How SaaS startup guys get first 100 customers first, make fkn $500k ARR fast?
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nnandakishor_ml about 3 hours ago 33 comments
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I am running a small AI company that has been building an offline security audit app, simply a fine-tuned small language model powering an Electron app that can audit GitHub and local code repos for security stuff. I always see these LinkedIn or X guys making $500k ARR or $1m ARR within months; how the fkk do they get that many customers without spending on ads? I can't even get 5 customers; damn it, I do suck at sales
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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 audience, message, and how urgent the pain you're solving is)
It is extremely hard at start, especially for engineer types (like myself)
Fortunately, it's a skill like any other that can be learned.
Read this article for more info https://x.com/namanyayg/status/2097783972302557668?s=46
Doesn't work. Everyone is doing this, your target is getting dozens of messages per day, or 100s if their profile shows them to be a potential decision-maker for purchases.
Maybe, n some rare case, someone in some business hits a pain point that day, and decides there and then that they need a replacement product, and your message gets to them within the next few days, then sure.
But, unlikely.
Want to clarify that lazy and ai spamming on LinkedIn is lame, especially for non-tech sales people selling technology.
Also, b2b sales can be foreign to most people - when i've done b2b sales on linkedin it's mostly about just building a relationship. The 5% of the market that is ready to buy will always self identify if they are looking for help.
I'm saying this as someone who has ba background in technology and helping companies purchase software.
There are better ways to use LinkedIn to earn interest and attention of those small percentages that move forward.
Knowing your stuff and how to apply it and not confusing talking for doing is critical.
Influencers who sell courses on topcs they are new to themselves might think introducing people to topics is a cashflow stream, but most will move on and it will be a leaky bucket.
First, as others have pointed out, that ARR is an amplification number.
Second, if it is not, then they may have spent $1m in marketing for a $500k revenue.
You never know, they aren't going to let anyone see poverty, they're only going to project success.
I could easily give you that title. Or maybe you can even do that yourself.
Lots of new companies are either faked, or amplified.
Example: If I made a sale of $100 this hour, it can become $864K ARR, with amplification (100 x 24 x 30 x 12).
What to do? Focus on your job and forget everybody else. Don't ever judge progress by revenue alone. A low revenue company who invents something in energy could be worth all companies exist today. But you never hear about it, because it is the real stuff.
But you never knew when your efforts compound, and that's the point.
Keep up the good work. No. Matter. What.
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.
https://inkubator.si/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/The-Mom-Test...
That or they just lie on socials.
There is no real get rich scheme. Someone might have 10-15 years of experience and know how something is priced in an inefficient market and know how to capitalize on it (they understand how people buy). In those cases there can be quicker approaches to leverage.
If you do not have funding, you probably need to set aside most startup advice. The resources and time you have available are entirely different.
Spending on ads can be a waste of time if you don't know know to retain the customers you keep.
Google one phrase: Founder-led sales.
Founder-led sales is what must be done before having delusions of product-l ed growth. I'm not saying it's not possible, it's just a question of whether you notice how many new things you're trying to learn to do at once.
The secret that you have available to you is you can spend one week building, and then one week in market showing what you've built and getting feedback.
Most people will make their life much harder by picking a startup in an industry that they don't know, trying to solve a problem they've never had nor know the depths of. It can be a subtle form of self-sabotage.
Being problem focused (problems of an identifiable company in the market that says yes to solving a probelm).
You must avoid the disease of building and selling an idea. Solving a problem that's verified is something else.
Back to founder led sales, this means, you, and you alone, must learn the needs from the market, and how to sell it, and get it going.
The first 100 customers is up to you. Do you know how to sell small, medium, or large customers?
Growth is about building an acquisition (marketing and sales system) that can distribute (product) something that can gain and retain customers from the market.