Ask HN: How do you get your first users for an MVP?
3•amina124•1h ago
For founders building an MVP today, what’s the best way to get the first users and prove there’s real demand before talking to investors?
Comments
byoung2•41m ago
If you describe your MVP using the following pattern:
[customer profile] has [problem] so I built [solution]
Then you should have an idea of who the product is for and then you can figure out where to find them. For example:
Boat owners who store their boats at home don't have a convenient way to move their trailers around so I built a motorized trailer puller that is controllable using a smartphone so they can move their boats without using their vehicle.
So I need to reach people who have boats on trailers. They are easy to find down at any boat ramp or marina. I could go down there and set up a prototype and show them how it works, get feedback, and maybe show them a QR code to join a mailing list. I could also go to boat shows, FB groups, subreddits, YouTube, etc.
Do you have a customer profile you could share, and maybe people can offer suggestions for how to reach them?
byoung2•41m ago
[customer profile] has [problem] so I built [solution]
Then you should have an idea of who the product is for and then you can figure out where to find them. For example:
Boat owners who store their boats at home don't have a convenient way to move their trailers around so I built a motorized trailer puller that is controllable using a smartphone so they can move their boats without using their vehicle.
So I need to reach people who have boats on trailers. They are easy to find down at any boat ramp or marina. I could go down there and set up a prototype and show them how it works, get feedback, and maybe show them a QR code to join a mailing list. I could also go to boat shows, FB groups, subreddits, YouTube, etc.
Do you have a customer profile you could share, and maybe people can offer suggestions for how to reach them?