First Customers (GTM)

How do the fastest-growing B2B companies find and scale their distribution?

A starting point

They start with high-trust channels, personal network and direct outreach, to land their first ten, then scale on a dominant engine, most often content/SEO, outbound sales, or self-serve inbound. Lenny Rachitsky's teardown of top B2B startups shows the pattern clearly: earn trust first, then systematize the one channel that compounds.

Go deeper

Hand-picked from around the web, each with a note on why it's here.

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📄 Article
Freemium Intermediate

How today's fastest-growing B2B startups found their first ten customers

From Lenny's Newsletter by Lenny Rachitsky ~15 min read

Why we picked it

A data-backed teardown of how companies like Figma, Gusto, and Vanta actually sourced their earliest customers. Replaces guesswork with real patterns.

  • Only three sourcing strategies power nearly all very-early B2B growth.
  • Tap your personal network first (Gusto's first 10 were friends/YC batchmates).
  • Reach influential users via direct outreach (Figma cold-emailed top designers).
  • Start with the highest-trust channels and work outward.
Open lennysnewsletter.com →
📄 Article
Freemium Intermediate

How to win your first 10 B2B customers

From Lenny's Newsletter by Lenny Rachitsky ~15 min read

Why we picked it

A tactical follow-on covering the channels and motions top B2B startups scale after the first ten. Grounds distribution strategy in real company examples.

  • Content/SEO is a surprisingly dominant B2B channel (Vanta, Amplitude, Figma, HubSpot).
  • The core B2B channels: self-serve inbound, sales-assist inbound, outbound, content, paid, partnerships.
  • Pick and systematize the one channel that compounds for you.
  • Distribution strategy should follow evidence, not fashion.
Open lennysnewsletter.com →

People also ask

How do I figure out which distribution channel is right for my startup? Run experiments, don't guess. Use the Bullseye framework from 'Traction': brainstorm across all ~19 channels, pick 3 promising ones to cheaply test... Intermediate 2 resources → Why does everyone say 'distribution is more important than product'? Because a great product nobody can find dies quietly, while an average product with a strong channel wins the market. Most founders overspend on bu... Intermediate 2 resources → What are the actual distribution channels I can choose from? There are roughly 19 well-known ones, SEO, content, paid ads, viral/referral, email, sales, business development, PR, community, existing platforms... Beginner 1 resource → Should I focus on one channel or spread across many? Focus. Early on, pick one channel that shows real traction and pour your energy into mastering it before diversifying, spreading thin across five c... Intermediate 2 resources → As an Indian founder, how do I think about distribution for a global product? The channel is still the strategy, but pick ones that don't require you to be physically in the buyer's market, content/SEO, product-led self-serve... Advanced 3 resources → Where do I find the very first people to even talk to about my product? Start with the channels that already have trust and work outward: your personal network, then your extended network via warm intros, then the influ... Beginner 3 resources →