Your first users refine your product, help you understand your market positioning, and give you the social proof you need. If you are still shaping the problem you want to solve you can explore how to think of strong startup ideas to strengthen your direction before scaling outreach.
Let’s explore this scenario:
You had an idea, fought through every challenge, and finally launched your product. In your mind you can already see your bank balance exploding and new customers rushing in to sign up.
Congratulations. You have just made the classic mistake.
The painful truth is that products do not sell themselves. No matter how good your idea is, you still need to actively find your first few users.
This is tough work but it is the most important thing you will ever do. Your first users refine your product, help you understand your market positioning, and give you the social proof you need.
Also do not make the mistake of assuming your product is useless because it is launched but no one is using it. User acquisition takes time. If it were easy, entire industries around marketing would not exist.
The Foundations
Before you start shouting about your product everywhere, make sure your basics are in place. Generating hype without clarity only kills momentum.
Get a website
You need a place where people can land. Keep it simple and clearly state the value your product offers so that even a non target user can understand it.
Buy a domain name
A proper domain looks professional and increases trust.
Create FOMO
Get active on social platforms and start showing what you are building. Share your learnings and failures. Create waitlists and limited access passes to build excitement.
While this is important, do not go overboard or waste time on things that do not matter yet.
Some Things You Should Not Do
- Do not rush to register a company.
- Do not buy business cards.
- Do not spend on a fancy logo.
- Do not quit your job too early.
- Do not start running ads immediately.
- Do not hire a sales team yet.
Go After Your Target Audience
The best advice for getting your first users is very simple.
Go after your target audience.
Find them wherever they are. Online communities, offline meetups, college groups, industry groups, anywhere.
Here is how to do it.
Create your pitch
Explain what your product does, what problem it solves, and why someone should care. Keep it simple.
Create an ideal customer profile
Define your dream customer. Build a list of user personas who will get real value from your product.
Decide your outreach plan
Choose where to reach them, how often, and with what message.
Follow up
If they do not respond, follow up politely. Just do not spam.
Start with your own network
These are the easiest people to reach. Ask them for introductions. Ask family and friends to refer someone who might benefit. Conduct research calls and pitch your product.
Create Hype and Launch
Before launching publicly, build anticipation.Many founders follow the Y Combinator guide on launching early products which recommends fast iterations and simple, direct outreach.
Tell people the first twenty users get access.
Create a waitlist.
Choose where you want to launch based on your product type.
Places You Can Launch
Reddit communities
Try r startups, r sidehustle, r businessideas and niche communities like r saas and r saasmarketing.
Discord servers
Search for startup communities through Hive Index.
Mainstream launch platforms
- Product Hunt
- Peerlist
- Hacker News
How Famous Startups Got Their First Customers
Reid Hoffman seeded the product with his successful friends because he knew aspiration drives adoption.
Ben Silbermann shared the app with friends and a small group who used it for home decor and recipes.
Stack Overflow
Joel Spolsky and Jeff Atwood invited members from their existing communities which created instant high quality content on the platform.
Some more interesting stories:
- How Airbnb got their first thousand users
- How Product Hunt got their first two hundred users
- How the biggest consumer apps got their first thousand users
Final Thoughts
Getting your first users is not about luck. It is a deliberate and messy process that every founder must go through. Your first ten users matter more than your next thousand. They teach you what to improve, what to remove, and what people actually want.
Do not expect your product to grow alone. Go out and bring users to it.
If you want expert support in validating your idea or building your first version you can explore our MVP development services for early stage founders.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get my first users for a startup
Find your target audience, create a simple pitch, reach out directly, and launch where they already hang out. Start with your existing network and expand from there.
How long does it take to get first users
It depends on the niche but usually between one week and three months depending on outreach effort and clarity of the problem you are solving.
Should I run ads to get my first users
No. Ads are expensive and unpredictable in the beginning. Direct outreach and community engagement is far more effective.
Do I need a perfect product before finding my first users
Not at all. You only need a working version that solves a clear problem for a specific group of people.
