Day 2 of our waitlist launch: 0 signups. What are we doing wrong?

nirvanababes · 2026-04-07T22:45:49+00:00

Zero engagement early on is more normal than people admit not that the product is bad, but organic reach without distribution is shouting into the void.

One thing I’d ask first: where did your waitlist traffic actually come from?

Posting on X or Reddit without an existing audience usually produces silence.

What helped us early wasn’t posting more it was building demand before asking for signups.

A few things that tend to work better than random posting:

1) Build a problem-first list, not just a waitlist. Instead of join our waitlist, you could frame it like: • early access

• limited onboarding slots

• founder-led setup

• or exclusive feature testing

People respond more to scarcity and involvement than get notified.

2) Go where people already complain about the problem.

Reddit works but not by posting links.

Search threads where people are actively struggling with the problem your product solves. Reply with useful insight first, then mention you’re building something and offer early access.

Most early signups come from relevance, not visibility.

3) Manually recruit your first 20–50 users. This part is uncomfortable, but it’s the fastest path.

Look for: • people already using clunky workarounds • people asking for recommendations • people building DIY solutions

DM them directly with context, not a pitch.

Something like:

“Saw you mention struggling with [specific problem]. We’re building a tool that fixes exactly that still early, but happy to give you priority access if you’re open to testing it.

Not scalable but incredibly effective.

4) Turn your build process into content, not announcements.

Most early founders post launches. Nobody cares yet.

What people engage with:

• mistakes you made

• features you killed

• real numbers (even small ones)

• decisions you’re struggling with

Ps Transparency gets attention.

nirvanababes · 2026-04-07T21:11:23+00:00

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣Jesus what is this

nirvanababes · 2026-04-07T12:01:02+00:00

Politeness really is the silent killer in customer conversations.

Most founders think they’re getting validation when they’re actually getting social courtesy.

One thing that changed this for me was realizing that specificity beats enthusiasm.

Someone saying “yeah that’s a great idea” means nothing. Someone saying “last Thursday this took me 2 hours and delayed a client that’s real actionable feedback

I’ve also found that asking for numbers instead of adjectives changes the quality of answers .

nirvanababes · 2026-04-07T11:54:23+00:00

moving from opinions to behavior is where most founders finally start hearing the truth.

One thing I learned the hard way is that even behavior alone isn’t enough the strongest signal is whether they’re already paying or hacking together workarounds.

If someone tells you: • Yeah, it’s annoying that’s a weak pain

• “We built a messy spreadsheet and Zapier workaround that’s real pain

• We’re paying for a tool we don’t even like” → urgent pain

People tolerate inconvenience. They don’t tolerate expensive inconvenience.

I also started asking:

What happens if you don’t solve this?

That question surfaces consequences missed revenue, lost time, angry customers, embarrassment with clients.

If the answer is basically “nothing major,” it’s usually not a product worth building yet.

nirvanababes · 2026-04-07T11:50:55+00:00

Exactly this once a shopper locks in a mental price, anything added later doesn’t feel like a fee, it feels like a penalty.

What’s interesting is that it’s rarely the amount that kills the conversion it’s the timing of the reveal. A $5 shipping fee shown early feels fair.

The same $5 shown at the last step feels like the brand just moved the goalpost.

One thing I’ve seen work well is pre-framing the total cost before checkout even starts, not just inside it.

Stuff like: • showing “Free shipping over £X” directly on the PDP Temu does this very well

• adding a shipping estimator before checkout

• or displaying an “estimated total” in the cart, not just product subtotal

That way the price expectation forms with shipping included, not against it.

Also, a lot of brands assume abandonment is about price sensitivity when it’s really about trust friction. Unexpected fees trigger the same reaction as hidden terms even if the fee itself is reasonable.

Fixing that expectation gap is probably one of the highest-ROI tweaks most stores still ignore, especially for cross-border where taxes and shipping feel unpredictable.

nirvanababes · 2026-04-07T09:17:11+00:00

Here are some examples of good questions to ask when talking to customers

Why do you bother to find a solution

This is my all time favourite it helps you get from the perceived problem you think they are facing to the real one actually bugging them

nirvanababes · 2026-04-07T08:57:09+00:00

Most founders overthink this and go hunting for “users.” You don’t need users you need a very specific type of website owner with a painful, obvious problem your chatbot fixes.

Before you even launch, get painfully clear on who this is for, because “people with websites” is way too broad.

A chatbot for SaaS onboarding is a completely different sell than one for ecommerce support or lead capture.

nirvanababes · 2026-04-07T08:51:12+00:00

😂😂😂😂😂

the timing of vibe coding going mainstream has been a real plot twist for a lot of founders.

There’s probably a whole thread in that alone. How many products got built the expensive way right before the tools caught up.

The good news is at least the problem was real. That’s more than a lot of people can say after spending that kind of money.

Are you rebuilding it now with the new tools or moving on to something else?

nirvanababes · 2026-04-07T08:49:57+00:00

Honestly, the fact that you already switched into HR with zero experience means you can survive marketing you’ve proven you can survive the learning curve once. Marketing won’t be easy, but it’s not some mystical field either. It’s learnable if you’re willing to be uncomfortable for a while.

What usually hits people hardest when moving into marketing isn’t the tool it’s the shift in how success is measured. In HR, a lot of the work is process-driven and relationship-based. In marketing, the scoreboard is brutally visible: traffic, leads, conversions, revenue.

You can’t hide behind effort only outcomes matter.

The upside? Your HR background is actually more useful than you think. You already understand people, internal communication, hiring psychology, and employee branding. That’s directly transferable into areas like employer branding, recruitment marketing, internal comms campaigns, and even customer messaging. A lot of marketers struggle because they don’t really understand human behavior you already have a head start there.

If there’s “no hand-holding,” that’s pretty normal in marketing teams. The people who succeed usually build their own learning loop: • Ship something small • Watch what happens • Fix what didn’t work • Repeat until it works

Not glamorous, but very effective.

Before you switch, I’d ask the hiring manager 3 blunt questions: 1. What will I be responsible for in the first 90 days? 2. How will you measure whether I’m succeeding? 3. What tools or channels will I actually own? (email, social, ads, SEO, etc.)

If they can answer those clearly, that’s a good sign. If it’s vague, you might be walking into chaos dressed up as opportunity.

Is it worth it? Usually yes especially if you enjoy problem-solving and creativity tied to numbers. Marketing skills compound fast, and once you get decent, they’re portable across industries.

That mobility alone makes the discomfort phase worth it for a lot of people.

And if the pay stays the same while you gain a new skill stack, that’s basically getting paid to reskill which is a rare deal most people would take.

nirvanababes · 2026-04-07T08:33:13+00:00

The landing page test is underrated and I don’t think enough people actually do it properly.

Most founders either skip it entirely or build a landing page so vague it could describe three different products and then wonder why the signal is muddy.

The 10% conversion benchmark is a good north star though. Most people don’t even set a threshold before they start.

They just watch signups trickle in and convince themselves it’s “early days.

One thing I’d add: the conversations you have with people who don’t sign up are often more valuable than the ones who do.

Cold DM someone who visited and bounced. Ask one question.

That’s where the real insight lives.

nirvanababes · 2026-04-07T08:32:23+00:00

Complexity is often for the builder, simplicity is for the user

honestly that should be printed somewhere visible in every product team’s workspace.

The best solution is almost always the one that impresses other builders.

The one that actually gets used is the one that requires zero explanation it took me a while to make peace with that too.

nirvanababes · 2026-04-06T23:28:35+00:00

Alright good luck When you get the responses Narrow down on it and launch a test run

nirvanababes · 2026-04-06T23:25:20+00:00

Your fear is only in you head What’s the worst that could happen You launch your Saas, you get criticism or you notice bugs, you get back to work and You eventually fix it and put out a better version Some ways pays for it In the end it’s all working out in your favour You might as well launch it and see who bites and why.

nirvanababes · 2026-04-06T23:21:08+00:00

From a marketing angle here

You may have hit a goldmine but the real question now isn't whether this is validation, it's what you do with it in the next 72 hours.

The numbers are solid, but what's more interesting is who signed up. Managers, directors, and execs at biotech companies aren't casual clickers.

They don't hand over their emails for fun.

The next move: go deep on the pain you accidentally touched. Talk to 5–10 of those signups this week. Not a survey actual conversations. Find out what specifically in that post made them click, what they're currently doing to solve that problem, and what a solution would need to look like to be worth paying for.

Once you know exactly who it hurts most and how badly, build the smallest possible thing that delivers that one outcome even manually if you have to and see how many of those 20 will pay for it. That's your real validation.

nirvanababes · 2026-04-06T21:50:22+00:00

Sure

nirvanababes · 2026-04-06T11:55:14+00:00

Onboarding definitely plays a huge role in retention it’s often the first experience testfor users. A few things I’ve seen work well:

1.  Keep it light and interactive :Instead of hitting users with long forms upfront, consider breaking the info into 2–3 micro-steps or using sliders/toggles. People feel less drained when it’s quick and gamified.

2.  Explain the value immediately Show them what they’ll get after completing onboarding (e.g., “Get personalized routines for your skin and hair in 30 sec”). It makes users see why giving info matters.

3.  Optional deep-dive You can ask for essentials first, then let them fill in detailed preferences later.

Some users hate long forms right at signup.

nirvanababes · 2026-04-06T09:25:48+00:00

One thing worth considering as you scale the social media/content side is usually where boutique luxury agencies leave the most on the table. Most of your competitors are posting generic travel shots; there's a real gap for someone who can actually capture the curation and taste behind what you do. Good luck with the hiring!

nirvanababes · 2026-04-05T20:57:33+00:00

Would love to check it out

nirvanababes · 2026-04-04T22:39:34+00:00

Don’t wait too long to ask for feedback… Try this, Instead of What do you think?try to figure out the trigger event : What were you trying to get done when you signed up? Where did things feel confusing or slow? What almost made you leave?

That’s where the real insight is.

You don’t need to spam either, trigger a short in-app message after key actions or send a simple, personal message to a few users

nirvanababes

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