Article · 12 min read

How to Get Your First Users

Y Combinator · Y Combinator Startup Library Free Beginner

A compact YC piece that reframes the MVP as a minimum evolvable product, something you keep changing in response to your earliest users. It ties getting first users directly to listening and iterating, not just launching. Good short read to align your team on why the first users matter beyond the vanity of signups.

  • Treat the MVP as something you evolve with early users, not a finished thing.
  • First users are a source of direction, not just a number to grow.
  • Stay close enough to early users to change the product quickly.

The question it answers

  1. How do I get my first users for the MVP?

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. Fifty-plus recent YC founders answer the exact question every early founder asks. The pattern across their answers is the lesson. YC Startup Library Article · ~10 min read Founder FAQ: How did you get your first customer? Y Combinator (50+ founders)
  5. A step-by-step, modern YC walkthrough of identifying buyers, starting conversations, and converting them into your first... YC Startup Library Video · ~20 min How to Get Your First 10 Customers Max Kolysh (Y Combinator)
  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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