How B2B SaaS Startups Find Their First 100 Customers

The First 100 Customers Are the Hardest

Every B2B SaaS founder knows that the first 100 customers are the most important and the most difficult to acquire. These early customers validate your product-market fit, provide critical feedback, generate your first revenue, and become the case studies and testimonials that accelerate future growth.

For SaaS products that serve local businesses, think scheduling software, payment processing, marketing tools, CRM systems, or operations platforms, the most effective path to those first 100 customers is direct founder-led outreach. Not content marketing, not SEO, not paid ads. Direct email to the exact people who need your product.

Easy Email Finder is the most cost-effective tool for this kind of targeted, vertical-specific prospecting.

Step 1: Pick Your Beachhead Vertical

Resist the temptation to market to "all small businesses." The more specific your target, the more effective your outreach. Choose one industry vertical where your product solves the most acute pain:

• If you built scheduling software, start with one type of business that struggles with scheduling: dentists, salons, or fitness studios.
• If you built a CRM, pick one vertical where relationship management is critical: real estate agents, insurance agents, or financial advisors.
• If you built a marketing tool, pick one category where marketing directly drives revenue: restaurants, home services, or retail stores.

Your beachhead vertical should have thousands of potential customers, be easy to find through Google Places, and have a clear pain point your product addresses.

Step 2: Build a 1,000-Prospect List

To get 100 customers, you typically need to reach 1,000 to 2,000 prospects. Here is how to build that list with Easy Email Finder:

• Choose 10 to 15 cities across the country. Mix major metros with mid-sized cities.
• Run your target search in each city: "dentists in Austin TX," "dentists in Portland OR," "dentists in Charlotte NC," etc.
• Export each search to CSV.
• Combine all CSVs into a single master list.
• Deduplicate and clean the list.

This process takes about an hour and yields 1,000 or more prospects. At $0.25 per email, the total cost is $250. You also get 5 free lookups to validate the approach before investing.

Step 3: Segment by Tech Stack

Easy Email Finder's tech stack detection is a secret weapon for SaaS sales. When you scrape a business's website, you learn what technology they are already using. This lets you create three segments:

• Segment A: No existing solution. These businesses are not using any tool in your category. They are your easiest sale because there is no switching cost.
• Segment B: Using a competitor. These businesses use a competing product. They are harder to convert but your pitch can focus on specific advantages over the competitor they are using.
• Segment C: Using a DIY approach. These businesses are cobbling together spreadsheets, paper processes, or basic free tools. They are often ready for a proper solution but have not found one yet.

Write different email sequences for each segment. Segment A gets the "you need this" pitch. Segment B gets the "we are better because" pitch. Segment C gets the "stop wasting time on manual processes" pitch.

Step 4: Run the Founder-Led Sales Sequence

As a founder, your outreach has a unique advantage: authenticity. Business owners are more receptive to an email from a founder than from a sales rep. Lean into this:

Email 1 (Day 1): "Hi [Name], I am [Your Name], the founder of [Product]. I built [Product] specifically for [business type] owners because I saw how much time [specific pain point] was costing them. I would love to show you what we built and get your feedback. Do you have 15 minutes this week for a quick demo?"

Email 2 (Day 4): Share a specific result from an early customer. "Just wanted to share a quick update: [Early Customer Name] started using [Product] last month and [specific result]. I think [Business Name] could see similar results."

Email 3 (Day 8): Offer a free trial or extended pilot. "I know trying new software is a commitment. That is why we offer a [free trial period] with full support. No credit card, no obligation. Want me to set you up?"

Email 4 (Day 15): "Last note from me. I know you are busy running [Business Name]. If managing [pain point] ever becomes a bigger priority, I am here to help. Wishing you a great [season/quarter]."

Step 5: Learn, Iterate, Expand

The first 100 customers are as much about learning as they are about revenue. Track which verticals respond best, which cities convert highest, which objections come up most often, and which features drive the most interest. Use this data to refine your product and your pitch.

Once you have product-market fit with one vertical in multiple cities, expand to adjacent verticals. If dentists love your scheduling software, chiropractors and optometrists probably will too. Run new searches on Easy Email Finder for the next vertical and repeat the process.

Why This Approach Beats Alternatives

Early-stage SaaS founders often spend months on content marketing or thousands on paid ads before getting any traction. Direct email outreach with Easy Email Finder gets you in front of real prospects within days, for a fraction of the cost. At $250 for 1,000 prospects, it is the most capital-efficient customer acquisition channel available to an early-stage startup.

For a deeper comparison of email finding tools, read our Easy Email Finder vs Hunter.io analysis. And as you scale past the first 100 customers, the Easy Email Finder API lets you automate prospect list building and integrate email lookups directly into your sales stack.

Your first 100 customers are out there right now, running their businesses, checking their email, and dealing with the exact problem your product solves. Easy Email Finder helps you find them and start the conversation.