The dream of scaling to 1,000 customers is exciting but the hardest milestone to cross is the first 100.
That’s where the real work happens: validating your idea, shaping the roadmap with early feedback, and proving there’s a market before you pour money into ads or polish.
That’s exactly what Part 2 of our SaaS launch webinar series tackled. Hosted by Vova Feldman (Freemius founder & CEO), the live panel brought together makers who’ve been through the grind of going from zero to traction.
From scrappy personal outreach to building in public, using AI as a force multiplier, and turning early users into advocates, this session was packed with practical advice you can start applying today.
Meet the Panelists
| Colleen Schnettler\nFounder of Simple File Upload and SaaS Marketing Gym |
| Colleen turned late-night coding into a career as a Rails developer and founder. After launching Simple File Upload, she learned what it really takes to grow a product business. Now, through SaaS Marketing Gym, she helps technical founders master marketing and get their software into customers’ hands. |
| Omri Dahan\nEntrepreneur, community builder, and co-leader at Build•Ship•Grow |
| Omri has led companies through growth and acquisition, and now helps early-stage founders turn scrappy ideas into real products. At Build•Ship•Grow, he fosters a community where makers share openly, build momentum, and grow together. His approach is grounded in action, resilience, and learning by doing. |
| Vova Feldman\nFreemius founder and CEO |
| SaaS founder, product builder, serial entrepreneur, and community voice. Vova helps developers turn side projects into sustainable businesses, powering thousands of software products through Freemius. |
The insights in this recap are just scratching the surface. For the deeper story:
Why the First 100 Customers Matter
Vova set the tone: “Going from 0 to 100 is probably the hardest part of any SaaS journey. It’s the phase where everything feels manual, scrappy, and unscalable, and that’s exactly where your focus should be.”
For Omri, this stage isn’t about chasing vanity numbers at all. “In the beginning, I don’t even think about them as customers. They’re partners helping me shape the product. When you see it that way, every conversation becomes valuable.”
Colleen agreed, adding that the first 100 are your best litmus test: “If you can’t get them in the door, it’s a sign to revisit your product or positioning before blaming your marketing. This phase is when founders are forced to get painfully clear about who they serve and why those people should care.”
Instead of burning months perfecting features or launching paid ads that may never convert, the panel stressed the importance of using this stage to talk to real users, get fast feedback, and adjust your roadmap based on what they actually need.
| Core truth: Ship, learn, iterate — the first 100 are your proving ground. |
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Scrappy Acquisition That Actually Works
Forget “growth hacks” for now. When it comes to landing your first 100 users, the most effective tactics are often manual, relationship-driven, and unscalable by design.
Colleen shared her no-fluff LinkedIn playbook, which she now teaches to technical founders through SaaS Marketing Gym. “First, warm up your profile. Post valuable, relevant content for a couple of weeks so your DMs don’t look random.”
Then comes the outreach. Instead of blasting cold messages, she emphasized targeted, personal connections via LinkedIn searches or Sales Navigator. “Spray and pray doesn’t work. Your outreach has to do the thinking for them. Make the message so specific and so valuable, they’d feel silly saying no.”
Her pro tip? Offer value upfront. “Sometimes I’ll just solve a problem for them in the DM by giving them something they can actually use. That’s what makes the offer irresistible.”
Vova offered three sharp acquisition tactics he’s come across from fellow makers and founders:
- Chris Cunningham, a founding member at ClickUp: Scrape 1-star reviews from competitor products → find those reviewers on LinkedIn → DM them with a clear message: “We built this to fix the exact pain you flagged.”
- Justin Ferriman Founder of LearnDash: Browse feature request boards, build the missing feature yourself, then reach out to upvoters one by one.
- Alex Boyd, co-founder of Aware: Partner with creators who already serve your audience, especially bloggers, newsletter writers, or micro-influencers. “Make the compensation fair and long-term,” he advised, “not just a one-off promo code.”
What unites these strategies is their focus: precision over volume, and personal relevance over scale.
| Core truth: Do fewer things, but do those things with sharper relevance and more human effort. |
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Community-First (aka Building in Public Done Right)
Most early SaaS marketing advice jumps straight to social media and content creation. But according to the panel,
