We plan to bring eChai across 100 cities in India. It starts with eChai Startup Demo Day on 26 September, all in person. 13 cities confirmed, 1023 founders registered. Any city that reaches 20 interested founders is on too. See your city
Launch & get your first customers

Pre-launch & building an audience

Have people waiting before you open the doors.

Level All Beginner Intermediate
Market All India Global
Who's asking Everyone Aspiring Brand Builder Maker / Artisan Just-Launched Founder Scaling Brand Bootstrapped Side-Hustler Product Person Tier-2/3 Founder

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Should I collect free email signups or charge a small deposit for my waitlist? Free signups feel safer but convert at roughly 1-2%, while even a token refundable deposit (say Rs 99-499) filters for buyers, not lookers, and con... Intermediate 3 resources → Which one pre-launch channel should I actually focus on instead of trying everything at once? Use Gabriel Weinberg's Bullseye method: list every channel you could try (Instagram, WhatsApp, a waitlist landing page, referrals, PR, offline pop-... Intermediate 3 resources → How do I make sure all this pre-launch hype actually turns into sales on day one? A waitlist only converts if you warm it up before launch - send 2-3 "coming soon" touches in the final week (WhatsApp broadcast, Instagram countdow... Intermediate 3 resources →

Related in Starting Up

Every founder hits these, so they sit in the wider founder hub.

Founder mental health, burnout and loneliness
Founder mental health & burnout → Founder mindset & resilience → Solo founder survival guide →
Family, social pressure and the quit-your-job decision
Making the leap →
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →