The best people to talk to are often the hardest to reach—here’s what we’ve learned.

As founders, we often highlight wins—but those wins usually come after hundreds of “failures” (or shots on goal if you prefer a sports analogy). One of our biggest lessons? Finding the right channels for customer discovery.

Early on, I relied heavily on LinkedIn for outreach. While it got us hundreds of calls, I wish I had explored other platforms sooner to widen our reach. Now, after launching our open-source project, I’m building community where devs actually spend their time—AB testing messaging, engaging in discussions, and refining our approach - and I'm already seeing it pay off.

Key takeaways:
1. Don’t blindly follow outdated or general advice. Go deeper. If you're in devtools, go beyond LinkedIn, Reddit, and Twitter (X). Platforms like Mastodon servers, Bluesky, Dev.to, IndieHackers, dev forums, AlternativeTo, Podcasts, events, and product launch sites (MicroLaunch, DevHunt, ProductHunt, etc.) offer powerful ways to connect.

2: Own at least one content channel. In startup life you need to be scrappy and you may not want to spend the time now building your own blog page, but owning that channel is crucial to growth. You want to shorten the path to users discovering your website/landing page. If they have to visit your medium article, then your linkedin profile, then your website, you may lose them. Pay yourself first by posting on your own channel and directing users directly to your website.

3: The best people to talk to (at least in the dev space) are often the hardest to reach—but if you show up in the right places and add value, you'll earn their attention.

Where have you found the best engagement for your audience? How many iterations did it take you?

#startups #customerdiscovery #devtools #opensource #growth