Your first 10 customers aren’t about revenue.

They’re about learning.

I didn’t understand this initially. I was focused on hitting numbers. I should have been focused on listening.

Customer 1: The Reality Check

First customer paid $49/month. I was thrilled.

Then I talked to them. They were using 10% of the features. The other 90% was wasted development.

Lesson: Build for one customer perfectly before building for a hundred poorly.

Customer 2: The Price Anchor

Charged $49. Customer said yes immediately. Too quickly.

Asked afterward what they’d been paying. $200/month for an inferior solution.

I’d left $150/month on the table. Per customer.

Lesson: Ask about current spending before naming your price.

Customer 3: The Feature Request Trap

Customer wanted a specific feature. I built it in two weeks.

They never used it. Not once.

Lesson: Requests aren’t needs. Observe what people do, not what they say they want.

Customer 4: The Churn Warning

Customer stopped using the product in week 3. I didn’t notice until they cancelled in month 2.

Could have saved them with a check-in call. Didn’t make one.

Lesson: Early customers need hands-on attention. Automate later.

Customer 5: The Wrong Fit

Customer was outside our target market. Signed up anyway. Needed constant support. Different use case entirely.

Spent 10x more time on them than other customers. For the same $49.

Lesson: Some customers cost more than they’re worth. It’s okay to fire them.

Customer 6: The Silent Success

Customer never complained. Never requested features. Just used the product quietly.

Almost forgot about them. Then they upgraded. Then they referred two others.

Lesson: Quiet customers are often your best customers. Don’t neglect them for squeaky wheels.

Customer 7: The Honest Friend

Customer was a friend. Paid full price. Gave brutal feedback I didn’t want to hear.

The product was confusing. The onboarding was bad. The value wasn’t obvious.

Lesson: Find at least one customer who’ll tell you the truth, not what you want to hear.

Customer 8: The Case Study

Customer had impressive results. 40% efficiency improvement. Real numbers.

I asked to share their story. They said yes. That case study closed more deals than anything else.

Lesson: One good customer story beats endless feature lists.

Customer 9: The Power User

Customer found uses I never imagined. Built workflows I hadn’t considered.

Taught me more about my product than I knew myself.

Lesson: Your creative customers show you where the product can go. Watch them closely.

Customer 10: The Benchmark

By customer 10, patterns emerged. Who succeeded. Who struggled. What mattered.

I finally understood my actual target customer. Not who I assumed, but who actually got value.

Lesson: Don’t commit to a target market until you’ve served 10 customers and seen who thrives.

What I Track Now

For every early customer:

Acquisition: How they found us. What convinced them.

Activation: Time to first value. What features they use first.

Engagement: Weekly usage patterns. What they actually do.

Feedback: Problems, requests, complaints.

Outcome: Did they succeed? Why or why not?

Ten customers with deep understanding beats 100 customers with shallow metrics.

The Uncomfortable Truth

Your first 10 customers are your product research.

You’re not scaling. You’re learning.

Make mistakes with 10 people, not 1,000. Figure out product-market fit before you pour gas on growth.

The founders who rush past this stage build businesses on weak foundations. The ones who embrace it build businesses that last.

Go slow to go fast.