100 users twice · why the milestone doesn't actually matter

I've hit +100 users in my SaaS twice in a matter of weeks. Here's the 5-step launch framework I always use.

Users aren't the right metric to measure. The real work starts after the signup, and most founders underestimate how much it takes to actually convert them in the early days.

But you still need to get them through the door first. Here are 5 things you can do.

1) Start way before you launch. With distribution.

It begins today, before you build anything. I had over 340 calls in my Cal in the last 12 months. That's the groundwork. The founders who built their network early are the ones now warm-intro'ing me into theirs.

2) Build in public.

Yes, it's becoming cliché. In B2B it still works.

Some of my customers today reference my cringy YouTube videos from when I was 18 or 19. That's 3 years of journey, failures and wins, they've followed. In a commoditized world, buying decisions aren't fully rational. Connection is a thin moat. Use it.

3) Skip cold outbound. Skip ads. Focus on your warm network.

I deeply believe our first 10k MRR is already in our network. I genuinely know we can help people there with their GTM problems.

That means existing LinkedIn connections. Old clients. The customer base you already have. Reactivate them.

If you don't have a network: build in public, then reach out to your post engagers. Posting 5x a week and engaging the engagers is the highest-leverage move I've found.

Last month I got 50k impressions on my posts. That drove 1k profile viewers. It's a numbers game at the top of the funnel. You convert from there.

It takes time. It's worth it.

4) Launch videos. Multiple times.

I've done 3 already. More coming.

We Europeans are afraid to market our own work. The blood, sweat, and tears Philipp and I put into this product is insane. I'm going to market the hell out of it because I believe it's actually valuable.

People forget. People don't give a shit by default. You feel annoying. You're really just going under in the noise.

First launch flopped? Keep going. Our recent one went semi. The next one might be it.

5) Don't be a douchebag.

It's not prospects. It's humans.

Don't be desperate. Don't sell to people who don't need it. There are enough people out there.

Be genuine. Believe in the product enough that the offer stands on its own.

Now you have users. Here's what we actually do with them.

In the early days your users aren't users. They're clients. Treat them like that.

Premium support. My phone number. WhatsApp. A direct line to me and Philipp. Whatever it takes to make sure they actually get value.

We built a scoring and qualification agent that sorts every signup in our CRM by priority. Then we reach out to almost all of them manually and book a call.

The call isn't to sell. It's to understand. Why did they sign up? What are they actually trying to solve? That's the signal we use to decide what to build next.

This is the part most early-stage founders rush. We're not going to. We know it's not our time to chase revenue yet. We're delaying the instant gratification on purpose, staying close to our users, expecting everything takes longer than we want.

That's the biggest lesson I've taken from building a software company.

5 steps to get the users.

Treating them like clients · scoring, qualifying, calling, listening · gets you the retention.

That's the actual game.