Forget the Millions. Focus on Your First 10 Users.
Charlie (@cerwindcharlie)and I have been thinking a lot about what really matters when building a startup. And honestly, it all comes down to one thing:
👉 Making something people want.
It’s a bit cringe 😅 but it’s true.
For sure luck is a big part of it. But we can help make luck happen.
Some quick thoughts:
Forget the millions. Obsess over the first 10 users.
It’s harder (and more impactful) to make 100 people love you than 1,000,000 people just kind of like you.
Chasing novelty ≠ being noble.
Even Brian Chesky (Airbnb) says this is how they built a $75B company.
And Nathan Barry (ConvertKit) nailed it: “Do things that don’t scale, because that enables the channels that do scale.”
For us at Pretty Prompt, it’s not chasing 1 million users.
It’s 1 × 1,000,000.
That mindset shift changes everything in what you build and why.
💬 Curious, how did you get your first 10 users? What did you obsess over that actually worked?
(Please go give Pretty Prompt a go! It's pretty powerful and I'd love to hear your feedback👂).
Replies
Cal ID
So true! Obsessing over the first users is honestly the best way to build, and just gives immense motivation!
The feedback from those 10 tells you way more than those vanity metrics ever could.
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Triforce Todos
The first 10 are everything, they don’t just use the product, they shape the product.
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@abod_rehman 👏 exactly!
Ilai, I like the thinking. And I'm curious: Why 10? As a writer, I always say, "If you show it to 10 people and 1 person gives you feedback about something, you can probably ignore it; if 3-4 people give the same feedback, you should start paying attention." Is there a similar dynamic at play here?
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@jeff_benson1 10 is just an arbitrary number. The point is the concept of focusing on a small number of users. If you solve a problem for 10, nothing says you cannot solve it for 100, and so on.
Taking feedback from users doesn't mean "building exactly what they say" but rather understanding more about what they need, and from there, move forward... Or go towards a different direction.
Airbnb example: it was originally "Air Bed and Breakfast". A simple way to help the founders pay for rent in SF. They were designers, all hotels were booked up, so they threw air mattresses on their flat, and rented it out, with breakfast. It was not a "billion-dollar idea" to become the eBay of travel.
There's something super powerful about focusing on a small number of people, or even on a problem one has. If I solve a problem for me, then my problem is not the actual problem, but to find other people like me, who have the same problem. 🙌
(I hope this makes sense!) And please do try Pretty Prompt and let me know your feedback!
This hits. I think a lot of people underestimate how much impact those first 10 users have. If they really love what you’re building, they help shape the product in ways no growth hack can. I still believe in Word of Mouth
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@viktorgems it's the best growth hack! Just building something people love. Yet so hard to do!
@ilaiszp Also sometimes those early adopters haven't heard about you yet and it's our job to find them
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Simple wisdoms win yet again. I'd add: chase and obsess over the 10 people who will actually give you thoughtful feedback. Not something that will happen when you have 1mio users - the first ones who are willing to be patient and iterate with you are where the gold dust is.
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My first 10 users?
Honestly… friends I bribed with coffee ☕😂.
But they stuck around because I obsessed over their feedback like it was gold. Turns out, that was the real growth hack.
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YourGPT
Great mindset, Focusing on the first 10 users changes everything - real feedback, real connection, real growth.
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@ilaiszp Thanks for the encouragement! It has to be a message problem because we're not getting the installs. I'm trying many different things and I know it is a long road ahead.
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Obsessing over customers it's addictive :)
You can try Pretty Prompt for free on Chrome here!