How To Get Your First Users

By Y Combinator

Categories: VC, Startup, Design

Summary

Finding early users is a search problem, not a persuasion problem. Startups should focus on creating a minimum evolvable product that can adapt to early user feedback and market pressures.

Key Takeaways

1. Charge real money early to get more meaningful feedback from users who have a genuine need for your product.
2. Focus on creating a minimum evolvable product that can quickly adapt based on early user insights and market demands.
3. Target specific user segments like professionals or businesses who are more likely to pay for innovative solutions, especially in AI-driven markets.

Topics

• Early User Acquisition
• Startup Product Development
• Customer Feedback Strategy
• Tech Product Evolution
• Startup Growth Methodology

Transcript Excerpt

How do you get a new product off the ground? And when you're just starting out, where do those first real users actually come from? You see, most people aren't early adopters. Ask yourself, how many products do you use today that you were among the first 10 users of? For most people, the answer is zero. Almost no one wants to be a startup's first paying customer. Yet, every great product still manages to find a few people willing to take that leap. The earliest version of your product only needs...