How founders actually get their first users, in data
Based on 3,000+ real first-user tactics from founder interviews and write-ups, the most common channel is First users & traction (342 tactics, 12% of all tactics), and 35% of tactics are low effort. Every figure below is computed from the database and updated as it grows.
Last updated 2026-06-28.
Key findings
- First users & traction is the single most common channel founders use to get their first users: 342 of 2924 documented tactics (12%).
- 35% of proven first-user tactics are low-effort (1038 of 2924), so founders rarely need a big budget or team to start.
- Only 37% of first-user tactics produce fast results; most user acquisition compounds over weeks, not days.
- For B2B SaaS, the highest-coverage channel is Reddit & forums (253 tactics).
- HowTheyGotUsers documents 3,000+ real first-user tactics across 13 channels and 9 product types, each linked to its primary source.
| Channel | Tactics | Share |
|---|---|---|
| First users & traction | 342 | 12% |
| Reddit & forums | 308 | 11% |
| Cold outreach | 287 | 10% |
| Content & YouTube | 278 | 10% |
| Social & short-form | 260 | 9% |
| SEO & organic | 257 | 9% |
| Communities | 250 | 9% |
| Product-led growth | 229 | 8% |
| Launches & PH/HN | 213 | 7% |
| Pricing & monetization | 157 | 5% |
| Partnerships & affiliates | 131 | 4% |
| Paid ads | 107 | 4% |
| Email & newsletters | 105 | 4% |
| Product type | Tactics tagged |
|---|---|
| B2B SaaS | 2108 |
| Dev tools / technical | 1565 |
| Newsletters / media | 1563 |
| Consumer / mobile apps | 1510 |
| Info products / courses | 1348 |
| Agencies / services | 1347 |
| AI products | 1297 |
| Marketplaces | 1293 |
| E-commerce / DTC | 1277 |
| Effort | Tactics | Share | Speed | Tactics | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 1038 | 35% | Fast | 1092 | 37% |
| Medium | 1461 | 50% | Medium | 892 | 31% |
| High | 425 | 15% | Slow | 938 | 32% |
| Product type | Top channel | Tactics |
|---|---|---|
| B2B SaaS | Reddit & forums | 253 |
| Dev tools / technical | Reddit & forums | 236 |
| Newsletters / media | Reddit & forums | 222 |
| Consumer / mobile apps | Reddit & forums | 241 |
| Info products / courses | Reddit & forums | 209 |
| Agencies / services | Reddit & forums | 210 |
| AI products | Reddit & forums | 218 |
| Marketplaces | Reddit & forums | 207 |
| E-commerce / DTC | Reddit & forums | 206 |
Cite this data as: HowTheyGotUsers, “The state of how founders get their first users (3,000+ tactics)”, https://howtheygotusers.com/stats (updated 2026-06-28). See how the data is sourced and verified on our methodology page.
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