Jack Fiallos on leaving social media for real growth and honest stories

Meet Jack Fiallos.

Jack is a computer science engineer specialized in software development.

He was born in Nicaragua, lived most of his adult life in Mexico, and eventually moved to Ireland, where he now lives with his family.

Jack spent over 20 years building software: backend systems, architecture, databases, security, mobile apps, microservices, and leading engineering teams as a CTO. He used to play basketball and rugby, but after a few injuries he decided to pause competitive sports and focus fully on his craft.

These days Jack is focused on Deeditt, a tool to document your life experiences and build journeys that matter.

The story told by Jack Fiallos

Before Deeditt

Before Deeditt, I built multiple products. The most notable being LeventoCRM (sold) and Offertame (no longer live). Both had real potential, but I eventually abandoned them after one or two years because I felt I hadn’t found the right niche or traction.

Strangely, months or years later, I watched similar products succeed with only slight changes, but with much better distribution.

That taught me a hard truth: I didn’t fail because of engineering. I failed because of marketing and patience (or lack of it).

I built great products but didn’t know how to get them into people’s hands. I wasn’t searching the right channels, and I didn’t yet understand the power of consistency and distribution.

This time, with Deeditt, I promised myself I wouldn’t make the same mistake.

Deeditt started as a side project I built every morning from 4–6 AM, right after the gym and before my full-time job. After more than a year of balancing both, I decided to quit my job a few months ago and make Deeditt my main focus (while still helping part-time with previous commitments).

What is Deeditt?

Deeditt is a story-driven social journaling platform where users document their real experiences through:

• Deeds → small reflections, moments, lessons

• Journeys → collections of deeds forming a narrative (like microblogging)

It sits between a private journal and a calm social network:

• Fully private entries

• Community-only posts

• Optional public storytelling

• A 5-year private journal blended with bullet journaling

• Zero algorithms, no manipulations

• Strong SEO for discoverability

• Membership-based, no ads, no investors

Deeditt is a quiet digital home for honest stories in an increasingly artificial internet.

The big why

The idea came from observing the same problem everywhere:

People speaking confidently about things they’ve never lived.
People giving advice without any real experience.
People fabricating stories because online there’s no way to validate truth anymore.

Then AI exploded - making it even easier to generate synthetic photos, synthetic texts, synthetic identities. I felt like the internet was slowly losing its humanity.

I wanted a place where truth still mattered.
Where experiences - not polished performances - were preserved.
Where memories didn’t vanish into the algorithmic noise.

I’ve always been deeply curious about how people actually face challenges, overcome problems, and achieve real success - the parts nobody shows. I wanted a place where you could learn from true stories, understand different perspectives, and see the angles that usually stay hidden.

And just as importantly, a place that encourages people to be emotionally healthy by writing, expressing themselves, and making sense of their experiences.

Deeditt is my attempt to rescue the human side of the internet.

Building

I started building Deeditt late 2023. I spent about a full year building it while employed, coding every morning. I built the backend, microservices, notifications, mobile app, and eventually the full web platform.

React Native evolves constantly, so part of the work is keeping everything updated and stable.

Launching

I launched the app early 2024 but it was only used by close friends and family who helped me to test it. By the end of 2024 I was ready to face the public and that’s when the real challenge started.

The first 100 users

It took me almost a year to get to the first 100 users.

Reaching my first 100 users has been one of the hardest challenges I’ve ever faced. Building the platform was easy compared to:

• Marketing

• Distribution

• Persuading people to try something new

• Keeping users engaged and innovating while maintaining everything running

This challenge taught me more about myself than any engineering job ever did.

A key insight: People crave honesty but fear being judged for it.

The private journal (5-year timeline + bullet journaling) is becoming one of the most appreciated features.

The numbers

• Under 200 registered users

• 1,941 unique visitors on the main website in the last 90 days

• 1,747+ blog visitors in the same period

• Combined: ~3,600+ website/blog visitors every 3 months

• SEO slowly improving (Domain Rating 4, 56 referring domains)

• Mobile installs are modest (50+ on Play Store, similar on iOS), but most users prefer the web

• Session duration remains high - users read deeply

• Most users write privately, driven by fear of judgment

Marketing

I’m completely bootstrapped, zero paid ads. I now believe avoiding paid ads early on may have slowed growth, something I may revisit soon.

What did NOT work?

“Building in public” posts and talking to the wrong people has been a major issue.

At first I used social networks to talk about authenticity - but those platforms are increasingly automated, AI-filled, and optimized for superficial engagement. I was promoting depth inside places built for noise. I quit socials for a while. And predictably, traffic dropped.

Same thing with Medium, the algorithm buried my posts. I wrote 51 articles. Some reached 100+ claps or more, others stayed at 0. I never found a consistent niche or voice on Medium.

My ego didn’t like that, so I quit, but recently I understood:

It’s not about applause. It’s about visibility and presence.

This shifted my entire mindset about distribution. Deeditt was never meant to be viral - and that’s okay. I don’t expect reflective people (like my audience) to behave like typical social-media users.

I still have a Deeditt profile on the following social platforms though:

• X

• Threads

• Mastodon

• Bsky

• Instagram

Additionally, I didn’t have much luck with launch announcements and promoting free plans (users didn’t take it seriously).

What DID work?

Now I focus on slow-growth channels, that align with Deeditt’s philosophy. This requires a strict weekly writing discipline on my part 🙂

I do a lot of blogging and SEO work - like the Deeditt blog.

I provide content to journaling communities - like these:

• I Don’t Want Virality, I Want Truth (Startup Stash)

• Success Online Is Changing: What Actually Matters When Everything Can Be Automated (Indie Hackers)

On Reddit I’m active mostly in journaling, writing, and self-improvement subreddits.

Other than that I take part in micro-niche communities:

• Journaling circles

• Writing accountability groups

• Slow-living communities

• Indie-maker spaces

• Private Discord writing groups

These brought meaningful conversations, even if not large-scale traffic.

Platform/audience learnings

Working with the Deeditt platform and getting feedback from the users has taught me the importance of focusing on:

• Long-form storytelling

• Consistent blogging

• Strong SEO structure

• Offering a private, safe journaling space

• 1:1 conversations with early adopters

• Membership pricing

• Slow, steady compounding

Users stay because the environment feels calm, safe, and sincere.

Deeditt recently introduced a subscription membership, but the platform is still largely free to use.

Most of the core experience like writing deeds, building journeys, sharing journeys, reading stories, commenting and using the web version, remains free. The membership unlocks advanced features and helps support the long-term sustainability of the product.

Adding an optional membership helped increase user commitment while still keeping the platform accessible to anyone who wants to write or reflect.

Lessons learned in 2025

Building is easy; selling is emotional
20 years of engineering didn’t prepare me for distribution.

Ego kills visibility
Medium humbled me. Social networks humbled me, both became teachers.

Every digital footprint matters
Even a post with zero likes improves discoverability.

Free is not valued
Users take things more seriously when they pay.

The internet is becoming synthetic... humans still crave truth
This is the mission of Deeditt.

Slow growth ≠ failure
I’m building a foundation, not chasing spikes.

Running everything for under $200/month is my engineering advantage
It lets me survive long enough to iterate.

Connect with Jack Fiallos

Reach out to Jack. He is a nice guy.

• Email

• X

• jackfiallos.com (personal website)