My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Acquire first 100 customers through authentic community engagement
Early-stage B2C startups with clearly defined user communities
3-6 monthsWhat Success Looks Like
100+ paying customers acquired organically with strong retention, community leaders actively recommending your product
Steps to Execute
Identify 5-10 Facebook groups where your target users congregate
Join groups and spend 2-3 weeks only adding value (helpful posts, answering questions)
Identify group admins and active power users
Reach out to admins for 15-minute feedback calls
Show product and gather detailed feedback without pitching
Implement suggested changes and follow up showing improvements
After they're genuine users, ask if they think the community would find it valuable
Let them post about it or get permission to post for feedback only
Checklist
Inputs Needed
- Clear target user persona
- List of relevant Facebook groups
- Valuable content to share regularly
- Product demo or trial access
- Feedback incorporation process
Outputs
- 100+ engaged customers
- Strong product-market fit signals
- Community advocate network
- Refined product based on real user feedback
Example
“Jenny AI founder joined grad student Facebook groups, spent weeks helping with research questions, built relationships with group admins, got detailed feedback on the essay writing tool, and only after admins were genuine users did they recommend it to their communities.”
Related Knowledge
Zoom-In Pivot Framework
A strategic pivot where you narrow focus from a broad, mediocre product for everyone to an excellent product for a specific niche that already shows traction within your existing user base.
Influence the Influencers Strategy
A customer acquisition strategy focused on winning over community leaders and moderators first, who then authentically promote your product to their communities.
missing_eastern_european_startups
Market Selection Over Execution Excellence
The idea that picking the right market with good timing matters more than having the best product or execution
Success is the sum of your attempts
Don't view failed attempts as wasted time - they're building blocks for future success
Success is the sum of your attempts
Failed attempts aren't wasted effort - they're building blocks that contribute to eventual success