Thread · approx 10 min read

How I got my first 100 users

Alexander Chen · Indie Hackers Free Beginner

A short, honest founder writeup that echoes the heart of our answer: a handful of real conversations with people in your target group beat any launch or clever post. It is a peer at your stage, not a guru, describing how showing the tool to people who mentioned the problem produced the first users. Encouraging and concrete when the polished frameworks feel far away.

  • Your first users come from conversations, not a marketing plan
  • Show your tool to people who already named the problem
  • A few genuine chats can outperform a big launch early on
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The question it answers

  1. I'm a solo technical founder and hate selling. How do I get my first customers without becoming a salesperson?

Read with it

  1. The single best thing ever written on customer conversations. It teaches you to ask about the customer's life and past... momtestbook.com Book · ~130 pages The Mom Test Rob Fitzpatrick
  2. The permission slip to recruit users by hand, do things manually, and deliver 'insanely great' experiences to your first few... paulgraham.com Essay · ~15 min read Do Things That Don't Scale Paul Graham
  3. A YC partner and ex-Airbnb growth lead gives a tactical, no-fluff talk on landing early customers for both B2B and B2C. It's... YC Startup Library Video · ~30 min video How to Get Your First Customers Gustaf Alstromer (Y Combinator)
  4. A tactical follow-on covering the channels and motions top B2B startups scale after the first ten. Grounds distribution... Lenny's Newsletter Article · ~15 min read How to win your first 10 B2B customers Lenny Rachitsky
  5. The authoritative handbook on founder-led sales, written for technical/first-time sellers building B2B SaaS. Readable free... foundingsales.com Book · book (~400 pages) Founding Sales: The Early Stage Go-to-Market Handbook Peter Kazanjy
  6. A blunt, practical guide from Demand Curve's founder on which paid and organic channels fit which business, and why most... julian.com Article · Long-form guide Startup Handbook: Customer Acquisition Channels Julian Shapiro
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