top of page
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • Whatsapp
pexels-cottonbro-6805162.jpg

Ready to Reach Your First 100 Customers?

Simple Strategies to Win Your First 100 Customers

Road map

Untitled-3.png

Founder And Influencer Videos/Podcasts

Introspection

Ready for an honest conversation with yourself? This introspection section offers a set of reflective questions designed to help you understand if entrepreneurship is truly the right path for you. From evaluating your risk tolerance to determining if you have the support needed, these questions guide you through every angle of self-reflection, so you can feel more confident about your next steps.

Real insights from successful founders. Watch videos and listen to podcasts featuring entrepreneurs sharing their experiences—wins, challenges, and tips—to help guide your journey.

Articles AND Blogs

In-depth resources for aspiring entrepreneurs. Explore articles and blogs that offer expert perspectives, deep dives into startup strategies, and personal stories to help you make informed decisions.

5663353_2954453.jpg

Journey  Begins

INTROSPECTION

1. Who exactly am I trying to serve, and why?
This is the foundation of everything. Without a clear understanding of who you’re trying to reach, every other strategy becomes blurry. Start by asking yourself: What specific problem am I solving? People buy solutions, not just products or services, so you need to deeply understand what pain points your target customers are dealing with. Why does solving this problem matter to them?

For example, if you’re creating a productivity app, your ideal customers might be freelancers struggling with time management. Their pain isn’t just “being busy”—it’s feeling overwhelmed and needing a way to structure their day more effectively. The more precisely you can identify why your product matters to them, the easier it will be to attract your first 100 customers.

2. Beyond demographics, what common traits or behaviors connect my early adopters?
It's easy to think in terms of demographics (age, gender, income), but these alone don’t tell the full story. Go deeper. What are the shared behaviors, desires, and pain points that unite your ideal customers? These are the emotional drivers that push people to take action.

For instance, maybe your ideal customers are early adopters who love trying new technology. They’re not just buying your product for its features—they’re excited by innovation and want to be ahead of the curve. Or perhaps they’re health-conscious consumers who value sustainability, and they’re actively looking for eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding these underlying traits will help you craft messaging that speaks directly to what motivates them.

3. How can I narrow down my target market without excluding opportunities?
It might seem counterintuitive, but narrowing your focus early on can actually lead to faster growth. You don’t need to target “everyone” to be successful—in fact, trying to do that can water down your message. Instead, think about how to attract a specific subset of customers who are most likely to become loyal advocates.

Ask yourself: Who needs my product most right now? For example, if you’re launching a fitness app, you might start by targeting busy professionals who want quick, effective workouts they can fit into their schedule. You can still expand to other groups later (like fitness enthusiasts or retirees), but focusing on one group helps you build early momentum.

Once you’ve captured the attention of this niche group, word of mouth can spread naturally. You’ll also have clearer insights into what works and what doesn’t, making it easier to scale later without losing focus.

4. What is my ideal customer already doing to solve the problem I aim to fix?
This is crucial because your product isn’t entering a vacuum. Your ideal customers are already trying to solve the problem you aim to address—maybe not with your solution, but with something. What are they using right now? It could be outdated software, manual processes, or even just sheer willpower. Understanding this helps you position your product as the better alternative.

For instance, if you’re launching a time management tool, your customers might currently be using to-do lists, calendar apps, or even Post-it notes. But what are their frustrations with those tools? Maybe they find them too rigid, or maybe they don’t integrate well with the rest of their work life. Your job is to show how your solution solves these issues and makes their life easier.

5. How are they managing without my product or service, and what frustrations can I capitalize on?
This question is all about identifying pain points with existing solutions. If people are sticking with a less-than-ideal solution, there’s a reason—maybe it’s out of habit, or maybe they don’t know a better option exists. This is where your opportunity lies.

So, if your ideal customers are small business owners managing their own finances, they might be using generic accounting software that’s overly complicated or time-consuming. They’re managing, but they’re frustrated by the complexity and inefficiency. This is where you come in—by highlighting those frustrations and positioning your product as the simpler, more effective alternative, you create a strong reason for them to switch.

image.png

Articles

We've curated links to insightful articles from across the internet to help you dive deeper into the topic.

Books

We've gathered a selection of books to help you gain a deeper understanding of the topic.

How to Grow a Small Business: growth marketing for startups (Part I)
11:02

How to Grow a Small Business: growth marketing for startups (Part I)

Picking the right marketing strategy when you’re starting up can be the difference between success and failure. Slidebean is here to help ► Lessons on detailing the most effective strategies at each stage of your business. ► Our lessons also warn you about marketing traps that many entrepreneurs fall into. ► Frameworks & templates to build your perfect Go to market strategy ► 1 on 1 time with experts to validate your strategy & more… Our Community gets 30% Discount on their Slidebean Subscription. Get started now: Use code ‘SLBYTCOMMUNITY’ or check out https://youtube.slidebean.com/get-customers Are you ready to pitch to investors? We can help ► https://slidebean.com/pitch-deck-consulting-services?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=grow_i Subscribe to our FREE weekly startup newsletter ► https://slidebean.com/newsletter?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=grow_i -- In this video, we cover: -Growth at the early stages: 02:11 - Growth = Product: 02:27 - Do not Hire an Agency: 02:54 - Growth Costs are not an Expense: 03:27 - Be prepared to spend money: 04:08 -Unit economics: 05:35 - CAC: Cost of Acquisition 05:46 - Cost per Sign Up or cost per Download: 06:09 - Lifetime Value: 06:21 -Basic Growth Tactics: 07:30 -The Growth Marketing or Growth Hacking mindset: 09:39 Resources ► Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth: https://amzn.to/2lkVLnk Slidebean Presentation Service 📣 Our Youtube subscribers get a 10% off in our Design Services: https://checkout.slidebean.com/community?utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=grow_i&utm_medium=description About Slidebean: Slidebean is a platform for founders to scale their startups. Our platform offers everything you need to build your startup, your pitch deck, set up your company, and start gaining traction. Our team of experts can also help you write and design your pitch deck and build the financial model for your startup. #smallbusiness #GrowthMarketing #startups Follow us Twitter: http://twitter.com/slidebean LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/company/slidebean Instagram: http://instagram.com/slidebean Facebook: http://facebook.com/slidebean Follow Caya Twitter: http://twitter.com/cayahere LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caya/
How to Grow a Small Business: growth marketing for startups (Part II)
09:14

How to Grow a Small Business: growth marketing for startups (Part II)

Ready to scale your business successfully? Here’s how Slidebean can help you scale your business: ► Build your Go to Market strategy ► Presentations & Frameworks to set a culture of performance ► Deals on recommended tools for like Recurring, Justworks, and Brex & more… Our Community gets 30% Discount on their Slidebean Subscription. Get started now: Use code ‘SLBYTCOMMUNITY’ or check out https://youtube.slidebean.com/scale-my-business Are you ready to pitch to investors? We can help ► https://slidebean.com/pitch-deck-consulting-services?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=grow-part2 Subscribe to our FREE weekly startup newsletter ► https://slidebean.com/newsletter?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=grow-part2 Today we are going to talk about startup growth. This is part two of our growth video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2rpBhMY0ys The reason I know any of this is because I'm the CEO of a company called Slidebean, and for our first few years, I handled most of our initial marketing experiments. In our last video, we talked about the 19 growth channels available in the world, so in this episode, I am going to talk about the ones that we've tried, the ones that failed, and the ones that worked. This is how to grow a small business, part II. Big disclaimer, these tactics apply to our particular case: a SaaS company with a presentation design product that saves (a tremendous amount) of time. These might or might not apply to you, but hopefully, they can give you some ideas. #startups #Smallbusiness #marketing -- About Us: Slidebean is a platform for founders to scale their startups. Our platform offers everything you need to build your startup, your pitch deck, set up your company, and start gaining traction. Our team of experts can also help you write and design your pitch deck and build the financial model for your startup. ---- Follow Slidebean: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/slidebean Twitter: https://twitter.com/slidebean Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slidebean Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/company/slidebean ---- Follow Caya: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caya/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/caya.photo/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/cayaphoto Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caya.photo/
bottom of page