I'm building a consumer app solo and honestly, getting those first users has been so much harder than I expected. I've tried Meta ads, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, creator outreach, SEO, and a bunch of other things. I've spent countless hours reading growth advice, but so much of it feels geared towards companies that already have an audience, a marketing budget, or some existing traction. I'm still at the stage where every single new user feels like a win. I've had a handful of people pay, which was genuinely exciting, but nowhere near enough to know whether I'm onto something or just shouting into the void. The hardest part is that I actually really enjoy building the product and there is absolutely a market for it. But increasingly, it feels like I'm spending more time trying to convince people to discover it than making it better. And I don't have an unlimited budget to keep throwing at ads. I'm curious to hear from people who've actually been at this stage and made it through. What was the one thing that finally got you from almost nobody using your product to your first 100, 500, or 1,000 real users? Especially interested in unconventional things that worked. Weird distribution channels, unexpected partnerships, scrappy experiments, things that sound ridiculous but actually brought in users. Not really looking for the usual "post consistently on TikTok" or "do SEO" advice. I've heard plenty of that already. Would genuinely love to hear what worked for you, even if it was completely unscalable.   submitted by   /u/Miss_Scribs [link]   [comments]