Why most SaaS startup founders fail to get their first 10 users (and how to avoid it)
Content Summary
Opinion Analysis
Mainstream opinion: The core advice—talk to users early, pick a narrow niche, and do manual work first—is widely endorsed as the fastest path to the first 10 users. Supporters like u/No_Round_5042 and u/SignsofRome emphasize that simple tactics executed well beat fancy launches.
Conflicting views: Critics (u/ShyBabyBellah, u/Affectionate-Soft-94, u/rioisk) label the post AI-generated spam and accuse the author of disguising self-promotion as value. They argue that experienced founders already know these basics and that selling a “starter kit” is redundant.
Nuanced perspective: u/BusyBusinessPromos points out that technical founders often lack basic business/sales knowledge, so even “obvious” tactics feel new to them. u/Key-Boat-7519 provides a detailed playbook (Loom + Google Sheet + referral loop) showing how granular execution of the same principles can yield results.
SAAS TOOLS
| SaaS | URL | Category | Features/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lemlist | https://lemlist.com | Cold Email Outreach | Used for sending personalized cold emails |
| Orbit | https://orbit.love | Community & CRM | Keeps user notes and relationship data in one place |
| Pulse for Reddit | https://pulse.app | Social Listening | Spots niche Reddit threads for quick wins |
| Founders Traction System | https://wirehaired-protest-b61.notion.site/1e97648c55c880ddb946c598bdeda50f | Marketing Starter Kit | Pre-built lead-gen system for solo founders |
USER NEEDS
Pain Points:
- Technical founders lack marketing/sales knowledge
- Fear of cold outreach (DMs, calls, Zoom)
- Wasting months building scalable infra before validating demand
- Building in silence and hoping users will magically appear
- Struggling to identify a super-specific niche
- Difficulty getting anyone to care enough to try or pay
Problems to Solve:
- How to get the first 10 paying users
- How to validate demand before building full product
- How to find and reach the right ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)
- How to transition from technical build to customer discovery
- How to turn early feedback into product-market fit
Potential Solutions:
- Ruthless focus on one narrow niche
- Hand-to-hand outreach: cold DMs, Reddit, forums, Twitter
- Replace feature pitches with problem-centric conversations
- Zoom calls and face-to-face conversations for rapid learning
- Manual concierge MVP to prove value before automating
- Offer free access in exchange for weekly feedback
- Use Loom videos of Google-Sheet prototypes to demo value quickly
GROWTH FACTORS
Effective Strategies:
- Pick a super-specific niche and own it
- Do things manually first to prove value (concierge MVP)
- Talk to at least 10 right ICP prospects per day
- Ask every early user for one intro to double the lead pool
- Use SEO early to compound lead generation
Marketing & Acquisition:
- Cold DMs and personalized emails via Lemlist
- Short Loom demo videos sent to prospects
- Reddit and forum engagement in niche threads
- Twitter listening for people already complaining about the pain
- Zoom calls as a conversion and feedback tool
Monetization & Product:
- Free access in exchange for weekly feedback loop
- Focus on solving one problem really well for 50 people instead of 10 problems for no one
- Validate willingness to pay before building scalable backend
- Use Google-Sheet prototypes to test core value prop quickly
User Engagement:
- Weekly feedback calls to iterate product in real time
- Community building via personal introductions
- Orbit CRM to track user notes and relationship history
- Keep outreach personal and manual until hitting 10 committed users