First paid user!

They say the first one is the hardest. And that's SOO true!

While you've already convinced yourself that everyone will want your product. Convincing others is a whole different conversation.

But like so many other founders have said, keep chugging forward and your time will come.

But the big lesson from my story: relationships matter.

Our first official paid user was someone I met 6 years ago! When I first started my previous company, I was told to contact this company as they were a good prospect for our services (outsourced customer support). They had a large enough business where it would have been a monumental deal if we landed it.

Here's the short version: I flew to Maui, met with the owner, and didn't get the deal.

But I did keep in touch, checking in periodically (like once a year) to see if they were looking to make any changes.

Fast forward to Chirrup. I'd heard your existing network is the best place to sell. So scrolling through my contacts, I saw this old prospect and decided to reach out.

And the time was perfect. They had struggled to find a good solution for two-way texting with customers. And since I already had a relationship, the actual sales process was complete after one email and a 10-minute call.

But we made it! First deal is on the books :)

GOAL #1: get first users
GOAL #2: get first ten users
GOAL #3: get first 100 users

No time for resting, time to grind even harder!