How do you get your first 100 customers?

Find people who have the problem your product solves and reply like a person. The channels that work for founders at this stage are Reddit, Indie Hackers, Product Hunt, and YouTube comment sections. Find the thread, reply before it dies, save the person, and follow up on Friday. Repeat every day for fifteen minutes.

How long does it take to get 100 customers?

That depends entirely on how often you do the work and how fast the conversation converts. The checklist is the daily motion. The number of days it takes is a function of how many conversations you have per day and what percentage of them convert.

What free tools help you find first customers?

The free subreddit finder maps your niche to the subreddits where buyers ask for help. The free YouTube comment finder flags buyer-intent comments without a signup. F5Bot sends free keyword alerts for Reddit and Hacker News. Founder CRM is a free Chrome extension that keeps the people you meet on Reddit, X, and Product Hunt on a local list.

Should I launch on Product Hunt to get first customers?

Optional. A Product Hunt launch can bring a spike of attention. The conversations on Reddit, Indie Hackers, and X are not optional. The guide to launching without Product Hunt covers what to do instead if you are not ready for a launch day.

How do I track the outreach to my first 100 customers?

Keep a record of who you replied to, which thread, what you said, and when to follow up. A spreadsheet works. Founder CRM is a free Chrome extension that keeps the same record in your browser with a follow-up reminder. The guide to tracking outreach from public conversations covers what fields to keep.

Is there a checklist for getting first customers?

Yes, this page is it. The five steps are: define the target in one sentence, find where they are, find the specific people, reply like a person, and file the follow-up. Repeat until you reach 100.

Checklist

First 100 customers checklist for founders

Getting to 100 customers is a conversation problem, not a marketing problem. You find people who have the problem your product solves, you reply like a human, and you keep the follow-up. This checklist covers the steps in order, with the free tools that handle each one.

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Before you start

One sentence: who has the problem your product solves, and where do they describe it in public?

If you cannot answer that in one sentence, the checklist below will not help. A fuzzy target means you will reply to everyone and convert nobody.

Write the one-sentence target. "Solo founders who can't track who they replied to on Reddit." Not "founders" or "small businesses."
Write three phrases that target would use to describe the problem. These are your search terms. "Reddit CRM", "track outreach", "follow up with people I replied to."
List the communities they use. Reddit subreddits, Indie Hackers, Product Hunt, X. You do not need all of them. Start with one or two.

Step 1: Find where they are

Map the subreddits. Use the free subreddit finder with your product description. It returns a list of subreddits where your buyers ask for help. Takes two minutes. No account.
Check Indie Hackers. Search for the problem phrases you wrote. Look at the Latest feed and the Ask IH section. The guide to finding customers on Indie Hackers covers which threads convert.
Check Product Hunt. Makers who launched in your category are often looking for the same customers you are. People who commented on related launches are already aware of the problem. The guide to reaching Product Hunt makers with DMs open covers how to do this without an auto-send.
Check YouTube comment sections. Tutorial videos in your category attract people who are actively doing the job. The free YouTube comment finder filters buyer-intent comments without a signup. The guide is YouTube comment lead gen for founders.

Step 2: Find the people

Search by phrase, not by keyword. "how do I track Reddit outreach" finds someone with the problem. "Reddit" finds everyone on Reddit. Use the phrases you wrote in the before-you-start section.
Sort by New on Reddit, not Hot. A thread posted an hour ago has no replies yet. Reply before the thread dies and your reply is the one that shows up.
Read the profile before you reply. A Reddit, Indie Hackers, or X profile tells you what the person is building and what they said before. A reply that references what you read converts better than a generic one.
Use the Chrome extension for Reddit, X, and Product Hunt. Founder CRM finds people in your current Chrome session using a description you write. You still decide who fits and you still write every reply.
Set up F5Bot if you want a free alert. F5Bot emails you when your search phrases appear on Reddit, Hacker News, and Lobsters. It is free and it works while you are away. The full stack is the free Reddit lead-gen stack.

Step 3: Reply like a person

Answer the thing they asked, not the general topic. If they asked "how do I track who I replied to on Reddit," answer that question specifically.
Give something useful even if your product is not the fit. A useful answer that does not mention your product builds the reputation that makes the next reply land better.
Mention your product only when it is the honest recommendation. Say you built it. People check profiles. Hiding the conflict will backfire.
Keep it short. Two paragraphs maximum. The thread is not about you.
Do not use the same reply twice. A copied reply is spam even if it is technically accurate. The specific thing you noticed about their situation is what makes a reply worth reading.
No auto-reply, no drafted messages. You press send yourself. Every time. The no auto-DM page explains why.

The practical Reddit version of this is the first customers from Reddit guide.

Step 4: File the follow-up

A reply that does not get saved is a conversation that disappears. Most founders lose track of people they replied to within two days. The follow-up step is what separates a conversation from a customer.

Save the person, not the thread. The thread URL is context. The person is the lead. Record their name, what they asked, what you said, and when to look again.
Set a follow-up date. "Check in on Friday" is a decision you make now, not later. Later means never.
Use Founder CRM for the list. The extension keeps the person locally in Chrome with a note and a follow-up reminder. No subscription. No sync to a server. Your list, in your browser. The guide to tracking outreach from public conversations covers the fields worth keeping.
A spreadsheet works too. Name, source, date, what you said, follow-up date. Simple and free. Use whichever one you will actually open on Friday.

Step 5: Keep going until 100

One hundred paying customers is roughly one hundred conversations that ended well. The math is not complicated: find a channel, find people, reply, follow up. Repeat every day for fifteen minutes.

Track your conversion at each step. How many people did you reply to? How many replied back? How many became a trial? How many became a customer? The number that is low tells you where to focus.
Change channels when one is exhausted. If you have replied to every relevant thread in a subreddit this week, add another subreddit or move to Indie Hackers. The subreddit finder returns more communities to try.
Do not launch instead of talking. A Product Hunt launch is optional. The conversations are not. The guide to launching without Product Hunt covers what to do instead.
Do not automate until you understand the conversation. Automation before you know what works produces more bad replies faster. Do the manual version until you can write the reply in your sleep.

Free tools for this checklist

Every step above has a free tool that handles it. None of them require a subscription:

Subreddit finder. Free subreddit finder maps your product description to the subreddits where buyers ask for help.
YouTube comment finder. Free YouTube comment finder filters buyer-intent comments on any video. No signup.
F5Bot. Free keyword alert for Reddit, Hacker News, and Lobsters. Set it up once and it emails you when your phrases appear.
Founder CRM. Free Chrome extension to find your first 100 customers. Finds people on Reddit, X, and Product Hunt. Local list with notes and follow-up reminders. No account and no subscription.

Questions founders ask

How do you get your first 100 customers?: Find people who have the problem your product solves and reply like a person. The channels that work for founders at this stage are Reddit, Indie Hackers, Product Hunt, and YouTube comment sections. Find the thread, reply before it dies, save the person, and follow up on Friday. Repeat every day for fifteen minutes.
How long does it take to get 100 customers?: That depends entirely on how often you do the work and how fast the conversation converts. The checklist is the daily motion. The number of days it takes is a function of how many conversations you have per day and what percentage of them convert.
What free tools help you find first customers?: The free subreddit finder maps your niche to the subreddits where buyers ask for help. The free YouTube comment finder flags buyer-intent comments without a signup. F5Bot sends free keyword alerts for Reddit and Hacker News. Founder CRM is a free Chrome extension that keeps the people you meet on Reddit, X, and Product Hunt on a local list.
Should I launch on Product Hunt to get first customers?: Optional. A Product Hunt launch can bring a spike of attention. The conversations on Reddit, Indie Hackers, and X are not optional. The guide to launching without Product Hunt covers what to do instead if you are not ready for a launch day.
How do I track the outreach to my first 100 customers?: Keep a record of who you replied to, which thread, what you said, and when to follow up. A spreadsheet works. Founder CRM is a free Chrome extension that keeps the same record in your browser with a follow-up reminder. The guide to tracking outreach from public conversations covers what fields to keep.
Is there a checklist for getting first customers?: Yes, this page is it. The five steps are: define the target in one sentence, find where they are, find the specific people, reply like a person, and file the follow-up. Repeat until you reach 100.

Install Founder CRM

Free Chrome extension to find your first 100 customers. Finds people on Reddit, X, and Product Hunt. Notes, follow-up reminders, and a local list that is yours. You write every message.

Add to Chrome Try the free subreddit finder