First Customers: 130 Cold Emails to 8-Figure Revenue

Two college students spent five days brainstorming startup ideas. Nine years later, their product reached a billion unique visitors and generated 8-figure revenue. Daniel Ha got Disqus's first customers by emailing 130 of his favorite websites with an honest pitch: "We're building something. Don't really know if it's interesting yet." Most ignored it. But the handful who responded became early customers who shaped the product. Disqus's startup traction became self-sustaining because the product was embedded on publisher websites - every commenter who used it discovered it and brought it to others. Those first paying users created a viral distribution loop that grew to 50 million comments daily. Revenue jumped from $2-2.5M (SaaS model) to $10-11M when Daniel pivoted to advertising. He shares why naivety helped him raise money during the 2008 crisis, what he learned from arriving 15 minutes late to a meeting at the New York Times, and why the first customers strategy matters more than any growth hack. 🔑 Key Lessons 🎯 Email your favorite websites to find first customers: Daniel personally emailed 130 websites he admired with an honest pitch. Most ignored it, but the handful who responded became early customers who shaped Disqus's product direction. 🚀 Let product virality drive growth after landing first customers: Disqus's embedded commenting widget spread itself - every commenter who used it on one site discovered the platform and brought it to others, creating self-reinforcing startup traction. 📉 Recognize when you don't speak your customer's language: Daniel's disastrous New York Times meeting taught him he was pitching features while early customers cared about brand, data, and monetization. 💰 Pivot your business model when traction outpaces revenue: Disqus jumped from $2.5M SaaS revenue to $10-11M by switching to advertising, aligning monetization with the organic growth their first paying users already generated. 🧠 Use naivety as a first customers advantage: Daniel never considered that fundraising wouldn't happen, even during the 2008 crisis. His lack of awareness kept him pushing forward when experienced founders might have quit. Chapters Introduction Meet Daniel Ha and what drives him each week Sunday planning ritual and internal newsletter What is Disqus and how it serves content publishers How Daniel and Jason came up with the idea in 5 days Why brainstorming ideas in 5 days worked for Disqus Getting first customers by emailing 130 favorite websites Not speaking the customer's language at the New York Times Hiring the first business-oriented team member Raising $500K in 2008 through Y Combinator connections Organic growth through product word of mouth Handling criticism from passionate publisher community The delete button controversy and balancing user needs Would you do it again knowing it would take 9 years The scale of Disqus on the internet today Pivoting from SaaS model to advertising revenue Revenue growth from $2.5M to mid 8-figures Lightning round Resources Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/113 Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email