B2b startup originated from a viral Reddit post – what growth strategy?
As the title says I’ve been working for about a month on a SaaS startup project that pretty much originated from a Reddit post that went viral.
A bit of context: A few months ago I started working on a python algorithm that takes people data (linkedin & other sources) and turns them into organizational charts (example). I coded this for an organizational research class, but I though that it could potentially be useful in business too, to understand clients' organization and/or for organizational benchmarking. I shared the project on the consulting sub and it got 500+ upvotes and lots of comments. This really positive reaction inspired me to get to work and build out the product.
Now that the product is testable (I have about 100 users on the beta, mostly from Reddit) I’m wondering about distribution next steps. I’ve been thinking about a launching on PH, perhaps share the project on Reddit and maybe also create some youtube videos to demo the product and build some audience over time.
What would you recommend for a launch/ growth strategy at this early stage?
what a cool product, I have a management consulting background....i am thinking Linkedin content/ads/groups could be a good fit for this kind of product....or is there perhaps some kind of salesforce app store also you could look at?
Hi Philippa, thanks so much for your comment! (I have a similar background too! :)
The SFDC appstore is a great idea, I have in mind to build an app there but that I think will take some time. Also a Chrome extension could be interesting, especially to capture distribution from the Chrome appstore...
As an ex-mgmt consultant, is there any specific community/ group you would recommend connecting to?
That looks pretty awesome! My first thought was "would be great for sales" and you covered that on your landing page :) I couldn't quite tell where the data comes from or how it populates - is it magically collecting data for a company, or am I entering data?
A product hunt launch seems like it would work well, esp if Reddit already went really well.
This growth handbook seems pretty useful (although it seems like it's written for people who have a decent chunk of money):
https://www.julian.com/guide/growth/intro
I think you're past this point, but might be good to see how some other IHers got their earliest users:
https://www.indiehackers.com/article/how-to-find-your-earliest-users-5df383c1ad
Here's a decent article about how 1 app got to 1k users:
https://www.indiehackers.com/article/5-lean-growth-hacks-to-get-from-0-users-to-1-000-256ae8f0be
Looks really interesting, and it sounds like you'll be able to grow your user base with a little work :)
Thanks man, thanks for your feedback and for the great resources you pointed me to.
As for your the product - data gets autopopulated. The tool gathers open data from the web, parses them and rebuilds a best guess of the organization structure and reporting lines.
In terms of PH, what's your opinion on generating some buzz/ inviting people to see the PH page? I head conflicing takes on this. Some say that if too many people are not PH users and sign up to upvote you that may cause to get penalized by theit algo... Any best practice on this?
That sounds awesome, good job!
I have no advice for PH. All I can say is I think you're on a good track and whenever you post, it's probably gonna do well :)
Thanks man, appreciate your kind words! I'll keep you posted!