How to Get First 100 SaaS Users (Without Begging on Reddit)

So you shipped the MVP, the Stripe account is humming, and your analytics dashboard is… a flat line. Welcome to the “trough of zero users,” population: every founder ever. If you’re googling how to get first 100 SaaS users at 2 a.m. with a half-eaten bag of Takis, you’re in the right place. Below is the exact checklist we’ve seen work for 200+ YC and Flowjam clients—minus the guru fluff.

Answer Up Front: What’s the Fastest Way to 100 SaaS Users?

Short version:

Sell to people who already know you.

Get listed where early adopters hang out.

Trade product for social proof.

Loop that social proof back into cold outreach.

Automate referrals before you “feel ready.”

That skeleton works whether you’re solo, boot-strapped, or running a team of three out of a We Work in Austin. Now let’s put meat on the bones.

Step 1: Mine Your Warm Network (Days 1–7)

Yes, the advice “start with friends” sounds lame—until you realize Slack, Notion, and Airtable all got their first logos from founders’ address books.

✅ Export your LinkedIn, Gmail, Twitter, and Indie Hackers contacts into one sheet (use Phantom Buster or Clay).
✅ Tag each person with “has the problem,” “influences buyers,” or “nice aunt.”
✅ Write a 50-word note: “I’m solving [X] for [Y]. Can I give you free lifetime access in exchange for 15-min feedback?”
✅ Send 5–10 emails per day so you don’t trigger spam filters.
✅ Track replies in Streak or Hub Spot free CRM.

Pro tip: If nobody in your network has the problem, that’s market feedback, not a marketing problem.

External resource: Harvard Business Review on why warm intros convert 3× better

Step 2: Build a “Fake” Wait List (Days 3–10)

Humans chase scarce things. Before we built Flowjam’s new analytics product, we threw up a landing page with a counter: “Only 37 beta spots for March.” It collected 1,247 emails in ten days.

✅ Use Carrd or Webflow to spin up a two-pager: headline, GIF demo, Calendly link.
✅ Add social-proof quotes even if they’re from beta testers—just ask permission.
✅ Install a Viral Loops referral widget: one invite = bump 10 spots in line.
✅ Retarget visitors with a $50 Twitter/LinkedIn ad budget; you’ll look bigger than you are.

Long-tail keyword drop: this is the best way to validate SaaS MVP before you waste months on features nobody wants.

Step 3: Harvest Early-Adopter Communities (Days 7–21)

Communities are rocket fuel—if you respect the house rules. Here’s the hierarchy we’ve seen drive actual MRR:

Product Hunt “Upcoming” page (free)

Indie Hackers “Launch” group (free)

Reddit r/SaaS, r/Entrepreneur Ride Along (free but ruthless)

Beta List ($129)

EarlyAccess.io (lifetime $49)

Slack groups like SaaS Growth Hacks, Rev Genius

✅ Write launch posts that follow the “Problem, Teaser, Ask” template (see Appendix).
✅ Answer every comment within 30 min; velocity keeps you on the front page.
✅ DM the top 20 most active commenters with a personal Calendly link.
✅ Offer a “Founding Member” badge they can stick on LinkedIn—status is currency.

Case study: A Flowjam client, Tango, added 312 users in 48 hours by demoing auto-generated help docs on Product Hunt. Their secret? They pre-warmed 50 power users who upvoted in the first 10 minutes.

External resource: Product Hunt’s official maker guide

Step 4: Cold Outreach That Doesn’t Feel Icky (Days 14–30)

“Cold email is dead”—said every person who sends generic “Hey {First Name}” spam. Here’s the non-sleazy version:

✅ Build a hyper-specific list: use Apollo.io or Built With to filter companies spending on complementary tech (e.g., if you’re a Stripe analytics tool, target Stripe users).
✅ Write a 4-sentence email: 1) personal hook, 2) problem, 3) micro-win, 4) 30-min offer.
✅ Record a 45-second Loom video inside their actual dashboard (yes, you can hack a demo).
✅ Follow up once after 3 days, then stop—respect burns no bridges.

Template (swipe freely):

Subject: {{Company}}’s Stripe fees sneaking up?

Body:Hey {{Name}},Saw your post on Twitter about manual reconciliation—felt that pain at my last gig.I built a plug-in that surfaces hidden processing fees in 2 clicks; we just saved [Similar Co] $8,430 last quarter.Open to a 15-min screen share so you can roast it?

Cheers,—Jess

Long-tail keyword sprinkle: this is the SaaS launch strategy for startups that hate “spray and pray.”

External resource: Y Combinator’s cold email teardown

Step 5: Partner for Distribution, Not Features (Days 21–45)

One integration listed in the Shopify App Store can out-perform six months of content marketing. The trick is to make your partner look good.

✅ Identify platforms with 1k–10k app partners (Shopify, HubSpot, Slack, Zendesk).
✅ Ship the simplest possible integration—usually a one-way web hook.
✅ Offer to co-write a case study; their marketing team gets content, you get leads.
✅ Negotiate placement in their “Staff Picks” newsletter (yes, you can ask).

Anecdote: The team at Gorgias went from 50 to 5,000 users by embedding their help-desk inside Shopify’s order page. CEO Romain Lapeyre told us: “We didn’t build 20 features, we built one that made Shopify merchants money.”

External resource: Shopify partner revenue stats

Step 6: Turn Power Users into a Referral Engine (Days 30–60)

Word-of-mouth scales only when you bribe—sorry, incentivize—correctly.

✅ Use Rewardful or FirstPromoter to create 30% recurring commissions.
✅ Add an in-app “Give 20%, Get 20%” widget (inspired by Ahrefs).
✅ Drop a “Request referral” modal right after a user hits their first success milestone (e.g., exports 100 rows).
✅ Send founders a personal note: “You’re in the top 5% of power users—can I buy you lunch if you bring two friends?”

Long-tail keyword: this pre-launch SaaS marketing tactic works even after launch, so keep the engine running.

Common Mistakes That Kill Momentum

❌ Adding 3 more features before talking to users.
❌ Pricing too low—$5 plans attract trolls, not champions.
❌ Ignoring timezone sends; 8 a.m. PST email hits Europe’s spam folder at 4 p.m.
❌ Launching on Saturday (Product Hunt traffic dies).
❌ Forgetting to install basic analytics—no data, no learning.

Tool Stack We Recommend (All Free Tiers)

CRM & outreach: HubSpot Free, Streak, Apollo.io

Landing pages: Webflow, Carrd

Scheduling: Calendly, SavvyCal

Video demos: Loom, Claap

Referral tracking: Rewardful, FirstPromoter

Press kit: Press Kit Hero (makes you look legit)

FAQ – How to Get First 100 SaaS Users

Q: How long does it usually take?A: Bootstrapped B2B SaaS averages 4–6 months if you work channels daily. B2C is faster, but churn is brutal.

Q: Should I pay for ads?A: Only after you hit 100 users and know your CAC: LTV ratio. Before that, ads are an expensive guessing game.

Q: Do I need a sales rep?A: Not until you’ve personally closed 20 deals. You’ll write the playbook by doing.

Q: What if my market is tiny (micro-SaaS)?A: 100 users × $50 MRR = $5k/month. That’s a livable salary in 140 countries. Tiny is fine.

Q: Can Flowjam help me explain my product?A: Absolutely. We make 60-second launch videos that live on your homepage and double conversion. Check Flowjam.com for examples—yes, that was a shameless plug, but we practice what we preach.

30-Day Sprint Checklist (Print & Tape to Wall)

✅ Day 1: Export personal network → 200 contacts
✅ Day 3: Publish wait-list page with viral referral
✅ Day 5: Book 10 user calls via warm emails
✅ Day 7: Post launch teaser in 3 Slack groups
✅ Day 10: Ship minimal integration (web hook)
✅ Day 14: Send 25 cold Loom demos
✅ Day 21: Submit to Beta List & Product Hunt Upcoming
✅ Day 25: Turn best quotes into tweets & LinkedIn posts
✅ Day 30: Activate 30% referral program inside app

Conclusion: Your First 100 Users Are Hand-to-Hand Combat

There’s no fairy-take “hockey stick” button. Getting your first 100 SaaS users is a street fight: knives, elbows, and awkward Zoom calls. But once you hit triple digits, momentum compounds—testimonials stack, SEO snowballs, word-of-mouth kicks in.

Start today: pick one tactic above, set a 30-minute timer, and ship the smallest visible step. And if you need a launch video that makes your MVP look like a billion-dollar product (even if it’s held together with duct tape), hit up Flowjam.com. We’ve got your back—and your popcorn-ready demo.

Now stop reading and start pinging people. User #100 is probably one email away.

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