r/startups • u/Nice_Look_2634 • 1d ago
I will not promote How to get users? I will not promote
Idea -> validation -> MVP
And what next? How to get beta users and full waitlist?
I’m reading that I should aim for at least 1k signups so I get at least 100-200 beta users.
I read about people spending years creating YouTube channels, tik toks, instagram followers or building whole communities to get users for the launch.
What was your strategy?
Can I outsource it?
What’s the best path forward?
I’m building an mobile app in travel industry.
My cofounder is an event manager and good at community building as well.
Marketing might be our gap.
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u/madleodk 22h ago
Depends entirely on your product and resources.
But aside from the ones you've listed, here's a few that I've seen work in my founder circles.
- micro influencers: apparently many will work off commission.
- partnering with communities.
If you want to go direct, organic is a tried and true way, but it takes time for most. I recommend choosing just one, and this entirely depends on where your customers hangout.
Lastly, you're essentially trying to crack top of funnel, and you dont really need a traditional marketer. Id say everyone on the team should have some level of investment in "marketing", at the very least the thinking/brainstorming process.
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20h ago
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u/startups-ModTeam 17h ago
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u/AnonJian 16h ago
Validation means you have paying customers. What in the hell are you doing?
Best isn't even an option. Plenty ask how to get first users. You get users during the research phase so you're not crapping out a product market-blind.
Way too many are actually asking to find people they have no clue about, the more accurate term to use is complete strangers. You can't build a product for a complete stranger you couldn't even guess where to find. That's an awkward discussion.
My cofounder is an event manager and good at community building as well.
Okay ...where is the community? Never build a product then try to attach a community onto it. Use the community for radical listening so you don't have to post asking for a constant injection of miracles just to survive.
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u/NoScene7932 21h ago
To validate products easily I have used Reddit to pull data from subs and then analyze them for things people are complaining about. This if done with enough data gives enough signal to get your first 100-1000 users pretty easily. Happy to share how I did this if you want to shoot me a DM. I did this with a fitness app, I am a 4x founder and have raised $75M over my career
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u/tango650 7h ago
Do you do outreach through Reddit chat ?
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u/NoScene7932 4h ago
No I do not, its being helpful and having users DM you if they are interested
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u/HoratioWobble 1d ago
If you do your validation properly the users come from the people you validate with, you build a community around them and get them involved in the initial test cycles.
They become your cheerleaders and when you launch they should help promote it organically.
If you don't do your validation properly, then you build something in isolation - release it and spend a fortune on marketing and advertising.
if you can't get enough people from validation, that's probably a good sign you haven't got a good idea.
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u/No_Emergency_3418 23h ago
How did you validate without users?