But I learned the hard way that the first 100 customers are just expensive research — and that’s perfectly fine.
I spent six months chasing my first 100 customers like they were going to make or break my startup.
I cold-called.
I ran Facebook ads.
I posted relentlessly on LinkedIn.
I begged friends to “just try it.” And when I finally hit that magical number, I threw a small celebration with my co-founder over cheap beer.
Then reality hit: 87 of them churned within 60 days.
The “first 100 customers” milestone everyone talks about? It’s a vanity metric dressed up as validation. And if you’re building a business right now, obsessing over this number might be the worst thing you can do.
Here’s what actually matters — and what I wish someone had told me before I wasted half a year.
