How did you get your first 10 customers?

Senthilnathan RM
27 replies
There's nothing like getting our first 10 customers. So how did you get yours? Would love to hear!

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Eric Li
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Launching soon!
For Versive: 1) Friends and network for the first few, and 2) cold outreach to target customers on LinkedIn for the rest.
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Kostya Bolshukhin
hey @erictli, mind sharing messages you use in outrach?
Eric Li
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Launching soon!
@kostyabolsh there isn't a great one size fits all approach. My messages were short and personalized to my product and who I was reaching out to. When we were just getting started, I'd connect with people we wanted to talk to and write very short blurb about the problem we're solving and ask if we could get their input on their experiences and the industry. Once we had a product I'd connect with people with a 1 sentence description about the problem we're solving. Then, if they accept, I'd give a slightly longer description of our solution (e.g. 2 sentences) and ask if they'd be open to a chat / demo. It's very much a numbers game, the % of people willing to talk will be in the single digits.
CY Zhou
I reached out to my network and offered free trials to gather feedback and build trust. Word-of-mouth referrals from these initial users helped me secure my first 10 customers.
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CY Zhou
I reached out to my personal network and offered them exclusive early access in exchange for feedback. This helped me refine the product and build initial traction.
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Vaibhav
I got my initial customers for Selftalk.ing but talking about it on various places like PH, X and by listing it on directories.
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@vaibhavdwivedi , that's great, how did X work for you?
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Kostya Bolshukhin
@vaibhavdwivedi do directories work? Or are they nieche specific ?
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Vaibhav
@kostyabolsh I'd say 2 out of 100 does work. I submitted my product in 100 but the yielded ROI was very very low.
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Vaibhav
@senthil99nathan X worked great but it really boils down to the initial traction you get from your friends there.
Kostya Bolshukhin
Found a hack with friends of friends. I look on LinkedIn people within my Target Customer Profile with the filter "Connections of" where i select one really close connect. Choose 3 tops per a friend or a colleague. Ask specifically to introduce me to these 3 ppl. And usually get 1 or 2 from list. The secret is — most of my friends dont make intros fast, so when request is vague "eg. do you know folks from marketing..." results are so-so as best
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@kostyabolsh , that's so cool! have thought something similar in the past. reading this makes me think I should try it out at least once.
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Daria Ofitserova
Friends and friends of friends.
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@daria_ofitserova , friends of friends is something to look at. Glad it worked for you!
Daria Ofitserova
@kostyabolsh Yes, and it completely crashes the boundaries between life and work. No balance at all, mainly work 😅
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Kostya Bolshukhin
@daria_ofitserova Awesome channel But also needs smart approach to work
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Kostya Bolshukhin
@daria_ofitserova all the boundaries are in our head
Our first customers discovered us through word of mouth within our network. Building relationships and providing top-notch service really paid off in those early days. We are grateful for their support and trust in our services. We are building a marketing AI called Contentify AI. It's free and easy to set up. Check out the "Launching soon".
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Liu Alex
Just got mine 5 in one week before ph launch lol Find the right person first, just go to the community and be one of them. Like me, I am a youtubers, and my product designed for creators who wanna create viral hooks. So it's easy for me for find my customers, and also know what they want.
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@liu_alex1 , makes sense - just hanging out and helping potential prospects where they are.
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Herklos
On github
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Gurkaran Singh
I got my first 10 customers by spreading the word like a tech-savvy town crier! It was a mix of shameless self-promotion and a dash of digital sorcery. How about you - any marketing tricks up your algorithmic sleeve?
@thestarkster , I have a few thoughts like what @kostyabolsh said here. besides that, striking right partnerships can do well. it has worked wonders for a few startups.
Abhra Ch.
Hey @senthil99nathan! 😄 Getting the first 10 customers is indeed a thrilling milestone! For us, it was a mix of word-of-mouth and leveraging our personal network. We attended local meetups and events to pitch our product and also offered early adopter discounts to entice the first users. How did you get your first 10? Would love to hear your story too! 😍
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@abhra_ch , that's great to hear! For us, it's a mix of our network and online presence (LinkedIn, Twitter).
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Kehui Guo
Through referrals! Trust is so important in the beginning so friends’ recommendation is a great starting point.
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@kehui_guo , so true, nothing beats network/friends/connections!
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