How did you guys actually get your first 10 paying customers?

I'm asking because I feel like I've tried a bit of everything and somehow I'm still spending more time trying to get clients than actually doing the work lol.

Everyone says post on LinkedIn, ask for referrals, send cold emails, build your personal brand... okay, but I've been doing some of that and it's either crickets or people saying "this sounds great!" and then disappearing when it's time to pay.

I don't have a big audience or a huge budget for ads. Also not particularly interested in spending months making content before I get a single client.

Did you get your first few customers through people you already knew? Cold outreach? Random networking event? One weirdly successful post?

And if you did cold outreach, how many people did you have to contact before someone actually said yes? I genuinely have no idea if I'm being impatient or just doing this badly.

I would be happy to hear what worked, even if it sounds boring. Especially if you've tried things that were a complete waste of time.

28 minutes ago, Nora Nakamura said:

How did you guys actually get your first 10 paying customers?

I'm asking because I feel like I've tried a bit of everything and somehow I'm still spending more time trying to get clients than actually doing the work lol.

Everyone says post on LinkedIn, ask for referrals, send cold emails, build your personal brand... okay, but I've been doing some of that and it's either crickets or people saying "this sounds great!" and then disappearing when it's time to pay.

I don't have a big audience or a huge budget for ads. Also not particularly interested in spending months making content before I get a single client.

Did you get your first few customers through people you already knew? Cold outreach? Random networking event? One weirdly successful post?

And if you did cold outreach, how many people did you have to contact before someone actually said yes? I genuinely have no idea if I'm being impatient or just doing this badly.

I would be happy to hear what worked, even if it sounds boring. Especially if you've tried things that were a complete waste of time.

Cold email. Not the automated 500-emails-a-day nonsense. 👎

I picked a narrow type of business, found people who clearly had the problem, and sent short messages explaining what I thought I could help with. Most ignored me. A few replied. Some calls turned into customers.

It wasn't exciting, but it worked tho. 👌

On 27/10/2026 at 23:30, Nora Nakamura said:

How did you guys actually get your first 10 paying customers?

I'm asking because I feel like I've tried a bit of everything and somehow I'm still spending more time trying to get clients than actually doing the work lol.

Everyone says post on LinkedIn, ask for referrals, send cold emails, build your personal brand... okay, but I've been doing some of that and it's either crickets or people saying "this sounds great!" and then disappearing when it's time to pay.

I don't have a big audience or a huge budget for ads. Also not particularly interested in spending months making content before I get a single client.

Did you get your first few customers through people you already knew? Cold outreach? Random networking event? One weirdly successful post?

And if you did cold outreach, how many people did you have to contact before someone actually said yes? I genuinely have no idea if I'm being impatient or just doing this badly.

I would be happy to hear what worked, even if it sounds boring. Especially if you've tried things that were a complete waste of time.

Did you have a website ready before you started contacting them?

I'm stuck on this bit. Part of me thinks I should get everything looking professional first, but the other part knows that's an easy way to spend another month avoiding actual sales 😅

On 28/10/2026 at 00:01, Daniel Hastings said:

Cold email. Not the automated 500-emails-a-day nonsense. 👎

I picked a narrow type of business, found people who clearly had the problem, and sent short messages explaining what I thought I could help with. Most ignored me. A few replied. Some calls turned into customers.

It wasn't exciting, but it worked tho. 👌

One thing I'd add: don't get too hung up on the number of people you're contacting.

I used to think more emails meant more chances. Not necessarily 😂

If 50 people all have the same problem and you can explain how you solve it, that's worth more than sending 500 generic messages.

Also, don't be afraid to follow up. People are busy. Sometimes they genuinely just forget you exist.

The trick is knowing when to follow up and when to leave them alone.

On 27/10/2026 at 23:30, Nora Nakamura said:

How did you guys actually get your first 10 paying customers?

I'm asking because I feel like I've tried a bit of everything and somehow I'm still spending more time trying to get clients than actually doing the work lol.

Everyone says post on LinkedIn, ask for referrals, send cold emails, build your personal brand... okay, but I've been doing some of that and it's either crickets or people saying "this sounds great!" and then disappearing when it's time to pay.

I don't have a big audience or a huge budget for ads. Also not particularly interested in spending months making content before I get a single client.

Did you get your first few customers through people you already knew? Cold outreach? Random networking event? One weirdly successful post?

And if you did cold outreach, how many people did you have to contact before someone actually said yes? I genuinely have no idea if I'm being impatient or just doing this badly.

I would be happy to hear what worked, even if it sounds boring. Especially if you've tried things that were a complete waste of time.

We actually got further by showing people what we were working on than by sending out loads of pitches.

A few people in our target industry were willing to test early versions and give us honest feedback. Some of those conversations turned into introductions, and eventually proper opportunities.

It wasn't exactly a sales strategy 😂 but it got us talking to the right people.

I reckon early on, a warm introduction or someone willing to test your product is worth more than a hundred random leads.

On 27/10/2026 at 23:30, Nora Nakamura said:

How did you guys actually get your first 10 paying customers?

I'm asking because I feel like I've tried a bit of everything and somehow I'm still spending more time trying to get clients than actually doing the work lol.

Everyone says post on LinkedIn, ask for referrals, send cold emails, build your personal brand... okay, but I've been doing some of that and it's either crickets or people saying "this sounds great!" and then disappearing when it's time to pay.

I don't have a big audience or a huge budget for ads. Also not particularly interested in spending months making content before I get a single client.

Did you get your first few customers through people you already knew? Cold outreach? Random networking event? One weirdly successful post?

And if you did cold outreach, how many people did you have to contact before someone actually said yes? I genuinely have no idea if I'm being impatient or just doing this badly.

I would be happy to hear what worked, even if it sounds boring. Especially if you've tried things that were a complete waste of time.

For a marketplace, getting the first 10 customers is only half the battle 😅

You also need enough people on the other side to make it worth their time. We learned pretty quickly that getting one side interested doesn't mean much if the other side isn't there yet.

At the start, did you focus on one small group of customers first, or try to reach everyone at once @Nora Nakamura ?

On 27/10/2026 at 23:30, Nora Nakamura said:

How did you guys actually get your first 10 paying customers?

I'm asking because I feel like I've tried a bit of everything and somehow I'm still spending more time trying to get clients than actually doing the work lol.

Everyone says post on LinkedIn, ask for referrals, send cold emails, build your personal brand... okay, but I've been doing some of that and it's either crickets or people saying "this sounds great!" and then disappearing when it's time to pay.

I don't have a big audience or a huge budget for ads. Also not particularly interested in spending months making content before I get a single client.

Did you get your first few customers through people you already knew? Cold outreach? Random networking event? One weirdly successful post?

And if you did cold outreach, how many people did you have to contact before someone actually said yes? I genuinely have no idea if I'm being impatient or just doing this badly.

I would be happy to hear what worked, even if it sounds boring. Especially if you've tried things that were a complete waste of time.

That first 10 is a different kind of challenge. I'd focus on getting really clear about who you're selling to rather than trying every channel at once.

One good customer can also introduce you to two more. Don't underestimate referrals, especially early on.

On 28/10/2026 at 23:57, Ben Costello said:

Did you have a website ready before you started contacting them?

I'm stuck on this bit. Part of me thinks I should get everything looking professional first, but the other part knows that's an easy way to spend another month avoiding actual sales 😅

Hello @Ben Costello Don't get stuck making the website perfect before you start selling. In my years of experience I've seen founders spend weeks polishing a site when they could've been speaking to potential customers.

A simple page explaining what you offer is enough to start. Get the conversations going first. You can improve the website once you know what's actually getting people to buy.

On 28/10/2026 at 23:57, Ben Costello said:

Did you have a website ready before you started contacting them?

I'm stuck on this bit. Part of me thinks I should get everything looking professional first, but the other part knows that's an easy way to spend another month avoiding actual sales 😅

I'd avoid spending another month polishing the website. If you're selling to businesses, you need conversations more than a perfect homepage.

For example, if you're targeting small employers, try speaking directly to business owners or the person handling their admin. Find out what problem they're actually dealing with and whether they'd pay to fix it.

A simple page can come later. Don't let the website become an excuse to delay selling. 😂

Something I've noticed in EdTech is that the person paying isn't always the person using the product.

A school might agree to buy something, but if teachers find it difficult to use, it won't last. Getting those first customers is one thing. Getting them to keep using it is another.

On 28/10/2026 at 00:01, Daniel Hastings said:

Cold email. Not the automated 500-emails-a-day nonsense. 👎

I picked a narrow type of business, found people who clearly had the problem, and sent short messages explaining what I thought I could help with. Most ignored me. A few replied. Some calls turned into customers.

It wasn't exciting, but it worked tho. 👌

I like this approach. Sending hundreds of generic messages probably isn't going to get you very far.

In healthtech, I've found that understanding who you're speaking to matters even more. The person experiencing the problem, the person using the solution and the person approving the budget might all be different.

Getting those conversations right can save a lot of wasted outreach.