What if your first 50 users are lying (without realizing it)?
Hey IH đź‘‹
I’m Julien, founder of Linkeme, a tool that automates social media content for founders and small teams.
We onboarded our first 50 users manually.
Calls, chats, emails.
People were curious.
Many were nice.
Some said “I love it.”
But here’s what I’ve learned:
Early users lie.
Not because they want to —
but because they like you.
They:
Avoid hurting your momentum
Don’t want to seem negative
Genuinely believe they’ll use it more
Say “This is great!” …but never come back
It’s not their fault.
It’s human nature.
But as a founder, it’s dangerous.
Here’s what I started doing differently:
✅ I ask: “What would make this a must in your workflow — not just a nice extra?”
✅ I ignore praise if usage doesn’t follow
âś… I track actions more than opinions
✅ I ask: “When did you last not use it — and why?”
âś… I separate value received from positive intent
My biggest mindset shift:
“Early love” doesn’t mean product-market fit.
Silent usage does.
Curious to hear from other founders:
How do you get honest signals early on?
What questions do you ask?
When do you know someone’s feedback is actually useful?
Let’s trade tactics. This part’s harder than it looks.
Julien
The 'Supplier Syndrome' - Why Early Validation Needs Hard Metrics
Julien, this resonates deeply in B2B procurement tech. We see similar 'polite enthusiasm' when introducing AI sourcing tools to early adopters. Three patterns we track specifically for commercial intent:
The 'Free Audit' Trap
Prospects love our supplier risk analysis feature... until we ask "Which of your current vendors will you run this on first?" Silence often means they wanted a one-time report, not a workflow tool.
The Procurement Litmus Test
Instead of "Do you like it?", we now ask:
"Would you stake a quarterly supplier review meeting on this data?"
(If they hesitate, the tool is still a 'nice-to-have')
Usage ≠Value
Even active users can lie - we track exported reports more than logins. As you said, actions > opinions.
One Tactical Question That Works For Us:
"Walk me through the last time you approved a new supplier WITHOUT our tool - what stopped you from using it?"
This surfaces real workflow conflicts better than hypotheticals.
Would love to compare notes on building 'uncomfortable truth' triggers into onboarding flows!
sure !
Thank you! Very valuable insights!
Actions speak louder than words. Once you ask for the first dollar you'll find out who is actually willing to pay and validate your mvp. You need to find people who are naturally bluntly honest.
Great Post, I love
Building an engaged user base takes time. Focus on solving a real problem, gathering early feedback, and improve your product. Consistency, value, and community interaction are keys to long-term growth.
Hey Julien, this is incredibly insightful. As a brand new founder who just launched my own simple AI tool (and got zero engagement), your point about "early love" vs. "silent usage" is a wake-up call.
My question for you is: Your product, Linkeme, seems to solve a similar problem to mine, but you're clearly miles ahead. When you were at day zero, with no users, how did you find those first few people to talk to without feeling like you were just spamming? The "silence is brutal" phase is where I am right now, and your journey is a huge motivation.
Thanks for sharing this.
Ashik
I found them in my local network in luxembourg
Hey Julien! Been enjoying your progress. What do you mean PMF is silent? In the sense users are too busy using the product to tell you?
Great post too, reminds me a lot of the Mom Test!
Congrats on the milestone! 🚀 Love how you’ve kept it lean and consistent — that’s not easy.
Curious: how are you currently acquiring users? Organic, communities, SEO, or something else? I’ve seen a lot of link-in-bio tools pop up, but finding the right niche and channel seems to be the key.
Keep it up — following your journey!
thanks, you have totally right ! I acquire Organic, community and SEO.
I will start to engage marketing expense when I will sure that all my. user workflow is optimal (landing page > click > account creation > onboarding > test > conversion. I still have some friction (by the way, it's my post of the day)
It's quite refreshing that I stumbled on your post Julien I myself just started a tech agency called Akovian Technologies where I sell or am trying to sell affordable simple websites to small business owners (I have not made a single sale just been getting requests to see my demos also). I have been trying to learn as much as i can from other much experienced CEO's/Founders this was extremely helpful and will benefit akovian tech in the long run and in this early stage especially when i incorporate AI into it by august so from one founder to another,Thank you.
Quick update: I'm refining my pitch and getting clearer on my niche. If anyone here has advice on closing first sales or demo-to-cash conversions, I’d love to hear your thoughts. 🙏
As a brand new founder myself starting my first ever serious venture right now, this is extremely helpful. Thank you for sharing your insights!