We've built the product. Now comes the hard part: winning our first 20 property management customers.

One thing I've learned over the last six years building rentt is that creating a product people say they need and getting them to actually pay for it are two very different challenges.

We've spent years developing the platform, speaking with landlords and property managers, testing assumptions and refining what we're building. We've had recognition, launched the product and started generating revenue. But we're still very much in the trenches when it comes to customer acquisition.

Our current focus is independent property management businesses, particularly those with small teams managing growing portfolios. We've deliberately narrowed our initial proposition to maintenance and repairs because it's one of the operational headaches that keeps coming up in conversations. Rather than trying to sell an entire property management platform on day one, we're exploring whether solving one persistent problem exceptionally well is a better way to earn trust and eventually become part of a company's wider operations.

Recently, I visited six letting agencies in Haywards Heath. Some conversations were encouraging, others reminded me just how difficult it can be to persuade established businesses to change how they work.

And that's where I'd love to learn from other founders. For those who've built B2B SaaS businesses, particularly in traditional industries:

What actually helped you win your first 10 or 20 paying business customers?

Was it cold outreach, referrals, partnerships, face-to-face visits, or something completely different? And perhaps more importantly, how did you move prospects from "this looks interesting" to "we're ready to pay for this"?

I'm particularly interested in what worked before you had a large marketing budget or a dedicated sales team. Would love to hear some real experiences.