How to post in r/startups without getting removed
You cannot post a standalone promotional or launch post in r/startups. Direct sales, ads, and promo of any kind are removed, and your product goes in the stickied Share Your Startup thread instead. To discuss your own startup journey outside that thread, write a genuine, non-promotional post and tag it with the I will not promote flair.
The rules below were read from r/startups’s own rules page. Subreddits change their policies, so confirm against the live rules before you post, and run your draft through the launch checklist so your account and timing are as ready as your writing.
What r/startups allows, in four lines
No standalone self-promotion. Rule 2 removes direct sales, advertisements, or promotional posts of any kind. Self-promotion is defined broadly as anything you have an interest, stake, or relationship with, including being friends with someone at the company. Moderators have the final say on whether something counts as promotional.
Share Your Startup (weekly, stickied), plus a separate weekly Feedback thread
No public numeric karma or account-age threshold, though the subreddit can enforce limits silently through AutoMod.
Yes. In r/startups, I will not promote is a post flair (not literal rule text). Founders tag reflective or discussion posts about their own journey with it to signal the post is not a disguised ad, which is how they discuss their company outside the Share Your Startup thread.
How promotion actually works here
No standalone self-promotion. Rule 2 removes direct sales, advertisements, or promotional posts of any kind. Self-promotion is defined broadly as anything you have an interest, stake, or relationship with, including being friends with someone at the company. Moderators have the final say on whether something counts as promotional.
Where the product goes: Share Your Startup (weekly, stickied), plus a separate weekly Feedback thread
Draft a post that fits r/startups
Describe what you built and target r/startups. The generator shapes the draft to this community's voice and flags the removal triggers listed on this page before you post.
Title options
The formats r/startups rewards
The I will not promote discussion post
When You want to talk about a real problem or lesson from building your startup.
How Write about the methodology or the lesson, not the product. Do not name your company or link it. Tag the post with the I will not promote flair. Keep it over 250 characters and give it a clear, specific title.
The Share Your Startup entry
When You actually want to show the product itself.
How Wait for the weekly stickied Share Your Startup thread and post your startup there in the format the thread asks for. This is the only sanctioned place for the product itself.
The genuine question
When You are stuck on something specific and want the community's help.
How Ask one clear question grounded in your real situation, without pitching. Answer the replies you get. This builds the history that makes your later posts land.
What a post that fits looks like
Illustrative example for a fictional product, shaped to r/startups’s rules.
Spent three months building for a market that did not want it. What I would check first now. | I will not promote
I am a solo founder and I just killed a project I had put three months into. The mistake was that I never actually confirmed anyone would pay before I built it. Here is the checklist I wish I had used, and I am curious what you would add: - Ten real conversations with people in the target market before writing code - At least three of them saying they would pay, not just that it is a nice idea - A rough sense of where those people already gather online What is the one validation step you refuse to skip now?
Why it fits: Tagged I will not promote, no product name, no link, over 250 characters, ends with a real question.
The fastest ways to get pulled from r/startups
If a post disappears without a removal message, it may be held by AutoMod rather than manually removed. Our guide on why a Reddit post is not showing up walks through the difference.
A quick pre-post check for r/startups
Posting guides for other founder subreddits
Posting in r/startups, answered
Can I post my launch directly in r/startups?
No. Standalone promotional and launch posts are removed under Rule 2. Your product goes in the weekly stickied Share Your Startup thread. Outside that thread you can only discuss your journey non-promotionally, usually with the I will not promote flair.
What does the I will not promote flair actually do?
It is a signal, not a loophole. Tagging a post with I will not promote tells moderators and readers that the post is a genuine discussion about your startup, not a disguised ad. You still cannot name or link your product in the post.
Is there a karma requirement for r/startups?
No public numeric threshold is listed, but many large subreddits quietly filter new or low-karma accounts through AutoMod. The safest move is to build a genuine comment history before you post.
Why did my r/startups post get removed instantly?
The most common reasons are promotion outside the sticky, a submission under 250 characters, naming your own project or URL directly, or a feedback request that belongs in the weekly thread. Check the removal message and the rules before reposting.