Founder Tactic: Use Job Boards for Research
A new tactical guide for founders recommends posting "user research" or "founder discovery" calls on industry job boards and in relevant subreddits. Offering small incentives like gift cards can quickly fill an interview pipeline with high-signal users, a strategy borrowed from professional recruiting.
Y Combinator partner Gustaf Alströmer stresses that startups don't take off on their own; founders must manually recruit their first users. This initial traction is rarely built through scalable methods like advertising, but rather through direct, personal outreach that doesn't scale. The ideal first users are "early adopters," a segment actively seeking new solutions and possessing a higher tolerance for incomplete products. These individuals are often trying to solve a problem with their own makeshift workarounds, a key indicator that they feel the pain point intensely and are willing to engage with a new technology. YC partner Michael Seibel advises founders to initially pull from their personal networks to find these first users. Beyond your immediate circle, targeted outreach on platforms like LinkedIn can be effective, as can engaging in niche online communities on Discord and Reddit where potential users already congregate. When conducting cold outreach, personalization is critical to breaking through the noise. Referencing a prospect's specific role, company, or recent activity demonstrates you've done research and increases response rates. The goal is a conversation, not a hard pitch, focusing on their problems and experiences. The "Mom Test" framework offers a guide for these conversations, focusing on asking open-ended questions about the user's life and past behaviors rather than pitching your idea. This helps avoid false positives and uncovers genuine pain points and willingness to pay. Charging early, even a small amount, is a strong validator. YC General Partner Ankit Gupta notes that paying customers provide sharper, more honest feedback than free users. If someone is willing to pay for an MVP, it's a clear signal you're solving a real problem.
