How the biggest consumer apps got their first 1,000 users

7. Build a community pre-launchKey question: Could you build a community now to leverage later?The founders of Stack Overflow both had large communities of existing followers from their previous online endeavors.

6. Get pressKey question: What’s a unique, compelling, fresh story you could pitch press? Airbnb is one of the best examples.

5. Leverage influencersKey question: Who are influencers of your target users, and how could you get them to talk about your product? Instagram, Twitter, and Producthunt can be examples.

4. Create FOMO to drive word-of-mouth.Key questions: Does your product rely on UGC? Consider curating the early community. / Is your product innately social? Consider relying on existing users to invite new users.Instagram, Pinterest, and Clubhouse are examples of platforms that made their early communities exclusive. In another way, Robinhood and ... See more

3. Invite your friends.Key question: Do your friends fit into the target user group? If so, have you invited them yet? LinkedIn and Slack are examples of this one.

2. Go where your target users are online.Key question: Who are your early target users, and where are they currently congregating online? Hacker News was the answer for Dropbox.

1. Go where your target users are offline.Key question: Who are your early target users, and where are they currently congregating offline? Doordash and Tinder worked well on college campuses.

The article describes seven strategies for every consumer app’s early growth. You can read about the founders' stories per strategy in the main article.