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How SaaS startup guys get first 100 customers first, make fkn $500k ARR fast?

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Re: How SaaS startup guys get first 100 customers first, make fkn $500k ARR fast?

#11

Post by tmpz22 »

tmpz22 wrote: post #7

They cannibalize their social group. For example, they will make a lot of immediate small deals with other people in their cohort, incubator, or investor circle, and then use these deals to get to their next round of investment. Functionally those early sales are just there for signal. That or they just lie on socials.

Further, if you "cheat" your first tranche of sales you're potentially burying a valuable negative feedback loop for your product and sales development. The real hurdle, afaik, is mid-market and enterprise sales which is a big jump from getting your buddy to sign a small one year contract.

Re: How SaaS startup guys get first 100 customers first, make fkn $500k ARR fast?

#13

Post by bix6 »

namanyayg wrote: post #10

You need to set up a methodical go-to-market process. You can automate some of it, but it's good to start manually and learn the ropes first. You need to understand who your ideal customer is and what channels are they on. Linkedin is a common one for b2b sales. If you make 200 connections on linkedin every week and send them a message, some % of that will convert to meetings and sales (the exact % depends on your au…

Please don’t send me messages on LinkedIn. The spam is unbearable.

Re: How SaaS startup guys get first 100 customers first, make fkn $500k ARR fast?

#14

Post by prettyblocks »

namanyayg wrote: post #10

You need to set up a methodical go-to-market process. You can automate some of it, but it's good to start manually and learn the ropes first. You need to understand who your ideal customer is and what channels are they on. Linkedin is a common one for b2b sales. If you make 200 connections on linkedin every week and send them a message, some % of that will convert to meetings and sales (the exact % depends on your au…

As someone who gets a ton of these inbounds every day, I report every single one of them as spam.

Re: How SaaS startup guys get first 100 customers first, make fkn $500k ARR fast?

#15

Post by bix6 »

nandakishor_ml wrote: post #3

Is it because I live in a remote place in India and don't have connections to SF companies, like they have companies in the backyard that raised 100 million and can easily make money? This stuff has been bothering me for years!! What am I missing?

that’s certainly part of it. Your network access matters.

Re: How SaaS startup guys get first 100 customers first, make fkn $500k ARR fast?

#17

Post by nandakishor_ml »

namanyayg wrote: post #10

You need to set up a methodical go-to-market process. You can automate some of it, but it's good to start manually and learn the ropes first. You need to understand who your ideal customer is and what channels are they on. Linkedin is a common one for b2b sales. If you make 200 connections on linkedin every week and send them a message, some % of that will convert to meetings and sales (the exact % depends on your au…

I teach AI and have around 18k Instagram followers and about 9k on LinkedIn. Do I need to connect with Instagram influencers for a collab? Is it a good way?, just curious. Btw linkedin cold message gives conversion?

Re: How SaaS startup guys get first 100 customers first, make fkn $500k ARR fast?

#18

Post by nandakishor_ml »

bix6 wrote: post #15
nandakishor_ml wrote: post #3

Is it because I live in a remote place in India and don't have connections to SF companies, like they have companies in the backyard that raised 100 million and can easily make money? This stuff has been bothering me for years!! What am I missing?

that’s certainly part of it. Your network access matters.

but some people dont have office make shit ton of money from ai slop saas? genuinely frustrated by all the effort I put and no outcome

Re: How SaaS startup guys get first 100 customers first, make fkn $500k ARR fast?

#19

Post by Nevin1901 »

They have an ICP, a no-brainer offer, and they reach out to hundreds of people per day. They also test multiple offers. That's literally it.

Most people can't get customers because they don't do enough targeted consistent volume over one channel.

For example, email requires minimum ~300 targeted sends per day to see any sort of replies. Anything less and you're guessing.

The people running ads spend thousands per month before they have a winning angle, and even then target relatively modest ROAS.

People who make content make it with little views for months or years before finding something that works.

All of this takes time, and more volume than you could imagine. Take however many outreaches you think you should be doing per day, and 10-100x it. That's the real number.

And anyone who tells you "all cold outreach is spam, don't send it!" doesn't understand the game. Most people who view your content/outreach won't buy or find it interesting. The whole point of outreach is to find the 1% who do.

So TLDR: Do more volume and test more offers. There is no shortcut. The people who are winning mostly do more volume than you do.

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