Get first 10 customers through: (1) Personal network - friends, family, colleagues (easiest first sales), (2) Targeted cold outreach on LinkedIn with personalized value proposition, (3) Launch on Product Hunt, Hacker News, Reddit for tech products, (4) Join niche communities and provide value before pitching, (5) Offer founding member discounts (50-75% off), (6) Direct outreach to people complaining about the problem online. Focus on quality over quantity - 10 engaged customers provide better feedback than 1,000 uninterested users.
Key First Customers Takeaways
- Start with personal network: Former colleagues, friends in target industry
- LinkedIn cold outreach: 50-100 personalized messages to target personas
- Launch on Product Hunt, Hacker News, niche subreddits for visibility
- Join communities first: Provide value before pitching
- Founding member pricing: 50-75% lifetime discount for first 10
- Find complainers: Twitter/Reddit users posting about your problem
First Customers Statistics
50-100
LinkedIn messages for 1 customer
50-75%
founding member discount
10
customers for product feedback
5-10%
Product Hunt conversion rate
Expert Tips
Do things that don't scale
Paul Graham's advice - manual outreach beats automation for first 10
Offer founding member perks
50-75% lifetime discount creates urgency and loyalty
Find complainers online
People posting about your problem are pre-qualified leads
Join communities first
Provide value for weeks before any sales pitch
Recommended Tools & Resources
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Find and reach target customers
Product Hunt
Launch platform for tech products