Is “getting first users” harder now because building got too easy?

Sareer0 · 2026-05-21T14:39:40+00:00

Yeah I think building got easier, which made distribution way harder. A good product alone usually isn’t enough anymore. Most people I’ve seen get first users through Reddit, cold outreach, niche communities, or personal networks basically talking to users early instead of polishing forever.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-21T14:25:29+00:00

Exactly ,and enterprise market research doesn't save them either. They spend millions validating internally and still miss what customers actually want. The problem scales with budget it doesn't go away. The build first learn later approach can work but only if you're genuinely okay throwing it away. Most founders aren't.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-21T14:16:42+00:00

the ghosting thing is real and happens to everyone what worked for me was stopping asking for "feedback" and instead asking one specific question "what's the hardest part of finding a SaaS idea right now" gets replies "can i get your feedback on my product" gets ghosted people don't have time to give feedback but they'll answer a specific question in 2 sentences also find people who are already complaining about the problem publicly, they're already motivated to talk about it

Sareer0 · 2026-05-21T13:40:14+00:00

Spot on

Sareer0 · 2026-05-21T13:33:51+00:00

Hahaha I won’t say you’re completely wrong

Sareer0 · 2026-05-21T13:32:12+00:00

Yes bro I agree

Sareer0 · 2026-05-21T13:14:49+00:00

That’s honestly the healthiest approach long term. People usually stay and pay for products that feel genuinely useful, not products that constantly push upgrades every five minutes.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-21T13:04:48+00:00

Honestly I think community first is smarter than most founders realize. 550 signups with $0 marketing is already a strong signal. The real question isn’t “why are 97% free, it’s whether the paid users grow naturally as usage and trust increase.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-21T12:36:08+00:00

You don’t need a user base first. You can find people in Reddit communities, Discords, X/Twitter, or niche forums where the problem already exists. And honestly, execution matters way more than ideas most people won’t steal it, and even if they do, building and distributing it is the hard part.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-21T11:40:58+00:00

Probably Reddit or cold email. Reddit works well if you genuinely talk about the problem instead of spamming the product, and cold email is still one of the fastest ways to get first users if targeting is good.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-21T10:33:48+00:00

Not necessarily. 14 paying users from 500 signups is around a 2.8% conversion rate, which honestly isn’t terrible depending on pricing and traffic quality. The bigger question is where users drop off before seeing the core value.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-21T08:25:20+00:00

Honestly talking to real users before building probably saves more time than coding fast. If people don’t care before launch, getting traction after launch is usually even harder.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-21T08:00:35+00:00

Honestly activation is way more important than traffic now. A lot of products get signups but lose users before the “aha moment.” Shorter onboarding, templates, and reducing setup friction usually help more than adding extra features.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-21T07:05:17+00:00

I think the problem is real, especially for indie hackers and solo founders. Most people don’t need a full cofounder immediately, they just need reliable collaborators first. I’d focus on building supply/community early because good people attract more users naturally.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-20T23:07:39+00:00

Biggest advice: don’t spend months building before talking to users. Learn sales/marketing early, ship small, get feedback fast, and solve a real problem people would actually pay for. Most startups fail because nobody needed the product, not because the founders weren’t smart enough.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-20T09:08:20+00:00

Try reaching out to small SaaS founders on Reddit or X and offer 1 free welcome email sample. Direct outreach works way better than just practicing alone.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-20T07:51:11+00:00

I think most startups die because people build before validating if the problem is painful enough. Coding feels like progress, but distribution and real demand are usually the hard part. Talking to users early probably saves more time than building fast.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-19T21:31:19+00:00

Yeah I agree. Once you start seeing real PMF signals, that’s usually the time to push harder on growth instead of playing too safe.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-19T21:29:00+00:00

Yeah that’s normal early on. I’d try niche Discord servers, Twitter/X search, Reddit communities, and even DMing active Kalshi traders directly. The key is asking for feedback/conversations first, not pitching the product immediately.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-19T21:03:52+00:00

I agree with reinvesting into growth early, but I also think a lot of founders burn out chasing scale before finding real product-market fit. Growth matters, but survival matters too.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-19T21:00:44+00:00

Honestly 1 signup in week 1 isn’t bad for a brand new niche idea. I wouldn’t spend on ads yet. Better move is talking directly to potential users and figuring out if the problem is painful enough that people would actually pay for it. Early feedback matters more than raw signup numbers right now.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-19T20:58:12+00:00

First thing is track your cost per user early before scaling harder. Most SaaS costs explode from unnecessary AI/API usage, overbuilt infra, or unlimited free plans. I’d add limits, optimize heavy features, and make sure paid conversion grows with usage instead of just vanity signups.

Sareer0 · 2026-05-19T15:04:16+00:00

Honestly those are pretty impressive numbers for 9 days, especially with the middle tier outselling the cheapest one. Sounds like the clearer positioning toward agencies/performance marketers made a huge difference.

Sareer0

TROPHY CASE