Day 29: Third customer - goal achieved
Day 29 of 30. We did it. Three paying customers!
Day 29 of 30. We did it. Three paying customers!
This morning started slow, and we weren’t really sure on how to take action. Then at 2:47 PM, Stripe pinged. (see our book recommendation for a good reference to Amazon’s early days, when they used to ring a bell for every order they got. That lasted 2 weeks before they were forced to turn it off).
Goal achieved!
"The harder I work, the luckier I get." - Samuel Goldwyn
How it happened
Remember the free user at 80% quota? They hit their limit, which blocks the capturing of screenshots.
Our automated email:
Subject: You’ve hit your free screenshot limit
Hi [Name],
You’ve used all 100 of your free screenshots this month. Nice!
Your API calls will return an error until the quota resets next month - unless you upgrade.
Our Pro gives you 10,000 screenshots. That’s 100x more headroom.
[Upgrade Now] or [Wait for Reset]
Their response: they clicked “Upgrade Now” and completed checkout within 10 minutes.
There was no conversation, and no sales call, and while we really like the personal touch, this was our first product-led conversion.
Customer #3 profile
we had to know who actual audience is, so we looked them up:
- Company: A small e-commerce analytics startup
- Use case: It seems they’re generating thumbnail previews for competitor tracking
- Behavior: Captured exactly 100 screenshots over 3 weeks, hit the limit, and upgraded immediately
It’s clear that they needed the product. They used the free tier to validate their case and our product, and it seems our platform is a good fit for their use case. It’s very rewarding when a product you build enables others to improve their business!
The final numbers
| Customer | Plan | MRR | How they converted |
|---|---|---|---|
| The first startup | Pro | $29 | Sales call + pilot |
| Web agency | Pro | $29 | Sales call |
| E-commerce startup | Pro | $29 | Self-serve |
Total MRR: $135
Goal achieved
Original goal: First paying customer in 30 days. Achieved: Day 24.
Stretch goal: 3 paying customers by day 30. Achieved: Day 29.
One day early. Sometimes things work out, and it’s great that some of our marketing works, though we are convinced a great deal comes down to luck as well. This reminds me of a quote by Samuel Goldwyn: “The harder I work, the luckier I get”. I think it’s a great quote.
What this means
Three customers is a pattern (and while we think there’s still a bit of luck involved): one is a fluke, two is a coincidence, but three suggests real demand, and we’re able to deliver something people actually want.
More importantly, we found three different customer types:
- SaaS startup needing preview images
- Agency automating client deliverables
- Analytics tool capturing competitor screenshots
This suggests the market is broader than we thought. Screenshot APIs aren’t niche; they’re horizontal infrastructure.
The rest of day 29
With the goal achieved, we spent the afternoon on:
1. Thank you emails. Personal notes to all three customers thanking them for being early adopters.
2. Feedback requests. Asked each customer what they want to see improved. We want to keep having that feedback loop.
3. Quick wins. Fixed two small bugs that were bothering us, which cleared up some earlier error messages.
4. Documentation updates. Added examples for common use cases based on how customers are actually using the API.
Responses from customers
First customer:
“Thanks! The API has been rock solid. My only ask: would love PDF export eventually. Not urgent though.”
Agency:
“Working great for us. Already used it on two client projects. Will definitely tell other agencies.”
E-commerce startup:
“Just what we needed. Fast and reliable. Would be cool to have a JavaScript SDK at some point.”
Feature requests noted:
- PDF export (2 requests now)
- JavaScript SDK (1 request)
Both are reasonable roadmap items.
Tomorrow: the final day
Tomorrow is day 30, which is the full retrospective of this first month. 30 days of learnings, mistakes, and what comes next.
Book of the day
The Everything Store by Brad Stone
The definitive account of Amazon’s early days. Fun detail: they had a bell that rang every time an order came in. Within weeks, it was ringing so often they had to turn it off.
That’s the dream, right? Going from celebrating each sale to having too many to count. We’re still in bell-ringing territory - every new customer feels like a milestone worth noting.
The book’s full of scrappy startup tactics. Like how Amazon exploited a loophole in book distributors’ 10-book minimum orders by padding orders with an obscure lichen book that was always out of stock. Whatever it takes to keep moving.
Essential reading for anyone building something from nothing.