HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Recruit First Testers by Giving Away Paid Features

Recruit First Testers by Giving Away Paid Features is a first users & traction tactic for getting your first users: To get users beyond his personal network, the founder publicly offered free access to the product's paid features in exchange for trying it, which landed his first outside user whose feedback beat any generic landing-page advice.

It's a strong fit for B2B SaaS teams, and works especially well for pre-traction SaaS, solo founders. As a first users & traction play, plan for low effort and expect results to show up quickly, all grounded in 1 linked primary source.

First users & tractionLow effortFast

Why does first users & traction work for this?

Comping paid features lowers the barrier for strangers to try an unproven product and yields high-signal feedback.

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.

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Sources

Works for
B2B SaaS

Frequently asked

What kind of products does the "Recruit First Testers by Giving Away Paid Features" tactic work for?
It is a good fit for B2B SaaS — pick it when your product looks like that, since the play is shaped around how those users find new tools.
How is the "Recruit First Testers by Giving Away Paid Features" 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 low 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.

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