Jovan Kis, Co-Founder @ UkisAI (Building TrueStay), recently posted something that made me stop scrolling: "Product went viral.

24 hours later: AWS in my inbox.

Not an unpaid invoice.

A real person, Lazar Radenkovic asking how they can help us scale." And then he dropped the kind of line that every early-stage founder feels in their bones: "We just built something people wanted. And talked about it publicly. Building in public hits different."

I want to expand on what Jovan is really pointing to here, because it is not just a feel-good virality story. It is a practical playbook for turning clear customer pain, public proof, and momentum into legitimate distribution and infrastructure opportunities.

What actually happened (and why it matters)

Jovan shared a tight sequence of events:

TrueStay went viral, reaching 189k impressions.
5k+ users tried the product.
Thousands of people recognized the core insight: hotel reviews are broken.
Within 24 hours, AWS reached out through a real human to offer help scaling.
UkisAI ended up in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Startups Program, gaining AI infrastructure support, DevOps partners, and potential VC connections.

This matters because it flips the usual script. Instead of founders spending weeks cold-emailing partners or filling out application forms, the signal traveled the other way. The market reacted first, and the ecosystem followed.

Key insight: Virality is not the goal. It is a public signal that reduces perceived risk for partners, platforms, and investors.

Why "hotel reviews are broken" is the kind of message that spreads

A big reason Jovan's post resonated is that it is built around a simple, widely relatable pain point. People do not share features. They share frustrations and identity statements.

"Hotel reviews are broken" works because:

It is easy to understand in one second.
Many people have personally experienced it.
It invites a mental follow-up: "So what is the fix?"
It frames the product as a remedy to an obvious problem, not a nice-to-have.

If you are building a startup, your first job is to find a sentence that your users can repeat without you in the room. Jovan's post suggests TrueStay found one.

A useful test for your own product

Ask yourself:

Can I explain the problem in 8 words or less?
Would a non-customer nod and say, "True"?
Does the statement imply urgency or cost?

If the answer is no, the distribution ceiling is lower, even if the product is great.

Building in public: why it "hits different"

Jovan says they did not pitch AWS. They did not apply through a form. They built something people wanted and talked about it publicly.

That is the core of building in public: you make progress visible so other people can validate it, amplify it, and join it.

But building in public is not just "posting updates." It is publishing evidence. When you share credible proof that the market is pulling your product (users, retention, outcomes, testimonials, waitlists, engagement), you reduce friction for anyone considering supporting you.

Key insight: Public proof turns your startup from a guess into a trend.

The compounding benefits of public proof

When your proof is visible:

Users trust you faster because others already tried it.
Potential hires see momentum and mission.
Partners see demand and want to attach themselves to it.
Platforms (like AWS) see future spend and want to help you scale responsibly.
Investors see a live distribution channel, not just a deck.

Jovan's outcome is a clean example of this compounding effect.

Why AWS reached out (the practical explanation)

A common misconception is that inbound help from large platforms is random. It is not. It is patterned.

From AWS's perspective, a viral spike with real product usage is a leading indicator:

If thousands are testing TrueStay, compute needs may grow quickly.
Scaling failures at the wrong moment can kill momentum.
Supporting startups early increases the chance they build long-term on AWS.

So when Jovan says AWS noticed, that is the mechanism: the market created a visible signal, and AWS had a strong incentive to reduce the startup's scaling risk.

What you can do to increase the chance of similar inbound

You cannot force AWS (or any partner) to email you. But you can increase the odds by making three things unmissable:

A clear spike: Launch moments, demos, or waitlists that create measurable demand.
A clear narrative: The one-sentence pain point and why your approach is different.
A clear trail: Links, product pages, docs, and onboarding that let curious people verify quickly.

If someone sees your post and cannot find the product in 10 seconds, you leak the very momentum you worked for.

Turning a viral post into durable growth

Virality is attention. Growth is what you do next. Jovan mentioned 5k+ users tried TrueStay. The next challenge is converting curiosity into retention.

Here is a practical way to think about the 72 hours after a viral hit:

1) Protect the experience

Make onboarding fast and forgiving.
Add lightweight status updates if you are under load.
Instrument the critical path so you know where users drop.

2) Capture intent

Offer a simple next step: newsletter, waitlist, or account creation.
Ask one question on signup: "What are you trying to solve?"

3) Convert feedback into public updates

This is where building in public compounds. Share what you learned and what you are shipping next. People who missed the first post often catch the second.

4) Segment the audience

Not everyone is your user. Some are amplifiers, partners, or future hires. Create separate follow-ups:

A product deep-dive for users
A scaling or infrastructure note for builders
A vision post for believers

Content strategy lessons hiding in Jovan's post

Even though the post is short, it contains a strong content strategy:

Lead with the hook: "Product went viral." Instant curiosity.
Add contrast: "AWS in my inbox. Not an unpaid invoice." Pattern break.
Add specificity: impressions, users, a real person's name.
Tie to a belief: building in public works.
End with a question: invites conversation and more reach.

This is not manipulative. It is clarity plus narrative.

Key insight: The best LinkedIn content is not louder. It is more specific.

The bigger takeaway: build what people want, then let them see it

Jovan's story is a reminder that you do not always need permission or gatekeepers to unlock big opportunities. If you build something people genuinely want, and you share it in a way that makes the proof easy to see, the right doors can open faster than any outbound campaign.

If you are a founder or builder, I would translate Jovan's experience into one operating principle:

Do the work that creates real user pull.
Make the pull visible through consistent, specific posting.
Be ready to operationalize the moment when attention arrives.

The "craziest opportunity" is often not luck. It is the ecosystem responding to a signal you made undeniable.

This blog post expands on a viral LinkedIn post by Jovan Kis, Co-Founder @ UkisAI (Building TrueStay). View the original LinkedIn post →