HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Pre-Sell the Minimum Viable Offer Before Building

Pre-Sell the Minimum Viable Offer Before Building is a first users & traction tactic for getting your first users: Pitch the outcome and process you'll deliver to real prospects and close revenue before any MVP exists, without even a company name.

It's a strong fit for teams of almost any kind, and works especially well for Service-shaped or process-automation products. As a first users & traction play, plan for medium effort and expect results to show up quickly, all grounded in 1 linked primary source.

First users & tractionMedium effortFast

Why does first users & traction work for this?

Selling the offer first proves demand, generates cash upfront, and tells you exactly what to build.

The exact steps (4)

The full step-by-step this founder ran, what they posted, where, and in what order, plus the watch-outs, is part of the library.

Unlock the steps · $29 oncePlus all 3,000+ tactics and the new ones we add weekly.

Sources

Works for
Any / universal

Frequently asked

How is the "Pre-Sell the Minimum Viable Offer Before Building" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 1 primary source — a real founder write-up or interview, not generic advice. It is linked in the Sources section above so you can read the original account yourself.
How much effort is it and how fast are results?
It is medium effort, and results tend to be fast.
Where can I see the exact step-by-step?
The full step-by-step a founder ran, documented via Source — IndieHackers, is in the paid library.

Related tactics

First users & tractionLow effort· Fast

Drop a Stripe Pre-Order Link at the End of Your Build-Story Article

Publish a short write-up describing the product idea, then place a live Stripe payment link for a lifetime deal at the bottom so readers can buy before anything is actually built.

Read the steps →
First users & tractionLow effort· Fast

Pre-Sell With a Public Kill-Threshold Before You Build

Validate paid demand for a course or product by selling it before it exists, and publicly committing to cancel and refund if a minimum number of pre-orders isn't reached by a hard deadline.

Read the steps →
First users & tractionLow effort· Medium

Reposition as 'The X for [Specific Niche]' Without Rebuilding

To stand out in a saturated category he argues you niche down hard, becoming 'the task manager for [seed startups / indie hackers / content marketers]', changing only the messaging and homepage positioning rather than the underlying features.

Read the steps →
First users & tractionLow effort· Slow

Put a Landing Page Live Months Before You Build

The founder launched a simple Carrd landing page with an email signup almost a year before the real launch, purely to maximize the window for collecting emails and testing appeal.

Read the steps →
First users & tractionLow effort· Fast

Stack Client, Partner and Media Logos for Instant Trust

Display logos of current and past clients, partners and any media mentions, plus the team's big-company resume, to borrow third-party credibility you haven't earned organically yet.

Read the steps →
First users & tractionHigh effort· Fast

Man a Live Video Widget Yourself to Convert Visitors on the Spot

Heyhi's product is a video-chat widget on the landing page; on launch day the founder personally took live calls from visitors - of 736 visitors, 247 clicked to join, 76 granted camera access, and he ran 25 live calls that both converted people and harvested feedback.

Read the steps →

Get all 3,000+ tactics in one place

Filter by your product and channel, follow the exact steps, and get the new tactics we add every week. One payment, yours for good.

Unlock for $29 onceBrowse by channel