How to get your first 100 users
By Leo I, founder of StartupList. Updated .
Your first 100 users come from people you can reach one at a time: people you know who have the problem, the communities where your users already talk, and a few launch sites. Ask each one how they found you and what nearly stopped them, then do more of whatever brought them.
| Where | What you do | Works best when |
|---|---|---|
| People you know | Write to each person who has the problem, one at a time, and ask them to try it | You can name 20 people who'd use it |
| Communities | Answer questions where your users ask them, and mention your product only where the rules allow it | Your users gather in a forum, subreddit or chat group |
| Launch sites | Launch on two or three, a week or two apart | People can try it without talking to you |
| Writing | Write the guide you wish you'd found when you had the problem | People search for the problem by name |
| Your product | Make inviting a teammate or sharing a result part of using it | It's better with other people |
Start with people you know
List everyone you know who has the problem you solve. Write to each of them yourself, say why you thought of them, and ask them to try it this week. A note written to one person is much harder to ignore than a post written to everyone.
Go where your users already talk
Find the forums, subreddits and chat groups where your users ask questions, and answer them well. Mention what you built only where the community's rules allow it: most ban drive-by promotion, and members remember who helped them.
Launch, one site at a time
Pick two or three launch sites that suit your product, and space them a week or two apart so you can answer every comment. Where to launch a startup compares them, and the launch-day checklist covers the day itself.
Do things by hand
Set up your first users' accounts with them on a call, fix what they trip over that day, and write to them again a week later. It won't scale, and it doesn't need to yet: while you have a few users, you can ask each one what they need.
Find out what works
Ask every new user how they heard about you, and write it down. After 30 or 40 users you'll know which two or three places bring people, and you can stop spending time on the rest.
Questions
How long does it take to get 100 users?
It depends on your product and how much time you spend reaching people. Writing to a few people every day adds up faster than waiting for one launch to do the work.
Should I pay for ads to get my first users?
Usually not yet. Ads work once you know who your users are and what makes them stay. Before that, you'd be paying to learn what a few conversations would tell you for free.
Do launch sites bring real users?
They can, if people can try your product straight away and your page says plainly what it does and who it's for. Treat each launch as a way to reach a new group of people, and write to everyone who signs up.