The startup world gives so much attention to the first million users, that we often forget about the first hundred.
The first hundred users are important. Arguably far more important than the next 999,900.
Why? Because the first hundred users are the people who will live and breathe your product. They’re the ones who you can coach and cajole into trying every half-baked iteration and misguided prototype until you finally get it right. They’re the ones who will help you tune your acquisition and activation loops so you can actually afford the next 999,900.
But nobody talks about the first hundred. So here’s the deal.
Find your first hundred users manually. Start with your friends and family. The people you absolutely know need your product. Interview them, listen to their problems, and show them the solution. Make changes and improvements based on their feedback. Then expand outward to people they know who have the problem.
Repeat until you have something people actually, desperately want.