You've Heard of Product-Led Growth. You're Probably Doing It Wrong
Everyone in startups is obsessed with scale.
Product-Led Growth. Sales-Led Growth. The endless chase for the perfect, automated engine that prints money while you sleep.
But hardly anyone talks about the cost of starting there.
Or more specifically — why it so often fails.
You build a slick, self-serve product… but nobody signs up. The funnel is a ghost town. You hire a salesperson… but they’re shooting in the dark, burning cash on ads that don’t land.
Sound familiar?
That’s because you’re trying to build the roof before you’ve laid the foundation.
This isn't another takedown of popular growth models.
It's a reminder that getting your first 100 customers isn't about automation.
It’s about obsession. Manual, hands-on, roll-up-your-sleeves obsession.
If you care about building a business that actually solves a problem—and getting paid for it—keep reading.
Here's how to get those first 100 fans who will build your business for you.
Find a Pond, Not the Ocean
You think you know your customer.
But "small business owners" isn't a customer. It's a census category.
You need to get way, way more specific.
The goal isn’t to find everyone. It’s to find the right ones, all huddled in the same place.
Instead of "aspiring entrepreneurs," try "creators trying to monetize their first community on the Skool platform."
See the difference?
One is a vague wish. The other is a person with a specific problem in a specific place.
These places are your digital watering holes—niche forums, private groups, focused subreddits. It's where people aren't posturing. They're asking for help.
That's where you need to be.
Here's your actionable: stop trying to boil the ocean.
Find one tiny, passionate pond.
Who are you really building this for? Go find the ten people who fit that description perfectly.
The rest don't matter yet.
Give Away Your Brain, Not Your Product
So you've found your pond.
Your first instinct is to jump in and start selling.
Don't.
Your job right now isn't to be a vendor. It's to be the most helpful person in the room.
Listen to the conversations. What words do they use? What are they really frustrated about?
Resist the urge to drop a link to your landing page.
Instead, answer their questions. Offer real, valuable advice, for free, in public.
If your product helps with business ideas, find someone struggling with one and give them a thoughtful, detailed critique.
You’re not pitching. You’re building trust.
You’re earning the right to be heard.
This isn’t just about being nice. It's intel. The exact words and phrases people use to describe their pain? That’s your future landing page copy. Your next ad campaign. Your product roadmap.
Want to apply this? Go into one of those communities and spend an hour just helping people.
Don't mention your product once.
Turns out, generosity is the best market research. And it’s free.
Do the Work for Them. Manually.
Okay, you've built some trust. People see you as an expert.
Now it's time to escalate.
Not with a sales pitch. With a "manual value payload."
That's a fancy way of saying: find someone with a problem your product solves, and solve it for them by hand.
If your SaaS pulls market data, don't show them a demo. Manually pull a report on their specific niche and send it over.
If your tool automates a boring workflow, record a quick video of you doing that workflow for them.
This isn't a demo of the product.
It's a delivery of the result.
It’s a tiny, free, handmade sample of the promised land.
This does two things. First, it blows their mind with goodwill. Second, it’s the ultimate validation test. If they don't care about the result when you hand it to them on a silver platter, they sure as hell won't pay for a tool that does it.
Here’s your mission: find one person this week.
Solve one small part of their problem, manually.
If their reaction is "meh," it's not them. It's your value prop. Fix that first.
Let Them Ask For the Sale
You’ve given advice. You’ve delivered a real, tangible result.
The person you helped is impressed. Grateful, even.
And now, something magical happens.
They ask the question you've been waiting for.
"Wow, this is amazing. How did you do that?"
That's it. That's your cue.
This isn't a cold pitch you're pushing on them. It's a solution they are pulling from you.
Only now do you mention the product.
And you frame it as the answer to their question.
"I'm glad it helped! I actually built a little tool to do this because doing it manually was taking forever. That's what I used to get this for you."
The sale becomes the natural next step in a relationship built on value.
Not a battle to be won.
Repeat this process. Again and again. That's how you get your first 10, 50, then 100 customers. Customers who aren’t just users—they're believers.
So When Do I Get to Scale?
Look, this manual-first approach isn't forever. It's for the 0-to-100 phase.
But all that hard work pays off. Big time.
You're not guessing anymore. You know what works.
Those manual results you delivered? That's your blueprint. Build those "aha" moments directly into your product's onboarding.
Those communities you helped? The owners trust you. They're your first and best affiliate partners. Their recommendation is worth 100x a cold ad.
That language your customers used? That's your ad copy. Use their exact words on your landing pages. Your conversion rates will thank you.
Conclusion
Automated funnels might promise scale.
But manual obsession?
That earns trust — and trust is what you scale.
Maybe we all need a little less automation, and a little more conversation.
What's one thing you could do manually for a potential customer this week?