Get Your First 10 Community Members (No Ad Spend)

Most founders overcomplicate the first 5–10 community members.

They treat it like “marketing” (channels, posts, reach) when it’s really sales—a handful of personal, specific conversations with people who have an urgent problem and want to be part of shaping the solution.

This post is part of the US Startup Marketing Without VC series, where the thesis is simple: if you’re bootstrapped, you don’t win by outspending—you win by building trust and distribution you actually own. A small, engaged community is one of the most reliable ways to do that.

The first 10 members aren’t “users”—they’re co-founders of momentum

Answer first: Your first 5–10 members should be recruited like founding hires: handpicked, problem-aware, and willing to participate.

A common mistake (and it showed up in the Indie Hackers thread) is aiming for “people interested in the topic.” Interest is cheap. Participation is rare.

Early community members do three jobs for you:

1. They validate the problem (or tell you you’re wrong fast).
2. They create activity (so the space doesn’t feel empty).
3. They supply language (the words your future landing page and sales emails should use).

That’s why the best framing from the thread is this: early members aren’t joining for the content. They’re joining for the chance to help create something.

“Founding members aren’t using the site for the content that it has; they’re using it for the opportunity to be a part of something larger.”

If you’re trying to market a startup without VC, this matters because community converts cash problems into relationship advantages. Relationships compound. Ads stop the moment you stop paying.

Where to find the right people: go to “pain in public,” not audiences

Answer first: The highest-quality first members come from places where people are already expressing the exact frustration your community is about.

The thread’s best tactical insight is “go where the problem is already happening.” That’s the difference between shouting into a crowd and walking up to someone holding a map upside down.

Here are reliable “pain in public” sources (and why they work):

• Reddit threads where someone is stuck: you’re joining an existing conversation, not starting one from scratch.
• Stack Overflow / niche forums: intent is high; people want answers.
• GitHub issues: surprisingly good for developer communities—people are literally documenting pain.
• Product Hunt comments: users complain in the open when a product misses a key feature.
• LinkedIn posts with 5–30 thoughtful comments: small enough to engage, real enough to convert.

The rule: target moments, not platforms

Platforms are abstract. Moments are concrete.

A “moment” looks like:

• “We tried X tool and it broke when we did Y.”
• “Does anyone have a workflow for Z? I’m losing hours every week.”
• “I can’t get my team to adopt this.”

Those statements are buying signals. And the people making them are your best candidates for the first 10.

The fastest path to the first 10: 1-on-1 conversations (yes, really)

Answer first: For the first 5–10 members, cold outreach is less effective than warm-ish, personal, 1-on-1 conversations that start with help.

One commenter nailed it: the first few people often arrive only after real 1-on-1 conversations. That matches what I’ve seen too—early community building is closer to recruiting than broadcasting.

Here’s why cold outreach “to strangers on Reddit” tends to flop early:

• People have inbox fatigue.
• They don’t trust you yet.
• They don’t know if the community will be active.
• They’ve been burned by “join my Discord” pitches.

So don’t pitch. Diagnose.

A simple 3-message flow that works

Use this structure for DMs/email/LinkedIn:

1. Context (prove you’re not spamming):
   • “Saw your comment on __ about __.”
2. Specific resonance (show you understand the situation):
   • “The part about __ failing when __ is exactly what I’m hearing from others.”
3. Low-friction ask (conversation, not commitment):
   • “Can I ask 2 questions about how you handle it today? If it’s useful, I’ll share what I’m building.”

If they reply, then you can invite them:

• “I’m pulling together 8–10 people dealing with this weekly. Small group, zero fluff. Want to be one of the first?”

That’s not “join my community.” That’s “you’re in the founding cohort.”

Use “help me build this” language (it changes the psychology)

The Indie Hackers responses highlight a subtle but powerful shift:

• Weak: “Join my community.”
• Strong: “Can you help shape this with me?”

The second gives people status and agency. It also filters out passive lurkers, which is exactly what you want early.

Don’t ignore IRL: offline trust creates online retention

Answer first: Small IRL meetups are a cheat code for online communities because trust transfers faster face-to-face.

A founder in the thread mentioned IRL works “weirdly well” even for online communities. That’s been true for years, and it’s even more true now as people get pickier about where they spend attention.

You don’t need to host a conference. Start here:

• Attend one local meetup in your niche (founders, engineers, designers, operators).
• Have 5 conversations.
• Invite only the best 1–2 fits to a small online space.

If you’re bootstrapped, this is attractive because the CAC is basically your time and a coffee. And the retention tends to be higher because people joined a relationship, not a link.

January/February timing note (2026): use “fresh start energy”

Right now (late January), you can ride a real seasonal pattern: teams are setting goals, cleaning up workflows, and trying new habits.

If your community topic touches productivity, revenue, hiring, fitness, ops, content—your outreach gets easier because people are already primed for change.

A practical 14-day plan to get your first 10 members

Answer first: You can recruit your first 10 community members in two weeks by combining pain-signal hunting, 1-on-1 calls, and a tight founding-member offer.

Here’s a plan that doesn’t require VC, ads, or a big audience.

Days 1–2: define your “founding member filter”

Write a one-paragraph definition:

• Who it’s for: “Solo founders doing B2B SaaS with under $5k MRR…”
• The pain: “Struggling to get consistent leads without paid ads…”
• The outcome: “A weekly working session + teardown + accountability…”
• The proof of fit: “If you’ve spent 3+ hours this week on ____…”

Specificity is your friend. Generic communities die.

Days 3–6: find 30 “pain in public” leads

Make a simple spreadsheet with columns: Name, Link, Pain quote, Where found, Contact.

Targets:

• 10 Reddit/forum commenters
• 10 LinkedIn posters/commenters
• 10 GitHub/PH/Slack group conversations (where relevant)

Your job is not to collect “followers.” It’s to collect people already feeling the problem.

Days 7–10: start 15 conversations, book 5 calls

Outreach goal:

• 15 tailored messages
• 8 replies
• 5 calls

On calls, ask:

1. “What have you tried so far?”
2. “What’s the cost of this problem (time, money, stress)?”
3. “What would make a small group worth showing up for weekly?”

Days 11–14: invite 10 people into a founding cohort

Your founding cohort offer should be tight:

• Duration: 4 weeks (finite > forever)
• Size: 10–15 max
• Commitment: one weekly session + one async check-in
• Promise: tangible output (a plan, a template, a teardown, a shipped feature)

Make it clear you’re optimizing for participation:

• “If you want to lurk, join later. If you want to help shape it, join now.”

That line alone filters people correctly.

“People also ask” (quick answers founders actually need)

How do I find my first 10 customers without spending money?

Start with 1-on-1 conversations in places where people complain about the problem. Offer help first, then invite a small cohort. This converts time into trust.

Should I build an audience before starting a community?

No. A small community is a way to build an audience—because it produces testimonials, language, content ideas, and referrals.

What if my network is tiny?

Then borrow someone else’s network: micro-influencers, newsletter writers, meetup organizers, niche podcasters, and consultants with small but relevant audiences. Go smaller than you think; relevance beats reach.

What platform should I use for the community?

Pick the platform your members already check daily. Early on, the tool doesn’t matter nearly as much as the weekly ritual (calls, prompts, co-working, reviews).

The bootstrapped advantage: community is compounding distribution

The Indie Hackers post surfaced a truth that’s uncomfortable but freeing: you can’t shortcut the first members with clever tactics. You earn them.

If you’re building in the US and marketing without VC, community-first marketing is one of the few strategies that reliably scales without a big budget. Not because “community” is magical—because it forces you to understand a niche deeply and serve it consistently.

Your next step is simple: pick 30 people who are already feeling the pain, have 10 real conversations, and invite the best 5–10 to help shape the first version.

If you try this, what’s the first “pain in public” place you’ll search—Reddit threads, LinkedIn comments, GitHub issues, or local meetups?