Get your first 100 users: the tools we'd actually use (ranked)
Your first 100 users: the validated stack
Getting from zero to 100 users does not require a budget. It requires the right tools in the right order. Here is the stack we would use, ranked by necessity.
#1. Carrd — $9/year
Before anything else: a landing page. Carrd takes 60 minutes to set up. One page with: value prop, three feature cards, waitlist form. No code, no hosting, no monthly fee. Hundreds of indie products have validated demand with nothing more than a $9/yr Carrd page.
#2. Typefully — $29/mo
Your primary growth engine. Schedule 3–5 tweets daily. Spend 20 minutes engaging with 10 people in your niche before posting. Typefully's analytics show engagement-before-publishing produces 2.3× more impressions. Do this for 30 days straight.
#3. beehiiv — Free
Start a newsletter the day you start building. Every product update goes to subscribers first. beehiiv's free plan covers the first 2,500 subscribers. By the time you launch, you will have an owned audience that opens your emails at 40%+ — not a rented one.
#4. PostHog — Free
Install on launch day. Track: ad source → landing page → signup. Watch session replays of your first 50 users to see exactly where they get stuck. Fix friction points before you try to scale.
**Total cost to first 100 users: $29/mo + $9/yr.** No ad spend. No growth hacks. Just tools used correctly in sequence.