How to Get Your First Customers Without a Product or Audience

I thought building the product would be the hard part. Turns out, it was the easy part.

A few weeks ago, I was ready.

I had blocked off time, planned out features, picked my stack. I was going to disappear for a couple months, build something cool, and launch it to the world.

But then my friend stopped me.

He’s been in the solopreneur game for a while. He looked at my plan and said something I didn’t want to hear:

“Building is easy. Selling is the hard part. Try to sell it first.”

At first, I brushed it off. I mean, how do you even sell something that doesn’t exist yet?

But I listened. And honestly? He saved me from a brutal few months of disappointment.

Why selling first is harder (but smarter)

Here’s the thing no one tells you when you start building solo:s

Making the thing is fun. It feels productive. You’re in control.

But trying to get strangers to give you money? That’s scary. It feels like shouting into a void. Especially if, like me, you have:

• Zero audience

• No Twitter/X following

• No email list

• And nowhere to promote without looking like a spammer

I quickly realized I was trying to push a product into a world that didn’t know I existed.

No audience? Welcome to the club.

Most of us don’t start with followers. We’re lurkers. We’ve been reading and learning for years, but we never posted.

So when it comes time to share our ideas, it’s like starting from scratch.

I thought:

“Okay, I’ll just post in a few communities.”

But every group has the same rule: No self-promo. Which is fair. But it also means no one sees your idea unless you break the rules (which I didn’t want to do).

So what’s left?

• Google Ads? Expensive. And risky without a working product.

• Cold emails? Feels spammy. Also, I had no list.

• Launch on Product Hunt or Reddit? Great… if you have people to upvote or comment. I didn’t.

I felt stuck. Like the only way forward was to either burn money or beg for attention.

What I wish I had done instead

Looking back, I think the right move (if you have zero audience) is to start small and scrappy.

Here’s what I’d try if I had to start again tomorrow:

1. Talk to real people

Not to pitch. Just to learn.

Find people who might have the problem you’re solving. Hang out in places where they hang out — forums, Discords, niche subreddits. Ask questions. Listen. Don’t sell yet.

2. Post in public — without promoting

Instead of saying “buy my thing,” share what you’re building and why.

Talk about the problem. Share your struggles. Be honest.

People relate more to “I’m trying to figure this out” than “here’s my launch.”

3. Create a dead-simple landing page

One page. One problem. One CTA.

Just something like:

“I’m building this. If you want early access, drop your email.”

That’s it. Don’t overthink it. You’re not selling the product yet — you’re validating interest.

4. DM people — like a human

Instead of mass cold emails, reach out 1:1 to people who already talked about the problem.

Not “Hey buy my product,” but more like:

“Hey, I saw your tweet about struggling with X — I’m working on something that might help. Mind if I share?”

Not everyone replies. But a few will. And that’s enough to start.

Final thoughts

I thought I could just build something great and then worry about getting users.

But I learned the hard way: If no one wants it, it doesn’t matter how polished it is.

Selling first isn’t about being sneaky. It’s about saving yourself months of wasted work.

So if you’re like me, building quietly in a bubble — maybe stop for a second.

Talk to people. Share early. And see if anyone actually cares.

It’s way harder than building.

But way more important.