🤓 What I learned trying to get real users (not just feedback) for my AI startup

I’ve been building Adaptrix, an AI that helps brands and creators adapt ad videos for different markets.
When I started, I thought getting early feedback would be easy: post on IH, Reddit, and a few Slack groups, and people would test it.
But real usage is a totally different story.

Here’s what I’ve learned so far:

• People love giving feedback… but rarely actually use a free alpha unless it directly solves something they feel right now.

• The easiest testers to get are often other builders, but their feedback focuses on features not outcomes.

• The hardest thing is explaining value fast enough that someone wants to upload a video and try it.

So lately I’ve been shifting focus from “collecting testers” to “finding real use cases” — basically treating feedback as validation only if someone acts on it.

Curious how others handle this:
👉 How did you turn casual interest or comments into actual product usage?
👉 What made your first few users stick?