• Admin
• Aug 27, 2025
• Audience Acquisition

How to Find Your First Users for a Project

One of the hardest tasks for any startup is finding the first users. They provide the initial feedback, create trust, and help validate that the product is moving in the right direction. Below are practical, no-fluff tips that actually work.

 

1. Start with Your Close Circles (Circle 0 and Circle 1)

 

The best first testers are people you already know: friends, colleagues, professional contacts. They are more willing to try your product and give honest feedback.

👉 Create a simple “try it in 5 minutes” guide — it lowers the entry barrier.

 

2. Build the Founder’s Personal Brand

 

At an early stage, people often follow the founder, not the product. If the founder openly shares progress, speaks honestly about challenges, and shows transparency, it builds trust and attracts the first core audience.

 

3. Minimum Online Presence

 

Even at the very start, you need a basic entry point for users:

 

Twitter (X) — short updates and visibility in Web3 communities.

 

Telegram — a chat or channel for first users.

 

Reddit/Discord — depending on your niche.

 

 

👉 At this stage, what matters is not thousands of followers but 10–50 engaged people with real conversations.

 

4. Communities and Collaborations — and the Role of Upvestor

 

Startups often “get lost” in endless chats and platforms. First users need to see you in the communities they already trust. But finding them manually is slow and inefficient.

 

This is where Upvestor helps:

 

Each project gets its own “business card” on the platform.

 

You become discoverable — not only for users but also for investors and other projects.

 

Built-in opportunities for collaborations inside the ecosystem make growth faster.

 

 

⚡ In short, Upvestor saves months of manual searching for first users by concentrating a relevant community in one place.

 

5. Create a First “Wow” Effect

 

To keep your early users engaged, you need a “moment of surprise”: a signup bonus, test tokens, an NFT, or limited slots for the first 100 users. This adds a sense of value and exclusivity.

 

6. Personal Contact

 

In the early stage, avoid over-automation — direct communication works better. Personally welcome new users, ask for feedback, and stay in touch. This builds trust and loyalty.

 

7. Use Cases and Testimonials

 

Even with just 5 active users, you can create success stories. A simple case study — “this person tried → got a result” — is far more convincing than any ad.

 

8. Personal Invitations

 

Make a list of 20–30 people in your niche and reach out directly:

“We’re launching a product, and I’d love your feedback. Would you like to test it?”

Personal invitations convert much better than mass spam.

 

9. Experiment with Platforms

 

Your first users may come from unexpected places: small forums, local groups, or even comments under competitor posts. Test multiple channels to see where responses come fastest.

 

10. Focus on Value

 

At the end of the day, users don’t come for features — they come for a solution to their problem. The simpler the message, the better:

“Upvestor helps projects find investors and first users” is much stronger than long technical descriptions.

 

Conclusion

 

First users are all about trust, personal contacts, and quick wins. If your first 50 people are engaged and satisfied, scaling growth becomes much easier.

 

👉 And Upvestor makes this journey faster: it’s the space where startups, investors, and users meet in one place — making the path to your first users shorter and more effective.