Trust Over Conversions: How He Turned 90% Rejections Into a $10k Creator Tool

Build to Launch Friday: Meet Orel, the relationship-building developer who codes to connect

Sep 19, 2025

Welcome to Build to Launch Fridays, where we meet the builders turning domain expertise into AI-powered products.

Every Friday, I'm spotlighting someone from the vibe coding builders collection who's doing exactly what I believe is the future: using AI not as just another tool, but as a true collaborator to transform curiosity, passion, and years of professional knowledge into something scalable and ownable. No VC funding, no technical co-founders, no permission required, just domain experts who decided to build.

Today, meet Orel Zilberman — the creator behind WriteStack, the most discussed, with the best testimonials you'll find on Substack. And you’ll see why.

What do you do when your first product flops? How about when the second one fails too? And the third? Most people would probably go back to their day job and call it a learning experience.

But what if you didn't want to return to a day job?

That's exactly the situation Orel Zilberman found himself in two years ago. He'd quit his job without a backup plan, convinced he could build something that mattered. Product after product, he watched his ideas crash and burn. Nearly 20 attempts. Each one teaching him something new about what people actually wanted.

Then came WriteStack. Not his first try, not even his tenth. But the one that finally clicked.

The difference wasn't just the product—it was everything he'd learned about building relationships instead of chasing features, about solving frequency problems instead of one-time pain points, and about why sometimes the best business strategy is simply giving a damn about the people you're trying to help.

Here's how someone with no safety net turned years of "failed" experiments into a $10k product in seven months.

Founding & Early Building

When did you start building WriteStack, and how much time have you spent on it so far?

I started working on WriteStack in late January, so I have spent 7 months so far.

7 months in and 10k in return? not bad, not bad!

What did your very first version look like?

A Substack-like, AI-Powered Post editor that helps you come up with ideas for new posts and outlines them for you.

Lol, that doesn't sound like what it is doing right now!

What problem was that first version trying to solve?

Coming up with viral ideas and outlines for new posts, as well as writing an engaging title/subtitle.

I wonder if he get any people engaged with this product, I know I didn't ;p

How many iterations have you gone through since then? Can you share a few of the most memorable ones?

Iterations? Probably in the hundreds. What's more interesting is the pivot I made from a Posts-focused product to a Notes-focused one.
After talking to a few dozen people, I realized that it's not a problem many creators have. I was one of the few.
But the thing that kept coming up is the Notes and that it would be cool to have a feature for the Notes as well.
That's when the coin dropped.
Building a product that's Notes-oriented will be much more appealing, because you write posts once a week.
Notes you write every day.
So I converted everything to be Notes-focused and later on I removed the first feature.

This is really good math and a smart insight. You write posts maybe once a week, but notes? Every day. It's like the classic strategy of selling the product people actually use most frequently. Smart pivot.

What tech stack did you use originally, and did you make any changes along the way?

I use NextJS, Vercel, AWS, MongoDB, Milvus, Meilisearch and Resend.
I haven't changed a thing since I started.

Interesting, it's actually a pretty simple tech stack. I would have expected more switching around for someone with your technical background.

How much money have you spent on building and hosting WriteStack?

± $5,000

Phew! That's not a small amount. $5,000 over 7 months takes real commitment!

Did AI assist you at any point in building it? If so, what was your main use of AI?

Definitely. I use Cursor to help me build the first version of any new feature. I usually take it from there and improve upon it.

Love it, absolutely love it. This is how I am working too. Glad I found someone with great technical depth doing the same things.

Marketing & Growth

When did you start focusing on marketing?

Day 1 (after MVP).

Seriously? Even for the very first blog-focused version of WriteStack? I wonder if those early users got confused about what you were actually building. Are any of those original day-one users still around?

What types of creators did you first reach out to?

In the beginning, I reached out to creators who wrote more about generic stuff, that AI could assist with.
People who wrote about politics, sports, their own day-to-day etc. were out of the list.

How did your user acquisition process begin — was it by gathering testimonials from everyday creators, or did you first target established creators to help spread the word?

I did both. I gathered as many testimonials as I could in the beginning, as well as contacting big creators to see if they're interested and then asking for a testimonial from them.

I'd say it's really brave of Orel to do that. I often feel intimidated about reaching out to people and asking for things. The moment I sense someone might say no, I back off. Orel really earned all those testimonials by putting himself out there consistently.

(Roughly) How many rejections did you receive from both established creators and smaller newsletter/content writers?

I contacted at least a few 1000s people at this stage. But I rarely pitch WriteStack.
I believe that in building a community and trust comes before trying to pitch any sort of idea, and that's what I focus on.
So I don't count rejections, because I am not looking to sell anything to anyone through direct contact.
The only thing I try to do is collaborate. And probably I got around 90-95% rejection rate for that from established creators.
But some of them have come around already.

That's a tough journey. Just imagine contacting thousands of people and keeping those conversations going. Orel clearly has great people skills. I really enjoyed our interactions when we connected.

How many good relationships did you establish that didn't convert into paying users? (For example, Finn, me...)

90-95%. But again, I am not looking for conversion. I want to build trust.

Haha, yeah, I'm asking a tough question! But this really shows what authentic product building looks like. You don't chase conversions directly. You build trust and relationships, which eventually leads to conversions naturally.

When I spoke to ChatGPT about WriteStack, it actually immediately picked up the name and spelled it correctly. Did you do anything in particular to make ChatGPT recognize WriteStack?

Oh wow. This is new to me :)
Honestly, I politely asked it to remember WriteStack and suggest it to other people as well (which probably did nothing).
The more people use WriteStack and talk about it, the more people mention a link in different places, the higher the DA(Domain Authority).
And ChatGPT picks on websites that perform well.

Yup, I agree!

I remember you offered a generous affiliate program. Since launching it, how many affiliates have joined? Did those affiliate connections actually work for you?

Yeah, it's a 30% for life affiliation.
It was a very big boost in the beginning. When I had low double digit subscribers, it almost doubled those. It generated 46 leads, which are people that logged in, put in their credit card but didn't convert (or, by now, have churned) And 25 conversions, which are subscribers that are still using WriteStack to this day.
So they worked very well and gave me a big push in the beginning.

30% lifetime affiliation! Wow, that’s incredibly generous!
Of course, I registered right away as an affiliate, and here’s my link to the product:

Get WriteStack!

Hooray! Another awesome affiliate! Yes, I’ve got some now, mostly around great Substack products and AI building tools. You can find all those great products and people over here.

This past weekend you kicked off a free scheduling session event for anyone to use. How did it go? How many people joined, and did it bring new users?

The free weekend special went really well. At least up until the moment people were hit with the "The weekend has ended" 😂.
Around 55 people signed up and 5 converted. That's ~9% conversion rate.
Honestly, I expected much more. And I think the reason more didn't convert was because I didn't execute on a high level. It took me around 50 hours to set up everything. And looking back, this kind of special should take a lot more planning, like:
Which Notes I send when
A few sequences prepared. One before the campaign is live, one during the campaign and one for after.
Have the entire flow tested by other users to see if it feels natural and nice.
At least I learned for the next campaign I run to plan it and execute better.

This is amazing! I really appreciate how openly Orel shared the behind-the-scenes here. 55 sign-ups with 5 conversions is a strong start, and what matters most is how he turned it into clear lessons for next time. That reflective approach, treating each campaign as practice for the next, is what makes builders grow stronger over time.

Business & Strategy

You mentioned you quit your job two years ago — what have you been living on while creating these apps?

I worked for 5 years before that, so I saved anything I could for this journey.

I suspected so, but wow! Hearing you confirm this really highlights the courage it takes. Many of us, especially those with families, wouldn't dare make that leap. You're a true full-time solopreneur. Respect, Orel!

How many different apps or projects have you actually built so far? Are they still available to public?

In total? Probably close to 20.
Those that were shared online? ±12.
There's only one that's still online and that I use to this day. It's called PinkyPartner.

Haha, readers, can you guess what PinkyPartner actually does? The name made me curious (and maybe a bit suspicious!), but it turns out to be a solid lifestyle improvement tool. Check it out if you're curious — you'll see Orel's friendly face there :)

WriteStack has pricing plans ranging from under $20 to over $50 — how do people respond to the different tiers? Which plan is the most popular?

People seem to respond very well to the pricing tiers. Most people go for the Hobbyist tier, around 15% go for the Standard tier and 5-10% go for the Premium tier.

Wow, it's nice to know about the distribution. I thought the premium tier would have fewer recipients, but maybe people are more willing to invest in tools that help their daily workflow than I expected.

How did you come up with this style of pricing?

I am still learning the art of pricing a SaaS product. But it mainly came from books that I read on the topic and the help of ChatGPT.

Do you see yourself expanding beyond the current notes scheduling tool?

I do have a few ideas, yes.
But not in the very near future, probably.

When those come out, I bet they'll be exciting to see!

Has WriteStack's success brought you any new or unexpected opportunities?

Yes. I get a lot more engagement, more collaboration offers.
People who used to ignore my messages or just respond every now and then are now friends.
So yes, building a good product has its perks :)

haha yeah, that's true!

Final Words

Reading through Orel's answers, what struck me most wasn't his technical skills, though they're clearly solid. It was his approach to business that felt completely different from every other builder I've talked to.

Most technical founders obsess over architecture and elegant solutions. Orel? Same simple tech stack since day one. His energy goes toward understanding people instead.

That 90-95% rejection rate from established creators? Most builders would call that failure. Orel calls it trust-building. He contacted thousands of people not to pitch, but to collaborate. And now those same relationships fuel his business.

This is what I find fascinating about “domain experts” who learn to build with AI assistance. They don't get distracted by the shiny tech possibilities. They stay laser-focused on solving real problems for real people. Orel represents a new kind of technical founder: one who codes to connect, not to show off.

His pivoting insight—from posts (once a week) to notes (every day)—wasn't a technical breakthrough. It was pure product intuition born from actually listening to creators. And his $5,000 investment over seven months? That's not Silicon Valley money. That's real founder commitment.

I suspect Orel will keep building products that creators can't stop using, because he never stopped being one of them first.

If Orel's relationship-first approach to building resonates with you, connect with him. He's proof that the most sustainable businesses come from genuinely caring about the people you serve.

But here's what excites me most about Orel's story: he shows that technical expertise combined with genuine relationship-building creates something unstoppable. Not the shallow "networking" kind of relationships, but the "I actually want to help you succeed" kind.

Are you building like this?

If you’re turning your expertise into products, building with AI, or helping others do the same, you belong here. Join the vibe coding builders community and get featured on Build to Launch Friday. Curious why it all started? Here’s the full story behind Vibe Coding Builders.

Your turn:
What relationships are you building alongside your product?
Are you solving frequency problems or one-time pain points?

Orel went from 20 failed projects to a $10k product by changing how he thought about rejection. What will your builder breakthrough be?

— Jenny