Reddit is important. According to Alexa’s rankings, it’s the 12th most visited website in the world (for context, LinkedIn doesn’t feature in the top 20 at all). It’s where most viral content originates from, so if you want to know what’s happening on the internet (which, as a B2B PR Agency, we most certainly do) you need to be on Reddit.

But the best thing about it is the data it holds – because everyone is anonymous, Reddit knows everyone’s secrets. That makes it a great place for market research and some honest advice – which is just what startups need.

Whether you’re starting your own business, selling a product to startups or thinking of starting your own business, it’s worth joining these startup subreddits.

What makes a good subreddit?

For the startup subreddits, we’ve measured:

Member count : Simply put, this is how many members are in the sub. A large sub doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the best one (smaller subs can have higher engagement) but it’s a good sign of whether the content posted is relevant.

: Simply put, this is how many members are in the sub. A large sub doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the best one (smaller subs can have higher engagement) but it’s a good sign of whether the content posted is relevant. Engagement level: We’ve looked at how engaged members are in the sub by looking at the number of upvotes and comments on the top posts from the past year.

We’ve looked at how engaged members are in the sub by looking at the number of upvotes and comments on the top posts from the past year. International: Reddit is a global website, but some subs are very US-centric, so we’ve made a note of whether they’re international, or not.

Reddit is a global website, but some subs are very US-centric, so we’ve made a note of whether they’re international, or not. Content-type: We’ve tried to generalise the type of content on each sub, mainly whether they’re advice-driven or just memes.

We’ve tried to generalise the type of content on each sub, mainly whether they’re advice-driven or just memes. Active moderators: Active moderators (or mods) keep the subreddit on-topic and rule-abiding. Weekly updates/sticky posts are usually a sign of an active mod team.

Active moderators (or mods) keep the subreddit on-topic and rule-abiding. Weekly updates/sticky posts are usually a sign of an active mod team. Rules: There are rules laid out in reddit’s rediquette that all subreddits have to obey, but mods can also impose their own rules. Higher quality subreddits tend to have stricter rules regarding the quality of posts and replies, which help keep the sub relevant.

Even with over 29 thousand members, r/startup is one of the medium-sized startup subreddits. You’ll mainly find stories of people’s startup ventures with advice. There’s only one rule (you can’t post anything that’s ‘not suitable to the subreddit’), and the last stickied post is over a year old. But it’s a good place to post a link to your startup, as some other subs won’t let you do that.

r/crowdspark is the most specific (and the smallest) sub in our list. It’s designed for people in the US who want to network to grow their businesses, but it’s worth joining for the inspiration. The group is very active, has specific rules and has dedicated mods who have two stickied posts that are updated on time, which is especially impressive considering it was only created in September 2019.

As its name suggests, r/sideproject is for sharing and receiving constructive feedback on side projects. Engagement is pretty high (even if there are quite a lot of memes) so be warned – you should only post about your side project if you’re ready for (brutally) honest feedback. It’s also great for finding new ideas, like a fancy font generator, a tool to build larger images out of smaller images and a relaxing colour puzzle app.

r/Entrepreneur is by far the largest and one of the oldest startup subreddits in our list, and for good reason. It’s very active, engagement is high, and the mods work hard on it. There’s ‘NooB Monday’, a stickied thread for newcomers to post to, and a weekly Ask Me Anything (AMA) with successful entrepreneurs. The best performing posts are stories, like this person who pretended to own a valet company and made $2k in the process, this student who made $10k in one weekend by renting out student houses over graduation weekend or this guy, who lost $8k on Amazon FBA.

Not to be confused with r/startup, this sub is much more active, with a couple of stickied posts and lots of rules to keep everyone on track. The stickied posts include a monthly ‘Share your startup’ post and a weekly ‘Manic Mondays’ post where you can share what you need help with and get support. Similar to r/entrepreneur, the posts that perform best are stories and advice pieces.

r/SaaS is a little more specific, as it’s for Software as a Service company owners and online business owners. That’s probably why the member count is a bit lower, but if it’s relevant to you, it’s worth joining. This sub has a lot more hands-on advice, including posts on how to fix your homepage if you can’t afford a copywriter, and is a great place to ask specific questions.

If you’re looking for PR, marketing and SEO services to support your startup, get in touch with us today.