First Customers (GTM)

Where do I find the very first people to even talk to about my product?

A starting point

Start with the channels that already have trust and work outward: your personal network, then your extended network via warm intros, then the influential/active people in your niche whom you can reach cold. Go where your ideal customer already hangs out, communities, Slack/WhatsApp/Discord groups, Reddit, LinkedIn, industry events. Don't wait for them to find you; go to them.

Go deeper

Watch

▶️ Video
Free Beginner

How to Get Your First Ten Customers

On YC Startup Library by Michael Seibel (Y Combinator) ~15 min

Why we picked it

Michael Seibel (co-founder of Twitch, YC managing director) breaks the first-ten problem into a concrete, repeatable playbook. Perfect for a founder staring at zero customers.

  • Your first customers come from personal outreach, not marketing.
  • Identify exactly who your customer is before you go find them.
  • Get on calls and in conversations rather than hiding behind a landing page.
  • Turn a waitlist into a list of people to reach out to one by one.
Open ycombinator.com →
▶️ Video
Free Beginner

How to Get Your First 10 Customers

On YC Startup Library by Max Kolysh (Y Combinator) ~20 min

Why we picked it

A step-by-step, modern YC walkthrough of identifying buyers, starting conversations, and converting them into your first customers. Very actionable for a founder starting cold.

  • Identify the right buyers before you spend effort reaching out.
  • Start real conversations rather than broadcasting.
  • Convert conversations into your first paying customers deliberately.
  • Founder hustle, not automation, gets you the first ten.
Open ycombinator.com →

Read

📄 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 →

People also ask

How do I actually get my first 10 customers when nobody has heard of me? You go get them by hand, one at a time, email people you already know, people your investors/friends know, and strangers in the exact niche you're ... Beginner 4 resources → Isn't doing things that don't scale a waste of time, shouldn't I automate from day one? No. Automating too early is how you build a machine that efficiently delivers something nobody wants. The unscalable, unglamorous work, hand-recrui... Beginner 2 resources → Should I charge my very first customers or give it away free to get traction? Charge them. Free users tell you polite lies; paying customers tell you the truth, because money is the clearest signal that you've solved a real p... Beginner 2 resources → How did real successful startups actually land their first customers? Almost universally through unscalable, personal effort: Airbnb's founders knocked on doors and re-shot listing photos themselves; Stripe hand-insta... Intermediate 3 resources → I only have a landing page and a waitlist, how do I turn signups into paying customers? A waitlist is not traction; it's a list of people to email personally. Reach out to each signup one-on-one, get on a call, understand their problem... Beginner 2 resources → Is cold outreach even worth it, or is it just spam that hurts my brand? Done lazily it's spam; done well it's just starting a relevant conversation with someone who genuinely needs you. The difference is targeting and p... Beginner 2 resources →