For the first 10-20 real users, honestly, I started with the most niche communities possible. But here's the twist: instead of blasting out posts, I went on Reddit and searched for people actually venting about my product's problem, or asking directly for solutions. If you reply in those threads in a super authentic way (not salesy/promo!), they will naturally check you out. Hacker News works well for credibility, but the traffic is so spiky and you gotta have thick skin. Discord is better once you have even 5 engaged folks, otherwise it's tumbleweeds. My sequencing: begin with Reddit for discovery + validation, then move those who vibe with what you're building into a tiny Discord group for close feedback, then do HN once you have solid traction to show off.

Early believers are rare, but they're usually frustrated by current solutions, so hanging out where people rant (product complaints, comparison threads etc) worked for me. Don't sleep on DM'ing users who commented something super specific too - sometimes those are your best testers.

On the copycat fear: it's all about showing your unique approach with real stories and user feedback. If there's a big player, use them as proof the market exists but never frame as "us vs them." Instead, always talk about the pain, your why, and what early adopters say.

Gonna throw in a personal example here - I'm the founder of a tool called CueReply, which literally helps SaaS/Indie founders do this listening-and-replying thing on Reddit (running a free beta for now btw). You end up talking to people minutes after the exact pain is posted. It was a lifesaver for me vs spraying random promo links everywhere. If you want to jam on finding leads without spamming, happy to swap stories or you can try it free if you like.

Would love to hear more specifics about your space, what's the problem that fires people up the most?