From 0 to 10k MRR - I wish I would have had this guide when I bootstrapped my B2B SaaS 7 years ago 😪

The first 1k is tough.
The first 3k are tough.
The first 10k are.

But it’s possible to go from 0 to 10k.
Even in less than 12 months!

1️⃣ Direct Outbound (Direct Sales Impact)
Use these when you need quick wins and immediate validation.
📌 Warm Intros: Introductions via investors, advisors, or friends (has usually a great conversion rate).
📌 Founder-Led Sales: Cold emails, calls, personalized outreach e.g. on LinkedIn or in person meetings. If you feel uncomfortable doing it, get a coach. You'll need it.
📌 Network Sales: Direct outreach within your personal and professional networks.
📌 Referrals: Customer-led introductions facilitated by clear instructions.

2️⃣ Supporting Activities (Long-term Impact)
You'll need those to build an inbound pipeline.
📌 Founder-Led LinkedIn: Consistent posting and engagement to build awareness and credibility.
📌 Creating Content: Bottom-of-funnel content (for people who are in-market & ready to buy) like comparisons, alternatives, case studies to capture existing demand.

3️⃣ Paid Strategies
Got some budget? You can accelerated the results with:
📌 Influencer Partnerships: Paid collaborations with industry influencers for authentic promotion is a great way to get started with community marketing.
📌 Niche Newsletter Sponsorships: Sponsorship placements in newsletters targeting your ideal customers - drop me a DM if you need contacts in DACH.
📌 Paid Search: Brand-KW, In-Market-KW, Competitor-KW, Retargeting.
Spend most on In-Market. (❗I personally don't recommend running paid search before 10k MRR❗because you probably don't really have an ICP yet and the risk of burning money is too high)

💡 How to choose the right strategy:
Start with Direct Outbound.
As soon as you can repeat success focus on Supporting Activities.
Have some budget to play with? Test some first paid options.

The art of growing from 0 to 10k is not to do everything at the same time, but to prioritize what is important and then do it really well.

Send this to people who should read it.