For me, my startup has no competitors. My "competitors" should be subscribed to as well. It's not an either-or situation. Get them all!
>2. At the end of each day, I looked back on what I had done and wrote down one thing I would improve the next day.
My most recent 'expansion' is an AI addition. Looking at it process right now, it can go another 44,000 ip addresses. Roughly 1 per second.
>If you\u2019re in the 0 to 1 phase right now, you just have to keep going.
I know my 'product' is worthy. It's absolutely worth signing up for. At a great price for now.
My huge problem is marketing. I struggle to get anyone to https://mapleintel.ca
>And I can also say that if you don\u2019t quit, you get to see the other side of it.
I've committed to 1 year domain registration. Once I get some customers I can expand it by the customer :)","title":null,"type":"comment","url":null}],"created_at":"2025-06-17T15:08:06.000Z","created_at_i":1750172886,"id":44300151,"options":[],"parent_id":null,"points":6,"story_id":44300151,"text":"It took me 7 months of different ideas, marketing methods, product changes, and working my ass off just to get my first paying customer.
That\u2019s 7 months of effort for $20.
It was incredibly hard to reach that point, and it was the greatest feeling in the world.
But once you go from 0 to 1, something changes.
1 month after getting my first paying customer, I hit $1,300.
3 months after, $4,500
6 months after, $16,500
8 months after, $33,000
In the beginning you have to fight for those first users and paying customers.
The market is crowded, competitive, and you have no social proof or following. Getting your message through all this noise is not easy.
But eventually someone gives your product a shot. One user grows to a few, you get a little bit of social proof for your product, and it becomes easier for new people to try it.
If you serve your first customers well, listen to their feedback, and help them solve their problems, they will begin recommending you to others.
And just like that, real growth begins.
You also know your target audience better now, which marketing channels worked, and where you should double down.
It gets easier.
My \u201cgame plan\u201d was simple:
1. I kept taking daily action even when I was met with silence, no new signups, and rejections in DMs.
2. At the end of each day, I looked back on what I had done and wrote down one thing I would improve the next day.
3. Then I implemented the improvement, and kept going.
If you\u2019re in the 0 to 1 phase right now, you just have to keep going.
I know that it\u2019s hard right now. It\u2019s the hardest part, and I say that from my own experience.
And I can also say that if you don\u2019t quit, you get to see the other side of it.","title":"Took 7 months to get my first customer. 8 mo to reach $33k revenue. Keep going.","type":"story","url":null}