How to Get Your First 100 SaaS Users
Published 2025-10-18
If you’re building a SaaS product, landing your first 100 users is not about virality or scaling — it’s about finding product-market fit in micro-motion.
I’ve watched and helped SaaS founders—many times via Indie10k—go from zero to their first 100 users. Here’s the blueprint, injected with real stories from Indie Hackers.
1. Why the First 100 Matter (Especially for SaaS)
In SaaS, one user can mean recurring revenue, feedback loops, and retention signals. That’s why 100 users matters: you’ll start seeing patterns — who stays, who churns, what parts of the product resonate, and what features are noise.
From the Indie Hackers post How to get the First 100 customers for your startup (case study of how 7 founders did it), founder Arunima collects data from multiple SaaS founders and shows how early traction is earned through manual effort and relationships — not automation.
2. The SaaS Traction Triangle (Offer → Channel → Proof)
Offer — Narrow the SaaS Promise
For SaaS, you must clearly answer: Which user type? Which problem? What turnaround time?
For example:
“We help solo content creators publish one blog post per week using AI — without hiring an editor.”
Avoid platform-speak. Focus on the 1x outcome they care about.
Channel — Where SaaS Builders & Buyers Live
Where do your early SaaS buyers hang out?
- Community forums of complementary tools
- Slack/Discord groups of your niche
- Indie Hackers threads
- Niche subreddits
In How I got my first 100 users, one founder shared actual numbers: Reddit ~60, Discord ~25, IndieHackers ~15, while Twitter & Hacker News gave zero.
Lesson: pick one or two strong channels and go deep.
Proof — Build Credibility Early
For SaaS, proof means usage, feedback, or small wins.
In I Got My First Paying SaaS Customer Using My Own Tool (SERPtag), the founder used his own product to generate his first lead — authentic proof that the product worked before scale.
3. Understand Early SaaS Adopter Behavior
Early SaaS adopters aren’t just testing a product — they’re betting on you.
They expect:
- Direct contact and fast iteration
- The feeling they’re part of something small and alive
- Visibility into progress and updates
In Bootstrap SaaS to $100K: Audience Research Tool for Reddit (GummySearch), the founder says:
“My first 10 users came from interviews. The next 100 came from Reddit by dogfooding the product.”
He literally found users while using his own app — that’s what genuine early adopter alignment looks like.
4. 7-Day SaaS Traction Plan
| Day | Focus | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Clarify SaaS Offer | Write a one-liner: who you serve + what they get + in what time frame. Validate it with 3 people in your niche. |
| Day 2 | Map Channels | Identify 3 forums or communities where your users talk. Lurk for 30 minutes and collect phrasing users naturally use. |
| Day 3 | Create Landing + Onboarding | Build a single landing page (no fluff). Write onboarding instructions: “Your first 5-minute win.” |
| Day 4 | Soft Launch | Post your story on one niche community — Reddit, Indie Hackers, or a Slack group. Be authentic. |
| Day 5 | Engage & Activate | Personally message each sign-up. Help them get a first result with your product. |
| Day 6 | Ship & Announce | Release one small improvement. Share it publicly. Transparency is traction. |
| Day 7 | Reflect & Publish | Share a public progress update (“30 signups, 10 active, 3 paying”). Invite feedback for week two. |
Repeat weekly until you hit 100 users. For SaaS, activation and retention matter far more than signups.
5. Real SaaS Case Studies (All Linked)
🧠 Case Study A — Blog Recorder: My First SaaS Journey to 100 Users in One Week
The founder documented everything — daily launches, small features, feedback, and metrics. Within seven days, he reached 100 signups.
Lesson: Visibility compounds trust. Each micro-update brings another wave of curiosity.
💬 Case Study B — GummySearch: Bootstrap SaaS to $100K
Built for Reddit community research, GummySearch gained traction directly from the community it served.
Lesson: Build inside your market. When your users see themselves in your journey, they join you.
💡 Case Study C — SERPtag: I Got My First Paying SaaS Customer Using My Own Tool
This founder practiced “use your own product” growth. They documented their results as proof, leading to a first paying user.
Lesson: Product-led proof > paid ads.
🔍 Case Study D — MentionFunnel: Everything I Did to Get My First Paying Customer
The founder focused narrowly on one problem (Reddit mentions) and shared their iteration process openly.
Lesson: Start niche. Solve one measurable pain well.
📈 Case Study E — Getting Your First 100 SaaS Users: Proven Tactics from Stripe, Zapier, ConvertKit
This compilation post breaks down how bigger SaaS companies started manually — Stripe co-founders cold-emailed developers; ConvertKit reached out to bloggers one by one.
Lesson: “Do things that don’t scale” isn’t advice — it’s the blueprint.
6. Common Mistakes SaaS Founders Make
- Building before talking — In How I Got My First 100 Users, founders who talked to users early succeeded faster than those who silently built.
- Launching on too many platforms — Most traction came from one or two key communities, not ten.
- Ignoring activation — Without a “first success” flow, users ghost you.
- Staying quiet — Blog Recorder proved consistent updates turn attention into trust.
- Skipping user conversations — GummySearch founder spent hours on DMs; that’s where loyalty formed.
7. SaaS Traction Checklist
✅ One-line offer that’s narrow and outcome-focused
✅ Channels defined by where your users talk daily
✅ Onboarding that delivers value in 5 minutes
✅ Visible progress updates or changelog posts
✅ Direct conversations with every early adopter
✅ Weekly iteration and feedback loops until 100 active users
🪞 Reflection
Your first 100 SaaS users are not “marketing targets” — they’re co-builders.
They tell you where to focus, what to drop, and what to double down on.
The first 100 are not luck; they’re earned through trust, speed, and small wins shared publicly.
💪 CTA
Join Indie10k — the growth gym for SaaS founders.
Do one small rep a day, measure your traction, and share progress with builders who are also pushing toward their first 100 users.
🧭 Start your free 7-rep trial → indie10k.com
Because SaaS momentum isn’t found — it’s built, one rep at a time.