November 11, 2025
Avatars vs. sanctions
I can build enterprise software but I can't charge for it
He built a talking AI avatar but can’t get paid—now the comments are fighting
TLDR: An Iranian dev built a polished AI avatar platform but can’t accept payments due to sanctions, so he’s seeking a sales partner abroad. Comments explode into crypto fixes vs. legal/ethical alarms, demo doubts, and fear his GitHub could get pulled—spotlighting how geopolitics can choke startup dreams.
An Iranian developer says he spent 18 months and 120‑hour weeks building NeoClerks, a talking AI avatar with lip-sync and “enterprise” features—then hit a brick wall: sanctions mean no Stripe, no PayPal, no cloud providers, no bank account. He’s asking for a partner who can sell and handle payments. The internet responded with fireworks. Some cheered the hustle, others went straight to “is this a sanctions workaround?” Lykahb’s question framed the whole debate: is helping him sell this crossing a line? Meanwhile, skeptics piled on the demo, with one commenter clicking neoclerks.com/en and seeing “just a homepage,” calling the pitch “scam vibes.” The hottest meme? Syspec’s snarky split-screen: “Me: I built this insane platform. You: ‘Can you bypass Treasury sanctions?’” Crypto stans chimed in with “use crypto” while realists noted even crypto on-ramps and exchanges often block sanctioned users. DiabloD3 added panic: “GitHub might nuke his account,” sparking a side-thread on whether simply being Iranian triggers removals. Between sympathy for a builder stuck in a collapsing economy and hardline legal worries, the vibe is a chaotic clash of hustle vs. rules, hope vs. red flags, and a community trying to decide if this is a rescue mission—or a risky move.
Key Points
- •The author built NeoClerks, a self-hosted AI avatar platform with real-time conversation and lip-sync, and provides a demo link.
- •He claims the product is production-ready with solid architecture and extensive documentation (20+ guides, 100+ pages).
- •He reports zero customers and zero revenue after 18 months of development and nine months of unsuccessful job hunting.
- •Sanctions prevent use of Stripe, PayPal, and major clouds (AWS, GCP, Azure), blocking payments and infrastructure options.
- •Local Iranian market feedback cites price sensitivity and preference for free ChatGPT; the author seeks a partner/co-founder with payment access and sales capability.