cold start 14 lessons
the cold start problem is the chicken-and-egg you hit on day one: your product needs users to be worth using, and it needs to be worth using to get users. the same trap shows up for liquidity, for supply, and for your own credibility. these are the lessons i repeat on founder calls for getting the first of each by hand, and i add a new one every time i send one.
users & demand
getting the first users by hand when nobody has heard of you yet.
- pick one customer before you chase users name one customer so specific you could almost name the person. build for them, then widen. icpfirst-users added Oct 16, 2026
- get your first users by hand sign up your first hundred to five hundred users yourself, and interview them before you scale any channel. first-usersacquisition added Oct 16, 2026
- do things that don't scale the unscalable work is the work. i send paul graham's essay to every nitro applicant. first-usersfounder added Oct 16, 2026
- win fifty design partners by hand target about fifty design partners through direct outreach, then turn them into paying customers. design-partnersselling added Oct 16, 2026
- win fifty whales by hand for a high-value product, win fifty to a hundred whales one by one with private demos. two strong intros beat thirty small contacts. whalesselling added Oct 16, 2026
liquidity & supply
filling the hard side first, so the thing works the day someone shows up.
- raise exactly enough to buy your first liquidity treat your first round as a cold-start purchase: raise what buys initial liquidity and a couple months of market-maker retainers, then raise again on proof. liquidityraising added Oct 16, 2026
- warm intros beat cold outreach for allocators to cold-start liquidity, get warm intros to lp allocators and sell them the flow you can't fill yet. liquidityselling added Oct 16, 2026
- seed the hard side first seed the hard side of the market first: experienced suppliers, returns made visible, then open the easy side to followers. marketplaceliquidity added Oct 16, 2026
- borrow credibility from established protocols integrate with protocols people already trust, bootstrap with guaranteed liquidity commitments, and go easy on incentives. credibilityliquiditydefi added Oct 16, 2026
ecosystem & credibility
cold-starting a network, a program, or your own name by borrowing trust.
- a new ecosystem cold-starts on marquee founders a few marquee founders and one flagship program start an ecosystem. a long list of mediocre teams does not. ecosystemcredibility added Oct 16, 2026
- a new program borrows credibility a new accelerator cold-starts on borrowed trust: active vc mentors, warm intros, real user access, and alumni who vouch for you. programcredibility added Oct 16, 2026
- get public pledges before you launch publish the thesis, get three or four prominent people to pledge in public, and gate signups by email to build a qualified audience. launchcredibility added Oct 16, 2026
- fund the teams users come back to back the team with a few hundred loyal users over the one with a spike of attention. amplification without retention just speeds up churn. retentioncredibility added Oct 16, 2026
- run many cheap experiments fast run many cheap experiments fast. you can't know in advance which one opens the next door. experimentsfounder added Oct 16, 2026
already on the site
founder notes that are cold-start lessons on their own. read these too.