This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by GoConnect.dev
A while back, we launched goconnect.dev. The idea was to be a community for founders and developers, an alternative to all the noise on X (Twitter).
And then… nothing. Total silence.
It was a ghost town.
I had a public feed that was dead, a member counter that screamed “how small!”, and an “online” indicator that usually showed a lonely “1” (probably me).
My project had failed. Why?
Because I was solving the wrong problem. Nobody needs another social network. Nobody needs another feed to scream into the void.
The real problem isn’t connection, it’s trust.
The real problem we have as founders, indie hackers, and full-stack developers is isolation.
The problem is: “Who do I trust to give me honest feedback on my landing page without trying to sell me something? Who’s going to ask me next Monday if I actually launched that feature I said I was going to launch?”
Discord communities with 5,000 people are pure chaos. X (Twitter) is noise.
What we need isn’t a stadium. We need a circle. A small group of trusted peers.
The Pivot: Kill the Feed, Build the “Matchmaker” goconnect.dev isn’t a social network anymore. It’s a “matchmaker” (a matchmaking service) for mastermind circles.
Here’s how it works now:
The goal isn’t to have 10,000 users. The goal is to create 100 high-quality circles that actually help each other.
The old goconnect.dev was too accessible. This new model is intentionally frictionless. The “payment” isn’t money; it’s effort and identity.
I’m looking for the first 100 founders, full-stack developers, and indie hackers who are tired of building alone and want to be part of the first circles.
I’m creating all circles manually to ensure quality.
If you’re building something and need a peer group to keep you accountable and get honest feedback, come apply.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this pivot.
You can apply here: goconnect.dev
Thanks for reading.
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by GoConnect.dev