How to build a growth plan for your first 100 customers

Your first 100 customers rarely come from anything that scales. They come from finding the specific people who already want what you're building and reaching them directly — which means knowing exactly who they are and where they spend their time.

Tell Draper what you're building, who it's for, and any traction you have so far. Allen searches the forums, communities, and discussions where your audience gathers, and Lily finds the social accounts and creators already reaching them — with the sources attached so you can see the evidence for yourself.

From there you get a concrete starting plan: the communities and channels worth your time, the messages most likely to land, and the fastest ways in to real customers — grounded in where the demand actually is, not where you're hoping it might be.