Magic Hour
AI · first 100 paid users
The founders posted about four AI-generated videos a day across social platforms to fill a waitlist of 600. Only 20 converted at launch, and reaching 100 paid users took eight months.
Reported: 1,000+ short videos at 4 a day; 600 waitlist signups; 20 converted; 100 paid users after 8 months
“By June 2023, when we finally launched, 600 people had signed up for the waitlist.”
Social media, A waitlist
magichour.ai, Runbo Li, January 2025
Airtable
SaaS · first 100 alpha users
Airtable ran an invite-only alpha where users could refer others, growing slowly to about 100 users over two years. The founders studied a small nonprofit team closely rather than chasing volume.
Reported: About 100 alpha users over roughly 2 years; an early 10 to 15 person nonprofit team
“It was invite-only, but you could refer other people, so that helped us get some organic growth, but not a ton”
A waitlist, Word of mouth
review.firstround.com, Andrew Ofstad, December 2022
The DIY MIDI Controller Bible
Info product · first-day sales
He grew an email list from a YouTube and forum audience plus cheap Facebook lead ads, then launched an ebook to it. Day one brought 34 sales and $1,359.66.
Reported: Prelaunch list of about 2,500; Facebook ads at $5 a day and $0.25 to $0.60 per lead; 34 sales at $49.99 for $1,359.66 on day one
“In the first day of launching, I sold 34 eBooks for $49.99 each, earning $1359.66.”
Communities, Paid ads, A waitlist
dougie.io, Doug, August 2022
Slack
SaaS · first invite requests
After testing with friends' companies, Slack opened a preview request form backed by press coverage. It drew 8,000 requests on the first day and 15,000 within two weeks.
Reported: 8,000 invite requests on day one; 15,000 within 2 weeks
“On the first day, 8,000 people did just that; and two weeks later, that number had grown to 15,000.”
Press, A waitlist, Word of mouth
lennysnewsletter.com, Stewart Butterfield, May 2020
Superhuman
SaaS · first 5,000 signups
Vohra wrote an article on surviving an acquisition, timed to the Mailbox shutdown, and got it syndicated to Quartz. Four days of work on that one piece brought more than 5,000 signups.
Reported: About 3 days writing and 1 day pitching one article; 5,000+ signups
“But those four days bought north of 5,000 signups.”
Press, Content marketing, A waitlist
lennysnewsletter.com, Rahul Vohra, May 2020
The App Design Handbook
Info product · first $1,000 in sales
He built a 795-person email list from blog posts and Twitter during the three months he spent writing the book. Emailing that list on launch day brought in $1,000 in ten minutes.
Reported: 795-person prelaunch list; $1,000 in 10 minutes; $6,469.90 on launch day; about 600 visits from Hacker News
“I’ve been working on it for 3 months and had built up a pre-launch list of 795 people.”
A waitlist, Content marketing, Social media, Launch platforms
Hacker News
nathanbarry.com, Nathan Barry, September 2012
Buffer
SaaS · first paying customer
He tweeted a landing page to test demand, then added a fake pricing page to test willingness to pay before building. The rough first version got a paying customer within four days.
Reported: First paying customer 4 days after launch; 500 users; about 4% upgraded to paid
“I had my first paying customer within 4 days of launching the “rough around the edges” product.”
A waitlist, Social media, Launch platforms
buffer.com, Joel Gascoigne, February 2011
Autoklose
SaaS · first customers
He spent months before launch sending 100 LinkedIn requests a day and lining up sales influencers to promote the product. By launch day he had 2,400 people on the list and nearly 1,000 demos booked.
Reported: 2,400 on the waitlist; nearly 1,000 demos booked by launch day; 15+ influencers with about 500,000 combined reach; 100 LinkedIn connection requests a day
“By launch day, he had 2,400 people on his list and nearly 1,000 demos booked.”
A waitlist, Partnerships, Social media
saasclub.io, Shawn Finder