after launching three failed startups: getting discovered online is ridiculously expensive.
Want to list your startup on Product Hunt? Free, but you need an existing audience to succeed.
Crunchbase listing? $3,000+ for premium features.
Most startup directories? $200-$500 just for a basic listing that might send you 10 visitors.
AngelList, BetaList, Hacker News – they're all great, but they're also competitive lottery tickets.
Meanwhile, you're bootstrapping on ramen noodles, trying to validate product-market fit, and every dollar counts.
The "Aha!" Moment
Last year, our founder was helping a friend launch their micro-SaaS. They'd built this brilliant tool for small teams but couldn't afford the $500 listing fees on major directories.
That's when it hit us: Why should getting basic visibility cost more than most startups' monthly revenue?
Early-stage founders need three things:
- Quality backlinks to improve SEO
- Real visitors who might become customers
- A chance to build community around their product
They don't need premium placement or fancy analytics (yet). They just need a fair shot.
Enter Startup Listing
So we built what we wished existed when we were starting out.
For just $2, you get:
- A high-quality do-follow backlink (worth $50+ alone)
- Instant approval (no waiting weeks for review)
- A permanent listing that stays forever
- Access to our growing community of 1,000+ builders
No subscription fees. No premium upsells for basic features. No "pay to play" visibility games.
Real Results, Not Promises
Since launching six months ago, we've helped 536 startups get their first meaningful backlinks. Our founders have seen:
- 15-40% improvement in domain authority within 3 months
- Average of 50+ new visitors in the first 30 days
- Several successful Product Hunt launches (thanks to the initial traction)
- Actual paying customers discovered through our platform
One founder told us: "Your $2 listing brought me more qualified traffic than a $300 directory submission. Plus, the community actually engages with products."
Why $2 Works for Everyone
We're not trying to get rich off struggling founders. Here's our math:
- Server costs and platform development and maintenance
That $2 covers our costs and lets us keep building features the community actually wants.
For founders, it's the price of a coffee. For us, it's sustainable growth without venture capital or predatory pricing.
More Than Just a Directory
What started as a simple listing platform has grown into something bigger:
- Community upvotes help surface the best tools
- Founder networking happens naturally in our comment sections
- Deal sharing helps everyone save money on essential tools
- Success stories inspire the next wave of builders
We're accidentally building what feels like the early internet – where people shared cool stuff because it was cool, not because they got paid.
The Vision
Every day, brilliant founders build solutions to real problems. Most fail not because their product sucks, but because nobody finds them.
We want to change that.
Startup listing exists to give every founder – regardless of budget – a fighting chance at being discovered. No gatekeepers, no politics, just builders helping builders.
Ready to Get Discovered?
If you've built something awesome and need that first boost of visibility, we'd love to feature you.
Submit your startup for $2 and join a community that actually roots for your success.
Because every unicorn started as someone's "small idea" that just needed to be found.
P.S. – If you're not ready to submit yet, bookmark us. When you launch, we'll be here with the same fair pricing and founder-friendly approach. Promise.
Got questions? Reach out to us at getstartuplisting@gmail.com. We actually read and respond to every email.