How I Found My First 10 Customers Hidden in Reddit Threads

Last week I watched a founder waste 3 hours scrolling through r/startups looking for anyone who might want his product.

Three hours. Manual searching. Zero leads.

I felt that pain because I did the exact same thing when I launched my first SaaS.

Then I figured out a system.

Why Reddit Works for Finding First Customers

Reddit is the only platform where people actively describe their exact problems and ask for solutions.

Twitter? People flex. LinkedIn? Corporate fluff.

Reddit? Real people saying "I'm tired of manually doing X" or "Is there a tool that does Y?"

Those are buying signals. You just need to find them before they go cold.

The Wrong Way (What I Did for 2 Months)

1. Search "reddit [my keyword]" on Google
2. Open every result
3. Read the entire thread
4. Realize it was from 2022
5. Repeat

I was spending 2-3 hours daily. Zero paying customers.

The problem? Old threads don't convert. The person who asked that question 8 months ago already found a solution.

The System That Actually Works

Step 1: Map Your Problem Keywords

Don't search for your product. Search for the problem you solve.

Instead of "CRM tool", search:

• "tired of managing contacts in spreadsheet"
• "is there a tool that tracks customer conversations"

People describe frustration in their own words.

Step 2: Identify Your Hunting Grounds

For B2B SaaS:

• r/startups
• r/Entrepreneur
• r/SaaS
• r/smallbusiness

Step 3: Filter for Fresh Opportunities

Low competition = higher chance of actually helping someone.

Step 4: Engage Like a Human

Wrong: "Hey, I built a tool for this! Check out myproduct.com"

Right: Share experience. Answer first. Provide value. Then mention your tool if relevant.

Tools That Speed This Up

Doing this manually is painful. Hours every day.

I built Wappkit Reddit to solve this. Searches multiple subreddits at once, filters by engagement.

Has a 3-day unlimited trial, then $14/month with code BNWPJRLVJH.

Other options: GummySearch, Google Alerts with site:reddit.com.

The point: automate discovery or burn out.

Real Numbers (3 Months)

Not viral. But 11 paying customers who understand the problem.

Quick Action Plan

Week 1: List 10 pain phrases. Find 5-10 subreddits. Set up discovery.

Week 2: Engage 3-5 threads/day. Help first, sell later.

Week 3: Double down on what works. Start DMs.

Week 4: Analyze. Refine. Repeat.

Your first 10 customers are hiding in Reddit threads right now.

The threads exist. Go find them.

What subreddits worked for your niche?