Six-hundred days. Zero income.
Thought my first dollar would mean the road to $1 M MRR was easy from there.
Spoiler: life didn’t get easier. I just finally understood the work it takes to make the next dollar.
Let me give it to you straight:
Building it? Easy.
Selling it? Hard.
But simple as hell.
Step #1: Look for a problem
I know, I know. That’s what everybody says.
“Build a painkiller, not a vitamin”
Yikes. Makes me want to puke when I hear that.
Not because it’s not true. It’s 100% true, people would not pay for a vitamin, unless it’s a very beneficial vitamin.
But what the hell does that mean? Easy.
→ Talk to people.
By talking to people you learn exactly what hurts them and what doesn’t.
Have an idea? Talk to people as if you already have an MVP ready and ask them if that’s something they’d be interested in trying.
Trust me, you’ll get your answers faster than you imagine.
“Wow, what kind of spammer are you Orel? Jesus. I don’t want people to hate me for spamming”.
Fair point. Not true, though. I’ll let ChatGPT explain with a doodle:
You think you’re a spammer? They just think you sent one message. So send more.
Step #2: Give it away
If you’re looking for quick feedback, do stuff for free.
Give the first users a month for free. Add features they want (only if it takes a couple of hours to build).
In exchange, ask for feedback. That’s all you need at this stage.
Forget testimonials. Forget credit cards. You don’t even know if the damn product works yet.
That’s how I pivoted WriteStack from an AI-Powered editor to a full suite of tools, mainly based around Notes.
That shift over 7x-ed users in two weeks.
Step #3: Be valuable. Be available.
There’s a strong tweet from Leila Hormozi that says:
In this case, you have to be both.
Whenever someone new signs up to WriteStack I automatically add them to a list, just to send them a DM later.
When someone subscribes to WriteStack, they get an almost-instant DM from me.
Show users that you’re professional. That you’re on top of things.
That’s how you build trust. That’s how you get your first customers. You’re available and valuable.
Pro tip:
Have a recording tool, like PostHog, set up. Watch users regularly, and the moment you see that someone has had any sort of bug or a problem, send them a message.
Let them know that you’re aware of the problem and that you’re solving it.
Sending messages and being valuable and available is not about getting users to pay directly.
It’s about building rapport. It’s about putting yourself as a serious person who’s doing the work. It builds trust.
Next time they see your name, they won’t ignore it. They’ll know you show up.
Every. Damn. Time.
For how long should I do it?
As long as it takes. As long as you’re getting valuable feedback that moves you in the direction of what most people want, keep going.
If in 2-4 weeks of consistent and focused effort you get no valuable feedback and no interest, drop it.
It’s probably just a bad vitamin.
Now quit reading. Go DM 10 prospects.
"For how long should I do it?"
"As long as it takes"
Loved all the points, but this one hit the hardest.
I really appreciate your honesty Orel 🤗 And thank you so much for the shoutout!