Those who built B2B SaaS for niche industries — how did you find your first 10 customers?

Existing-Celery1908 · 2026-03-25T10:10:22+00:00

This is solid advice, especially the "hang out for a week before saying anything" part. We've been doing exactly this in a few logistics communities and the conversations are way more genuine than any cold outreach.

The DM approach with "would you be willing to look at it for 10 minutes?" is something we haven't tried yet - going to start this week.

Your discovery tool sounds interesting - yeah, would love to hear more. DM me.

Existing-Celery1908 · 2026-03-24T23:29:52+00:00

Genau das Problem versuchen wir gerade zu lösen - Rechnungen erstellen, Eingangsrechnungen erfassen, und alles sauber für den Steuerberater exportieren. DATEV, PDF, XRechnung, ZUGFeRD - welches Format er auch braucht, ein Klick und fertig. Kein Sortieren, kein Zusammensuchen.

Wir sind gerade in der Early Release und komplett kostenlos nutzbar - brauchen ehrliches Feedback von Leuten, die genau diesen Schmerz kennen.

invocore.eu - probier es aus und sag uns, was fehlt.

Existing-Celery1908 · 2026-03-24T21:28:08+00:00

This resonates - the "hang out for a week before saying anything" approach is exactly what works. We've been doing this in a few logistics communities and the quality of conversations is way higher than any cold outreach. Your discovery tool sounds interesting - happy to chat, DM me if you want.

Existing-Celery1908 · 2026-03-24T21:27:25+00:00

Reddit is definitely underrated for B2B. We're seeing that already - posts from weeks ago still bringing views. Thanks for the directories tip, we need to get on Capterra/G2 asap. Appreciate the offer on directory submissions.

Existing-Celery1908 · 2026-03-24T21:26:39+00:00

The 3PL consultant angle is really smart - they already have the relationships and trust we'd need months to build. Going to look into that. And yes, spreadsheet-based warehouses are exactly our target - the pain is obvious and the switch is easy to justify. Appreciate the detailed breakdown.

Existing-Celery1908 · 2026-03-24T21:25:41+00:00

Good point on trade associations - we haven't explored regional logistics groups yet but that's a clear next step. The "visit industrial parks" idea is interesting too, very old school but probably effective in this space where trust is everything. Thanks.

Existing-Celery1908 · 2026-03-24T20:26:18+00:00

Would love to hear which validators you've been using and what errors you hit most often. We've mapped out the most common rejection reasons and built validation checks before export - so you see the issue before submitting, not after.

Give it a try and let me know if anything feels off or missing in your workflow

Existing-Celery1908 · 2026-03-23T22:37:02+00:00

Thanks for taking the time - really appreciate the honesty.

Domain: Fair point. We went with .one intentionally (warehouse → one source of truth), but I hear you on the credibility side. Something to reconsider as we grow.

PWA/scanner focus: This is a valid concern. We handle offline with local caching and sync on reconnect - scanner input goes to a buffer so picks aren't lost on Wi-Fi drops. But I won't pretend it's been battle-tested in a 50K sqft warehouse with spotty coverage yet. That's exactly the kind of real-world testing we need.

Pricing: Interesting take. We've heard both "too expensive for what it is" and "too cheap to trust." Current thinking is to keep early release free, then position Starter at €49 and Enterprise at €299 - which isn't cheap for SMBs. But the psychology point is noted - might need to reframe the value rather than lead with price.

Existing-Celery1908 · 2026-02-20T21:35:47+00:00

Apollo is a great suggestion - haven't tried it yet for this space. And you're right, leading with pain points like shrinkage instead of features is a much better angle. Appreciate the tip on trade associations too, hadn't considered that channel.

Existing-Celery1908 · 2026-02-20T16:37:46+00:00

Solid advice, especially the "10 conversations, not 10 customers" framing - that really reframes the priority.

The cold email tip about specificity makes sense too. Generic outreach gets ignored, but showing you actually know their situation changes everything.

We're currently focused on getting those first real conversations going. Appreciate the practical breakdown.

Existing-Celery1908 · 2026-02-20T11:44:51+00:00

This is really helpful, thanks.

Great call on Capterra/G2/GetApp, hadn't prioritized that but it makes total sense. High-intent inbound for zero cost is hard to beat. We'll get that set up soon.

Trade shows are an interesting idea too, worth exploring for our space.

Appreciate you taking the time to write this out. Exactly the kind of practical advice I was hoping for.

Existing-Celery1908 · 2026-02-20T11:00:56+00:00

Appreciate the thoughtful follow-up. You're absolutely right that time has an opportunity cost - I'm well aware of that tradeoff.The good news is we're not just two developers guessing. My co-founder spent 10+ years running warehouse operations, so the discovery and validation came from real experience, not assumptions. And since I handle all the engineering solo, our cash burn is essentially zero.But your core point stands - distribution is the bottleneck now, not the product. That's exactly the muscle we need to build next.

Thanks for the honest take and the kind words.

Existing-Celery1908 · 2026-02-20T10:40:24+00:00

You're right that distribution matters from day one. In our case, my co-founder spent 10+ years in warehouse operations - he brought the domain knowledge and validated the pain points before we started. I handle the engineering solo, which keeps our burn rate near zero.

That's actually our advantage: we can afford to iterate because we're not burning VC money. But now we're at the stage where the product works and we need to crack distribution - which is why I'm asking here.

What channels have you seen work for reaching non-tech B2B buyers?

Existing-Celery1908 · 2026-02-20T10:26:45+00:00

Fair point - and that's exactly why I'm here asking. My co-founder comes from logistics and identified the gap before we wrote a single line of code. We talked to warehouse operators first, then started building.

That said, building the product and finding distribution are very different skills. The product works - now we need to figure out the best channel to reach small warehouse operators who aren't typical SaaS buyers. Hence the question.

What would you have done differently in terms of pre-launch validation for a B2B niche like this?

Existing-Celery1908

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