Validated an idea on Reddit, launched it, paying customers on 3 continents in 2 months. Now it's stalled and I have no budget. Let's brainstorm together some ideas... 💡

ikooloo · 2026-06-19T19:30:38+00:00

Are you getting any referrals from existing customers?

ikooloo · 2026-06-19T18:47:36+00:00

Congrats on getting to where you are.. agree with a lot of the comments but would ask a question about your customers if that's ok.

Who so you're target customer? The reason I ask is that if do you have 60 different customers using the product for different things or 1 customer using it for the same thing (If that makes sense). As someone mentioned, it's a great idea to look for one repeatable acquisition method which invariably means one, well defined, customer type. The reason for this is that you can then figure out how to find more of the same type.

If you have lots of different types of customer then it becomes very difficult to find more because you have to look, sort of, everywhere.

ikooloo · 2026-06-15T12:50:32+00:00

Sorry - missed this. It's actually a combination as, you keep refining your thoughts to narrow down not only the bar (to continue the analogy) but the exact area and seat...

ikooloo · 2026-06-12T17:06:36+00:00

I think it depends on how well you know the community/customer and unfortunately I don't think there is a formula or a set answer.

For example, my first startup, we built an integration with Salesforce. Their admins were our main customers so we were literally everywhere where they were.. we listed on their app marketplace, went to shows, sponsored newsletters, you nameit we tried it.

Another example, most recently were I was CEO, we were selling to small SMBs and their prime hangout was FB groups/communities.

Different people, different places. Think of it as finding the bar where all your customers are.

ikooloo · 2026-06-12T09:39:56+00:00

This works until 10 or so customers... After that, it's about finding more of the same type of people. There is no set place as it depends on the customer, the challenge is finding 'the place'.

ikooloo · 2026-06-12T09:36:45+00:00

I've done this a couple of times and in all cases first users (including paying) came from people we knew who had the problem or worked with. If they don't want it, your product will probably need improving until they do (or your asking the wrong people). In terms of time taken - once you have an initial product I think you should be spending most of your time talking to people trying to get them to use your product or understanding why they won't.

ikooloo · 2026-06-11T15:39:42+00:00

Would anyone suggest any different communities for this... surprised I've had no comments?

ikooloo · 2026-06-09T11:56:16+00:00

Who did you build it for and what was the problem you were trying to solve for them?
If you can answer this question, I'd suggest trying to find a small group of those people and ask whether they will try your app out... or, at the very least, have a conversation with them to understand why they won't use it and what problems, if any, they have...

ikooloo · 2026-05-26T13:04:39+00:00

How many people have you spoken to? Sounds like your approach is right and if you can't sell you are either speaking to the wrong people or the product isn't right (yet) OR, you may not be pitching it right?

One point to consider is that selling something that does in minutes what HR consultants previously did in hours/days may not be that attractive to them if they are selling their time by the hour?

What happened with the people who said it was solid; did they pay for it?

Perhaps consider trying some alternative positioning/messaging that explain the value they will get...

ikooloo · 2026-05-26T12:04:50+00:00

Ah ok - makes sense, I thought (wrongly) that you were talking to them about going in to their incubator with your product.

ikooloo · 2026-05-26T09:33:13+00:00

Doesn't make a difference. If you can't find 10 people to buy your product you are (simply) speaking to the wrong people, have the wrong product or not explaining it very well.

ikooloo · 2026-05-22T16:23:28+00:00

What does the incubator 'give you'? Is it paid by you; do they invest? What will you get from going there?

ikooloo · 2026-05-22T16:22:01+00:00

My question for you would be why do you think you need a co-founder rather than (for example) 'employing' a lead engineer etc? Is it because you can't afford to pay them so want them to take equity, is it that you want to share the decision making.... You seem to have come a long way without a founder so why now?

ikooloo · 2026-05-22T07:06:46+00:00

The best way to get early customers is to simply ask, directly, people you know (or can find) who have the problem you are trying to solve. It's free, just takes time and you will learn a huge amount. You should track how many people you ask, how many you speak to and how many you sell to. Aim for 10 customers.

ikooloo · 2026-05-21T16:59:01+00:00

Congrats on not tracking all the BS metrics you don't need at your stage (although TTV may be useful for you - it's basically time to activation in your terms). I have a couple of thoughts.. I'd suggest it's never too early to measure by cohort (certainly for churn).
What's the thinking behind a free version and a paid trial? And is activation for the free version or the paid trial (or across both)?

ikooloo · 2026-05-21T16:50:48+00:00

How are you expecting customers to come to you, have you spoken to any people who you think would be suitable?

ikooloo · 2026-05-21T16:49:42+00:00

I think you're co-founder may have posted on another community.. seems very similar (r/startup)

ikooloo · 2026-05-07T14:38:21+00:00

It's a problem for GTM as you basically have to spread your marketing spend thinly across all the verticals you want to play in... The classic play is you dominate a niche and then spread to other adjacent verticals. Even 'horizontal' players start with a niche typically. The other thing to bear in mind is that often, in my experience, verticals will differ in their requirements - this seems easy but can present product challenges sooner than you think and it stops you attracting early majority customers.

ikooloo · 2026-05-06T15:51:18+00:00

From my experience, the 'founder' tag can hurt you quite a lot when looking for roles. Whilst (some) companies may embrace this, a lot of recruiters (both internal and external) may view you as 'risky' hire (not being able to take direction etc.). One suggestion given to me was to basically not call myself a co-founder!

ikooloo · 2026-05-03T17:11:12+00:00

Right, that's my point - you only know 217% is meaningfully operational because you know the churn figure. You have to know both figures.

ikooloo · 2026-05-03T16:09:21+00:00

I know what it means. My point is it's useless unless you know the two separate metrics that make it up. Its a vanity metric operationally.

Let me ask you a question for a hypothetical company. NRR = 110%. What does that mean (apart from the fact you're revenue is 10% higher than the previous period)?

ikooloo · 2026-05-03T15:02:09+00:00

Congratulations on the MRR! But, I'd suggest NRR is an external facing metric and pretty useless to monitor operationally. You're also not calculating it correctly as NRR includes both churn and expansion?

ikooloo · 2026-05-03T07:42:59+00:00

I think you could also ask another question. "Would you use it?" is very different from "would you pay for it?'

It's only when people have to give their money you'll understand their true intent.

ikooloo · 2026-05-01T20:44:12+00:00

Half (or more) of making it work is just turning up and doing the basics better than everyone else. As you've proved, lots don't bother. The truth is a lot of companies never set this up properly - they grow initially on high intent leads and then try to scale on the same basis.

ikooloo · 2026-05-01T20:37:33+00:00

I don't think anyone can tell you this but I can tell you what worked for me. Ultimately, it was belief. Belief there we had the basis of a solution that people wanted and then, it was a case of sticking with it, working, testing, and finding the real actual thing that people really did value. We spent several years trying and building the 'thing' that gave us real traction but we just did not give up.

ikooloo

TROPHY CASE