How to Get Your First 10 SaaS Customers (2026 Playbook)

Getting your first 10 SaaS customers is one of the hardest challenges any founder will face. You have a product, maybe some early validation, but no clear path to paying users. Every growth tactic you read about seems designed for companies with budgets, teams, and existing traction.

This guide is different. We will show you exactly how to get customers for your SaaS when you are starting from zero. No fluff, no theory that only works at scale. Just actionable strategies that work for bootstrapped founders trying to find their first 10 paying customers.

"Your first 10 customers must come by any means necessary. Knock on doors, call your friends, call your friends-of-friends, pitch a stranger at a bar. These early adopters are not just numbers. They are your partners in product development and your first brand ambassadors."

Why Your First 10 Customers Matter More Than You Think

Before diving into tactics, let us be clear about what you are really trying to achieve. Your first 10 customers are not about revenue. They are about validation.

According to SaaS investor Jason Lemkin, those first 10 unaffiliated conversions are an early indicator that your startup will succeed. Why? Because these people came to the conclusion on their own that your product solves their problems. Nobody forced them. No corporate mandate pushed them your way.

What your first 10 customers give you:

• Problem-solution validation - Proof that your product solves a real problem
• Product feedback - Direct insight into what works and what needs improvement
• Case studies - Stories to use in future marketing
• Word-of-mouth potential - Happy early customers refer others
• Confidence - Evidence that this business can work

"Getting the first 10 users is not about money; it is about validating your product and market demand. Putting a price tag on your SaaS will help you qualify your users and ensure that people are saying yes to you only because they really need your product."

The 8 Best Channels to Find Your First SaaS Customers

Not all acquisition channels are created equal, especially when you are just starting. Some require money you do not have. Others require an audience you have not built yet. Let us break down what actually works at the early stage.

Channel Comparison: Which Works Best for Your First 10?

1. Start With Your Personal Network

This is not glamorous, but it is effective. Before engaging in any major marketing efforts, leverage the people who already know and trust you.

Who to reach out to:

• Former colleagues who might need your solution
• Friends working in your target industry
• Old clients from previous work
• LinkedIn connections in relevant roles
• Family members who run businesses

How to approach them:

Do not lead with a pitch. Lead with curiosity. Ask if they are experiencing the problem you solve. Ask if they know anyone who might be. You are not begging. You are offering something valuable.

Example message:

"Hey [Name], I have been building a [brief description] to help [target audience] with [problem]. I am looking for early users who can give me honest feedback. Would you or anyone you know be interested in trying it out? I am offering lifetime discounts to my first 10 customers."

2. Cold Outreach That Actually Works

Cold outreach gets a bad reputation because most people do it poorly. But for B2B SaaS, personalized cold emails remain one of the most effective ways to land early customers.

The key principles:

• Keep it short - Under 150 words for the first email
• Personalize genuinely - Reference something specific about them
• Lead with their problem - Not your solution
• Make the ask small - A 15-minute call, not a demo
• Follow up - Most conversions happen after 3-5 touches

"Cold emails are extremely effective and scalable, with numerous automation tools available at a low cost. They can also be tracked for performance, allowing you to optimize future outreach. For early-stage SaaS companies, performing cold outreach presents the opportunity to quickly acquire your first handful of users without breaking the bank."

What not to do:

• Do not use templates that look like templates
• Do not lead with your company story
• Do not send the same email to everyone
• Do not give up after one email

3. Online Communities: Your Secret Weapon

Here is where things get interesting. Online communities, particularly Reddit, have become one of the most underrated customer acquisition channels for SaaS founders.

Why? Because people in these communities are actively discussing their problems and asking for solutions. They have high intent and they trust peer recommendations over ads.

The numbers speak for themselves:

Why Reddit stands out:

• People are actively asking for recommendations
• Discussions are searchable and organized by topic
• High-quality subreddits have engaged, niche audiences
• Answers can drive traffic for months or years
• 40-60% lower CAC compared to paid channels

One founder reported getting 60 customers in 45 days from Reddit with zero ad spend. The breakdown: 5 customers from one well-placed comment in week 3, 15 more from 3 threads in week 4, and 40 more from consistent engagement in weeks 5-6. About 20% of clicks signed up for trial, and 30% of trials converted to paid.

The catch: Reddit users hate self-promotion. Your approach must focus on becoming a helpful community member first. Follow the 80/20 rule: 80% value, 20% product mentions (and only when genuinely relevant).

4. Product Hunt Launch

Product Hunt is full of early adopters looking for new tools. A well-executed launch can get you hundreds of signups in a single day.

What makes a successful launch:

• A polished product page with clear screenshots and demo video
• A compelling tagline that explains what you do
• Launch on Tuesday-Thursday for best visibility
• Rally your existing network to upvote and comment
• Be active in the comments all day

Realistic expectations:

Product Hunt is great for awareness and initial users, but most will be other founders and product enthusiasts. They are good for feedback but may not be your ideal long-term customers. Use it as a launchpad, not your primary strategy.

5. Content Marketing and SEO

Content marketing has one of the highest ROIs for SaaS, with some companies seeing returns as high as 647%. But it takes time. Do not expect results for 2-6 months minimum.

For your first 10 customers, focus on:

• Bottom-of-funnel content - Comparison pages, alternatives to competitors
• Problem-focused articles - Content that addresses the exact pain points your product solves
• Guest posts - Write for publications where your audience already reads

What to skip for now:

• Broad top-of-funnel content
• Building a massive blog library
• Optimizing for high-volume keywords

"BOFU (bottom-of-funnel) content pages include comparison pages, competitor alternatives, and product list pages. These are a great growth tactic for SaaS companies in crowded markets."

6. Building in Public

An often overlooked way to find your first customers is to share the work you are doing publicly where your potential customers hang out.

Platforms for building in public:

• Twitter/X - Share progress updates, learnings, metrics
• LinkedIn - More professional updates, good for B2B
• Reddit - Detailed posts in relevant subreddits
• Indie Hackers - Progress updates, revenue milestones

What to share:

• Development progress and decisions
• Revenue numbers (even if small)
• Failures and learnings
• Customer feedback and how you responded
• Behind-the-scenes of running a SaaS

Building in public works because it creates authentic connections. People root for founders they feel they know. When you finally mention your product, they already trust you.

7. Offer Early-Adopter Incentives

Your first customers are taking a risk on an unproven product. Reward them for it.

Effective incentives:

• Lifetime discounts (e.g., lifetime access for a one-time payment)
• Extended free trials (30-60 days instead of 14)
• Grandfathered pricing (locked-in low price as you raise prices)
• Early access to new features
• Direct access to founders for support and feedback

Important: Do not give your product away for free. Charging even a small amount filters out people who are not serious and validates that your product has real value.

8. Strategic Partnerships

Find businesses that already have access to your target customers and propose mutually beneficial arrangements.

Partnership ideas:

• Complementary SaaS tools - Integrate and co-promote
• Agencies - Recommend your tool to their clients
• Consultants - Use your tool in their work
• Influencers - In your niche, not celebrities

Why Reddit Deserves Special Attention

Let us dive deeper into Reddit as an acquisition channel, because it is consistently underutilized by SaaS founders despite its effectiveness.

The Reddit Opportunity

Reddit has over 500 million monthly active users organized into highly specific communities. Whatever niche your SaaS serves, there is likely a subreddit (or several) where your ideal customers discuss their problems.

What makes Reddit different:

1. High intent - People are actively asking questions and seeking solutions
2. Trust in peers - Recommendations from community members carry more weight than ads
3. Evergreen value - Good answers continue driving traffic for months
4. Specific targeting - Subreddits are organized by interest, industry, and problem
5. Free access - No ad spend required

How to Find Customers on Reddit

Step 1: Identify target subreddits

Create a list of 10-20 subreddits where your ideal customers congregate. Think beyond your direct category.

Example for a project management tool:

• Direct: r/projectmanagement, r/productivity, r/agile
• Adjacent: r/Entrepreneur, r/startups, r/smallbusiness
• Niche: r/freelance, r/remotework, r/webdev

Step 2: Understand each community

Before posting anything, spend time understanding the culture:

• Read the rules (every subreddit is different)
• Check what types of posts get upvoted
• Note how promotional content is received
• Identify active times and posting patterns

Step 3: Become a helpful member

This is where most founders fail. They jump straight to promotion and get banned or downvoted into oblivion.

Instead:

• Answer questions in your area of expertise
• Share helpful resources
• Engage in discussions authentically
• Build karma and recognition over 2-4 weeks

Step 4: Mention your product naturally

Once you have established yourself, look for opportunities where your product genuinely solves someone's problem.

Bad approach: "You should try [My Tool]! It does exactly what you need. Sign up here: [link]"

Good approach: "I have tackled this exact problem. The key is finding a tool that integrates with your existing workflow. I have tried [Tool A], [Tool B], and [My Tool]. Here is what each does differently... Full disclosure: I built [My Tool] to solve this problem myself."

Common Reddit Mistakes to Avoid

Scaling Reddit Without Getting Banned

The challenge with Reddit is that it does not scale easily. You cannot automate genuine engagement. But you can make the discovery process more efficient.

Manual monitoring challenges:

• Time-consuming (2-3 hours daily)
• Easy to miss relevant conversations
• Hard to track across multiple subreddits
• Difficult to catch posts at the right time

Tools that help:

There are several tools that can automate the discovery part of Reddit marketing:

• F5Bot (free) - Email alerts for keywords
• TrackReddit (free) - Custom keyword tracking
• Gummysearch - Reddit market research
• Exsposer - AI-powered conversation discovery

The key distinction: automate discovery, never automate engagement. Finding relevant conversations can be systematic. Responding must be authentic and personal.

Exsposer stands out because it uses AI to understand context and intent, not just keyword matching. It finds conversations where someone is experiencing your product's solution, even if they never mention the exact keywords you would track. Exsposer automatically prioritizes high-value opportunities, saving hours of manual filtering.

Building Your First 10 Customer Strategy

Let us put this all together into a practical action plan.

Week 1-2: Foundation

1. List your network contacts - Identify 30-50 people who might need your product or know someone who does
2. Define your ICP - Be specific about who your first customers should be
3. Set up basic tracking - Know where your signups come from (UTM parameters, etc.)
4. Create your early adopter offer - Lifetime discount or special pricing

Week 3-4: Outreach

1. Contact your network - Personal messages, not mass emails
2. Start cold outreach - 20-30 personalized emails per day
3. Join relevant communities - Reddit, Slack, LinkedIn groups
4. Begin engaging - Answer questions, provide value, no promotion yet

Week 5-8: Community Building

1. Continue cold outreach - Refine based on response data
2. Increase community engagement - Daily participation in 2-3 communities
3. Start mentioning your product - Only when genuinely relevant
4. Consider a Product Hunt launch - If you have built some initial momentum

Week 9-12: Optimization

1. Analyze what is working - Double down on effective channels
2. Drop what is not working - Do not force channels that are not producing
3. Collect testimonials - From your early customers
4. Start building content - Based on questions you see repeatedly

Measuring Success: Metrics That Matter

Track these metrics to understand what is working:

Activity Metrics:

• Outreach emails sent per week
• Community posts and comments
• Conversations initiated

Response Metrics:

• Email response rate (aim for 10%+)
• Community engagement (upvotes, replies)
• Website visits from each channel

Conversion Metrics:

• Trial signups by source
• Trial to paid conversion rate
• Customer acquisition cost by channel

What to Avoid When Getting Your First Customers

Some channels and tactics are not worth your time at this stage:

Skip these for now:

• TV and Radio - Expensive and imprecise for niche B2B markets
• Paid influencer marketing - Requires established brand identity to see ROI
• Expensive trade shows - Costly with delayed returns
• Broad PPC campaigns - Burn money while you refine messaging
• Hiring a sales team - You should be doing sales yourself initially

Common mistakes:

• Trying to scale before finding what works
• Spending money before validating the channel
• Automating too early (especially engagement)
• Giving up on channels too quickly
• Focusing on channels that attract founders, not customers

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to get the first 10 customers?

Expect 4-8 weeks for most SaaS products. Your timeline depends on your network, market size, and how well your product solves a real problem. Some founders do it in a week; others take months.

Should I offer my product for free to get early users?

No. Charge something, even if it is heavily discounted. Free users do not validate that people will pay. They also tend to provide less valuable feedback and have lower engagement.

Which acquisition channel should I start with?

Start with your personal network and cold outreach simultaneously. These give you the fastest feedback and require zero budget. Add community engagement in week 2-3 once you understand your messaging better.

How do I know if a channel is working?

Give each channel at least 2-3 weeks of consistent effort before evaluating. Track signups by source. If you are getting conversations but no conversions, the channel might be right but your messaging needs work.

What if I do not have a network in my target industry?

Focus on cold outreach and community engagement. You can build a network from scratch through consistent, valuable participation in online communities.

How do I balance product development with customer acquisition?

In the early stage, customer acquisition should take 50-70% of your time. Your product does not need to be perfect. You need customers to tell you what to improve.

Can I outsource early customer acquisition?

Generally no. You should be doing this yourself initially. You will learn more about your customers and messaging than any hired marketer could tell you.

What is a reasonable customer acquisition cost target?

For your first 10 customers, do not worry too much about CAC. Focus on learning what works. As you scale, aim for CAC to be less than 1/3 of customer lifetime value.

Key Takeaways

Getting your first 10 SaaS customers requires hustle, patience, and a willingness to do things that do not scale. Here is what to remember:

• Start with your network - The fastest path to early customers
• Use cold outreach - Personalized, persistent, and focused on their problems
• Engage in communities - Reddit and niche forums are underrated gold mines
• Add value first - Build trust before you mention your product
• Charge money - Free users do not validate your business
• Be patient - Expect 4-8 weeks to see meaningful traction
• Track everything - Know which channels are actually working
• Double down on winners - Once you find what works, focus there

Your first 10 customers will shape your startup's future. They will tell you what your product is really for, what features matter, and how to talk about your solution. Treat them like partners, not just revenue.

---

Ready to find customers where they are already discussing their problems? Exsposer uses AI to discover high-intent conversations on Reddit automatically. Stop manually searching through subreddits and start engaging where it matters. Get 20 free opportunities with our daily digest.