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How to get users (0 to 1,000+)

What is Marketing?​

  • Marketing is not just "promotion"; marketing is a conversation.
  • You could have the best product in the world, but if no one hears or cares about it, it won't matter.
  • "Best-selling author, not best-writing author" — distribution and narrative matter as much as (or more than) product quality.
  • The secret behind marketing: Figure out what makes your product special and how to make people care about it.
  • If people do not care about your product, no amount of publicity or reach will make them buy it.

Core Principles of Messaging​

  • Sell the story, not features; sell a lifestyle, not specs.
    • Example: The original iPod ad didn't say "5GB hard drive"; it said "1,000 songs in your pocket."
    • Avoid technical jargon (e.g., bragging about Solana, React Native, or specific AI model parameters). Users care about how their lives will change, not the underlying tech stack.

Copywriting Framework​

  1. Headline: Grab someone's attention immediately.
  2. Body: Keep content enticing so they stay until the end.
  3. CTA (Call to Action): Give a clear, direct step to convert them into a customer or user.

Channels & Focus​

NOTE

Pick ONE channel and master it. Do not split focus across LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, cold email, etc., simultaneously when starting out.

  • Choose one main channel based on your team's unfair advantage (e.g., if you write well →\rightarrow LinkedIn/Twitter/Reddit; if you speak/present well →\rightarrow Video/TikTok/YouTube).
  • Drive relentless volume: Ask yourself: "How much volume can I put into this single channel such that it becomes statistically unreasonable for me to fail?"

Channel Breakdown & Strategies:​

  • LinkedIn Strategy (B2B / Professional):
    • Commit to 3 posts a week for 6 months.
    • Month 1: Announce your company/product, build in public, document the journey.
    • Month 2+: Shares case studies, early customer wins, and social proof.
    • Content heuristic: Post anything that is even bare-minimum newsworthy (getting an office, new feature release, event hosted).
    • Mindset: Don't fear looking "cringe" or uncomfortable. Volume builds skill, lowers friction, and generates results.
  • AEO / GEO (AI Engine Optimization):
    • Optimizing product positioning so LLMs (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) recommend your product when users ask for tools in your niche.
  • Warm Outreach / "Hand-to-Hand Combat":
    • Engaging directly with target accounts on LinkedIn or Twitter (commenting, interacting) before sending a direct pitch. Turning cold outreach into warm connections.

Product Validation & Customer Discovery​

NOTE

Stop building. Your problem isn't building—it's fear of getting out of your house and talking to people.

The 3 Steps of Marketing:​

  1. Talk to people.
  2. Genuinely understand their problems (ask, don't pitch).
  3. Offer a solution to their specific problem.

The "Vitamins vs. Painkillers" Framework:​

  • Vitamins: Nice-to-haves (non-essential improvements).
  • Painkillers: Solves a pressing, immediate problem people are actively conscious of (e.g., "If you have a headache, you want a Tylenol, not Vitamin C").

The 3 Phases of Startup Growth​

Phase 0: Creating the Idea​

A valid startup idea must satisfy one of two criteria:

  1. Solves a problem you have personally experienced.
  2. Solves a painful problem for a very specific demographic you have direct access to.
  • If you do neither, you are likely building a solution in search of a problem.

Phase 1: 0 to 10 Users (Finding Champions)​

  • Do NOT pitch your idea during discovery. Ask about their day-to-day workflow, pain points, and where they lose time.
  • Niche down as far as possible: Don't build for "all CRM users." Build for "CFOs of public companies doing SOX compliance" or "Pathologists in Houston, TX."
  • Focus: Build an app that 10–20 people deeply care about. Distribution scaling comes later.

Phase 2: 10 to 300 Users (Proving Distribution)​

  • Find where your specific ICP goes to discover new products (not just where they hangout, but where they buy).
  • Scale through 1 single distribution channel using organic content, pre-orders, waitlists, or direct outreach.

Phase 3: 300 to 1,000+ Users (Scaling Revenue)​

  • Reaching $1M ARR in Phase 3 is about doubling down on what worked in Phase 2:
    • Scale Horizontally: Create multiple accounts/channels on the same platform.
    • Scale Vertically: Higher volume, higher production quality, paid UGC, or ads.

Common Mistakes​

  1. Pitching instead of asking: Coming with a 100-feature MVP and asking "Would you buy this?" creates false feedback. Ask broad questions about their day-to-day workflow first to uncover latent pain.
  2. Building for demographics you don't know: Pick a niche close to your existing network or personal experience.
  3. Feature trapping (The "One More Feature" Illusion): Adding features because a prospect says "I'll buy it if you add X." If it's a true painkiller, they'll buy or test early.
  4. Marketplace Trap: Trying to acquire supply and demand at the same time. Hack: Focus on the side of the market that feels the pain most frequently and severely—they will pull the other side in.
  5. Channel Jumping: Trying 4 social platforms at once without generating enough volume on any single one.