Growth idea action plan
Reddit feedback-swap thread, then DM validators on MVP release
Seed a niche Reddit thread asking for honest product feedback, help the right commenters first, then follow up with them directly when the MVP is ready.
Why this can grow a startup
A feedback thread pre-warms a list of people who already raised their hand around the problem. When you come back at launch, the follow-up does not feel cold because the conversation already exists. That shrinks the trust gap that usually kills first-user outreach and gives you real market language before the product is live.
Ian's take
From scaling consumer platforms across MENA and Southeast Asia, my default is to distrust growth work that only looks good in a slide. I would treat this as earning the right to be in the room, not dropping a campaign into a room. In community-led growth, the first job is to notice what people already care about, then bring a useful proof, tool, teardown, or question that makes the conversation better. I would run it small enough to learn quickly, then only scale the parts that real users repeat, save, reply to, or buy from. For this tactic, I would watch First users came from Reddit; first 100 users in ~2 weeks before putting more time or budget behind it.
Action plan
- Define one narrow startup segment where reddit feedback-swap thread, then dm validators on mvp release can create a measurable lift.
- Turn the tactic into one offer, page, campaign, or workflow for the Reddit and Communities channel.
- Use the evidence from news.ycombinator.com to set the first version of the message, format, and audience.
- Launch a small test for 7 to 14 days with one success metric: First users came from Reddit; first 100 users in ~2 weeks.
- Review the result, keep the winning message, remove weak variants, and turn the learning into a repeatable growth playbook.
Source-backed example
Buildpad's founder said their first users came from a Reddit idea-validation thread, then they DMed the same people when the MVP launched. The broader playbook later grew the product to 10,000 users.
Result: First users came from Reddit; first 100 users in ~2 weeks
Source: news.ycombinator.com
Last checked: June 7, 2026
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