Ask HN: How did you acquire your first 100 users? - throwawayt856
======
ArturT
I started with writing open source Ruby gem
[https://github.com/ArturT/knapsack](https://github.com/ArturT/knapsack) for
running tests in parallel on CI and later I gave a talk on local meetup event
for Ruby developers.

With time I wrote more blog posts
[https://docs.knapsackpro.com](https://docs.knapsackpro.com) and shared on
Reddit, Twitter, LinkedIn profile or Ruby groups. From time to time posts
landed in RubyWeekly newsletter.

Also asking users for recommendation might help.

I connected with each person on LinkedIn I talked to or who signed up and I
followed them on Twitter. People who like your product can easily see you
publish new content and can like or share it.

~~~
komuW
knapsack[1] and knapsack_pro[2] are both under MIT license and seem to have
the same code. How do you keep companies/people from using the pro without
paying?

1\. [https://github.com/ArturT/knapsack](https://github.com/ArturT/knapsack)

2\. [https://github.com/KnapsackPro/knapsack_pro-
ruby](https://github.com/KnapsackPro/knapsack_pro-ruby)

~~~
ArturT
knapsack_pro gem uses Knapsack Pro API which is paid. See more at
[https://knapsackpro.com](https://knapsackpro.com)

It works similarly like tools for exceptions tracking, i.e
[https://www.honeybadger.io](https://www.honeybadger.io) is paid but has MIT
client [https://github.com/honeybadger-io/honeybadger-
ruby](https://github.com/honeybadger-io/honeybadger-ruby)

Other than that I do support paying customers.

------
udayrddy
Depends on what you offer.

    
    
      A lunch offering service like foodsby goes to a building manager of small office spaces to offer a coupon code
    
      A SaaS service drops a post on here
    
      If you are offering goods platforms like kickstarter or producthunt
    

I launched [https://extracttable.com](https://extracttable.com) on Aug'27 this
year with a post here (no better place than HN), reached the first 100
customers under 60 days, with 22 paid customers. Right now, the count is at
197, hopefully crossing 250 by EOY

~~~
ezekg
I laughed out loud at the "a SaaS service drops a post on here" \-- it's not
that easy for everyone, I promise.

------
jdsully
KeyDB got it's start as a post on here. Expect people to be skeptical but in
the end quite a lot will try it.

The original post:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19368955](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19368955)

[https://github.com/JohnSull1y/KeyDB](https://github.com/JohnSull1y/KeyDB)

------
darrenwestall
We hit the phones and met a lot of people.

After 100 paid customers, we’ve found true product market fit and are now
gearing up for a true SaaS offering - we’ll continue to hit the phones though!

------
andrefuchs
We started a private beta for our app, posted about it on social media and
submitted it to sites like betalist.com

