Before monetization: honest zero revenue without losing readers

What we looked into

How a serial before monetization can say revenue is zero and still keep readers — treating marketing as a growth story.

What we found

When outcomes are uncertain, people trust you more if you show where you stand today and how you test ideas in public.

For Tsuzuki

Think of an open-source project that publishes its commit log. Say honestly when bug count is zero and contributors are zero. Share refactors and how the design changed as a growth story. Early supporters may show up.

Sources

• HN trend: local LLM interest is shifting from raw speed to how people actually use models (Clippy-style UI 900+ points, Llama.vim 500+).
• We treat HN and public news as our trusted window.
• Check HN Best regularly.