How to Get First Five Customers (Zapier and Airbnb Story)
Welcome to Peaceful Growth, where you will find actionable tips to grow your agency to $10M (without working overtime).
Here’s what you can expect in this issue:
- Why ads and SEO don’t work at the start—and what does.
- How Zapier and Airbnb got their first customers by doing the unscalable.
- How Multidots landed its first 5 clients—no testimonials, no referrals.
- Where to find your first customers and how to engage them.
- A simple action plan to get your first five paying clients.
Finding your first customer is tough. Finding the first five? Even harder.
In this issue, I’ll share how Airbnb, Zapier, and my own agency, Multidots landed their first five paying customers—without burning a lot of cash.
Building something great isn’t enough.
The real challenge? Getting paying customers.
And no, running ads or waiting for referrals isn’t the answer.
Let’s break it down.
The Internet Says, “Throw Money at It”
You built something new—maybe a SaaS tool, a niche product, or a custom solution for a problem you keep seeing.
You Google: How do I get customers?
Social media campaigns.
Google Ads.
Sponsorships.
Is that really it? Do you just burn money and hope for results?
Feels like a black hole.
What Marketing Actually Is
Seth Godin, in his book This Is Marketing, calls out this myth:
"How do I get the word out?
The SEO expert promises you’ll be found.
The PR agency promises media coverage.
The ad companies will take your money for beautiful, flashy ads.
But that’s not marketing. Not anymore. And it doesn’t work, not anymore."
Then, he delivers the truth bomb:
"Marketing is the generous act of helping someone solve a problem.
Their problem.
It’s a chance to serve instead of shouting for attention."
This is a mindset shift.
Marketing isn’t about tricking people into buying (especially in the service industry).
It’s about helping people see why your solution matters.
The Multidots Story: How We Got Our First 5 Clients
Back in 2009, when I started Multidots, I had zero customers.
No testimonials.
No case studies.
No reputation.
Just skills and a laptop.
At that time, Upwork (Elance) was our primary lead source. Instead of writing long proposals and hoping for a reply, I tried something different.
I went to Elance, looked at small project listings, and instead of pitching…
I built an MVP of what they needed.
Then I sent them a demo link.
No fluff. No "we are experts" talk. Just, Here’s a working version of what you need—wanna check it out?
They loved it.
A few of them paid.
Some became long-term clients.
And that’s how we got our first five customers.
No ads. No fancy marketing. Just solving a real problem upfront.
What Not to Do
Agency founders often make the same mistake.
They look at case studies of how SaaS giants scaled to millions of users.
They copy their strategies.
They follow viral LinkedIn growth hacks.
And nothing happens.
In his article, How We Got 2000+ Customers, Alex Turnbull, CEO of Groove soberly observes:
"What are you doing for user acquisition?"
"I could tell you, but it won’t help.
We have 10,000 customers. You have zero.
You need to focus on your first five customers."
That’s the game.
Not 100. Not 1,000.
Just five.
Do Things That Don’t Scale
Paul Graham’s legendary Do Things That Don’t Scale essay explains how Airbnb nearly failed:
"Marketplaces are so hard to get rolling that you should expect to take heroic measures at first.
Airbnb founders went door to door in New York,
recruiting users, helping them set up listings,
and convincing them one by one."
This wasn’t a billion-dollar play.
It was manual, messy, and exhausting.
But it worked.
How Zapier Hacked Its Way to Early Customers
Zapier didn’t run ads.
They didn’t have a massive budget.
Instead, CEO Wade Foster found his early customers on product forums.
People were already asking for integrations.
Instead of waiting, he jumped in, answered questions, and linked to a landing page.
Each post got just 10-15 visits.
But 50% of those people signed up.
That’s how Zapier got traction—one customer at a time.
Here are 7 strategies to find customers for your agency without spending a lot on ads:
- Solve First, Pitch Later – Like Multidots, build a quick MVP or solution for potential clients and show them instead of just sending a proposal.
- Engage in LinkedIn Conversations – Don’t just post—comment on relevant discussions, offer insights, and DM people with value, not a sales pitch.
- Answer Questions in Niche Forums & Communities – Find discussions in Slack groups, Reddit, and industry forums where businesses need help—and be the one to help.
- Cold Email with Zero Fluff – Identify businesses that need your service, send short, no-BS emails with a direct offer to help.
- Offer Free Workshops/Webinars – Teach something useful (SEO for publishers, website performance fixes, etc.), then follow up with leads.
- Leverage Product Hunt & Indie Hackers – Engage with early-stage founders who need tech help and offer quick solutions.
- Strategic Partnerships with Other Agencies – Team up with branding, SEO, or marketing agencies that don’t offer web dev but need a trusted partner. (Contact me if you want to partner with my agency)
This is the game.
One conversation.
One connection.
One paying customer.
That’s how real businesses grow.
Not with luck.
Not with hype.
With action.
Go take it.
My Growth Tools
A lot of you have asked about the tools I use to stay productive and grow my agency.
So, I put them all in one place—organized by category:
- Writing Tools ✍️
- Productivity Apps ⏳
- Skills and Courses for Founders 🎓
And more.
You can check them out here (for free!).
Hope it helps! 🚀
That’s all for now—see you in the next issue!
— Anil Gupta
Did you enjoy this newsletter? Check out my other stuffs too:
- Subscribe to Learn + Grow for tips on leadership, health, and productivity to keep you at your best
- Subscribe to WP for Enterprises to learn how billion-dollar brands use WordPress
- Listen to Peaceful Growth Podcast for insights on how to grow your agency
- Hire Multidots to build or migrate your website in WordPress
- Try Google Docs style collaboration in WordPress with Multicollab
- Checkout collection of premium WooCommerce Plugins
- Feel stuck? Try 1:1 founder-to-founder mentoring. Ask anything: sales, marketing, people, growth. Pay only if I help. Schedule a free 15-min intro.
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In Case You Missed It
By the way, in my last issue, I shared “The Secret Weapon of Millionaire Founders”
In this issue, you'll learn:
- Why do top founders like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett schedule time just to think?
- How can taking a “Think Week” help you scale your business to $10M+?
- What should you do during Think Week—read, write, strategize, or something else?
- Where should you go for the best thinking time—solo retreat, new city, or local getaway?
- What are the biggest excuses founders make for skipping deep thinking—and why are they wrong?
Anil Gupta
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