Getting the first 100 users in crypto and web3 is often the hardest milestone for founders. Unlike traditional tech, your earliest users are more than just customers—they're partners in testing, feedback, and building trust. The community forms fast and sets the culture, so every interaction counts.

Early adopters bring real-world problems, high expectations, and a drive to be heard. Founders need to cut through jargon, deliver early value, and make onboarding easy. In this guide, you'll find proven ways to attract those first users, practical steps for standing out, and the most important lessons founders learn along the way.

How do top teams turn a few users into a strong early community? Why does the right onboarding process make such a difference in web3? What key feedback should you look for—and how do you keep your top users involved? Let's break down the answers, so you have the insights and confidence to build your first 100-strong user base.

Why the First 100 Users Matter for Crypto and Web3 Projects

Securing your first 100 users isn’t just a number—it’s the moment your idea steps into the real world. In crypto and web3, the first users set the tone for your entire project. They shape culture, spark network effects, and help build trust before the world even notices. These early joiners act as your partners, critics, and advocates. They don’t just test your product; they test your ambition, your ability to communicate, and your team’s resilience. Focusing on this group can mean the difference between silent launch and vibrant growth.

The Role of Early Users as Product Validators

Early users do more than simply try out your token, protocol, or app. Think of them as real-time validators:

  • They prove your core idea has value. If even a handful of blockchain enthusiasts are excited, it signals you’re solving a real problem.
  • They stress-test onboarding and features. Every snag, edge case, and bug appears early—when you can still fix it fast.
  • They set the first “network effect” in motion. In web3, community and utility are entwined. These first users often invite friends, bring developer talent, and kickstart community rituals.

Ask yourself—if you can’t convince your first hundred, why would the first thousand believe? Every feature you build and every AMA you host should answer this question.

Building Trust and Community from Day One

Crypto projects thrive on credibility. The first 100 users become your reputation builders:

  • They drive organic word-of-mouth. Their tweets, Discord comments, and forum posts are your early marketing engine.
  • They hold you accountable. If your project claims transparency, these users will expect regular updates, open-roadmaps, and even on-chain proof.
  • They create a cultural blueprint. The way you respond to them—publicly and privately—shapes the tone for all future interactions.

Founders often ask: How do you keep toxic or opportunistic actors out at this stage? Be clear about values and goals. In web3, people remember how you treat the first contributors.

Feedback Loops: Turning Insights into Iteration

Every crypto founder learns the most from users who cared enough to try something rough, new, or half-broken. What do your first supporters teach you?

  • Is onboarding confusing or simple? First-hand reports highlight friction no whitepaper can cover.
  • Do users “get” your tokenomics and incentives? If not, you’ll hear about confusing wallets, unclear rewards, or lost tokens right away.
  • Which features do people use most—or ignore? Usage analytics combined with direct feedback help refine your product roadmap.
  • How do people bring friends and grow the network? Watching early referral and sharing behavior reveals what’s genuinely viral.

Founders need to build quick feedback loops into Discord, Telegram, and even DMs. Many of the best pivots and product launches come straight from early users’ frustrations—or their “aha” moments. For every problem they find, prompt yourself: Is it a bug, or a misunderstanding? Is it a feature gap, or a messaging issue?

Think about what your first 100 supporters are really telling you, not just what you want to hear. What surprised you? Where did they stick around or give up? These answers are where growth begins.

Laying the Foundation: Getting Ready for User Acquisition

Before you focus on growth, you need solid ground under your feet. In crypto and web3, a shaky start can shake confidence, scare off good users, or create confusion that lingers. Getting to your first 100 users means building clarity about who should join, why they’ll care, and how you’ll make it easy for them to get started. Here’s how to set your project up so real adoption can begin.

Defining Your Ideal User and Community: Clarify the Core Audience for the Product and Project Values

Not everyone is your user—especially in web3. Early users shape more than feedback, they set your project’s vibe and help steer community values. Start by asking:

  • Who do you want as your first users? Ambitious builders, curious investors, DeFi power users, or NFT collectors?
  • What core value or problem does your project serve for them?
  • Are you looking for active contributors, testers, evangelists, or people who reflect certain geographical, technical, or philosophical backgrounds?

Write this down. Be specific. For example, maybe you want “advanced DeFi users who care about privacy and are willing to provide detailed feedback, not just ask for airdrops.”

Clarify values openly. If you’re aiming for decentralization, transparency, or financial inclusion, state this up front. Your first users are the roots of your community tree; know what soil they’ll thrive in.

Ask yourself (and your team):

  • What are dealbreakers for you in your community? (Toxicity, speculation, spam?)
  • What kind of conversations do you want happening in your Discord or Telegram on day one?
  • How will you spot, and reward, your top contributors right now?

Product Readiness and MVP Launch: Cover MVP Best Practices for Web3

In fast-moving web3, your MVP shouldn’t try to do it all. Focus on one or two real problems. Make it work, make it safe, and make it welcoming even if it feels basic at first.

Key practices:

  • Fast iteration: Launch quickly, collect feedback, deploy fixes, and repeat. Get your smart contracts, wallet connections, and onboarding smooth enough to avoid towering friction.
  • Clear landing pages: Explain your project with plain language. Show benefits and key actions in minutes, not hours. Drop jargon. Use visuals or simple explainer videos to walk first users through new concepts.
  • Intuitive onboarding: Avoid confusing wallet flows, seed phrase stress, or endless popups. Test with the least technical person you know.
  • Seamless wallet and user experience: Integrate major wallets (like MetaMask or WalletConnect), keep transaction fees visible, and guide users if transactions get stuck.

Don’t overlook safety—security audits and bug bounties are non-negotiable, even for MVPs. Trust lost early is almost impossible to rebuild.

Ask yourself:

  • Is there a single, obvious action for a new user to take within minutes of landing?
  • Have you tested with real users, not just your dev friends or internal team?
  • What’s the easiest way for someone to report a bug or give fast feedback?

Choosing the Right Channels and Communities

You can’t attract everyone in web3. But you can focus where your ideal users already spend time—and be thoughtful about why they’re there.

For early traction, most projects succeed by being present in a few, not dozens, of places. Effective web3 channels and community spots include:

  • Discord and Telegram: Essential for real-time chat, updates, and early feedback.
  • Twitter: Great for thought leadership, meme sharing, and broader crypto culture.
  • Reddit and niche forums: Tap into highly engaged topic-specific groups.
  • YouTube or podcast interviews: Reach technical or influencer-driven audiences.
  • Medium or project blog: Share detailed updates and product deep-dives.

Look for active, value-aligned communities rather than just aiming for size. Sometimes smaller, more niche ecosystems (like specific Stacks, Solana, or NEAR groups) offer higher engagement and better word-of-mouth.

Don’t ignore:

  • Transparency: “Building in public” with regular updates builds trust and loyalty.
  • Incentives: Use targeted rewards or airdrops to rally early adopters—just make sure these drive quality, not just volume.
  • Metrics: Track engagement, active user counts, and real conversation—not just follower numbers.

Prompt yourself to ask: Are my channels set up to listen as much as to broadcast? Am I building spaces where users want to stick around, not just collect a free token?

Setting up the right foundations attracts quality users who stick, give feedback, and start building with you—not just passing through.

Building Momentum: How to Attract and Onboard the First 100 Users

Your first 100 users often become the heartbeat of your crypto or web3 project. They shape how the world sees your product and set early community standards. Building this momentum requires a mix of hands-on outreach, strategic partnerships, incentives, and smart use of content. Below you’ll find actionable ways to kick off that growth—and the logic behind why each tactic matters.

Direct Outreach: Personalized, Unscalable Tactics

Nothing replaces the power of a personal connection, especially in the scrappy early days. Many founders spend hours sending cold DMs, hopping on calls, or replying to threads—doing what doesn’t scale.

Start by:

  • Identifying target users who fit your ideal profile (think: tool builders, active DeFi users, NFT collectors, or industry voices).
  • Reaching out one by one on Twitter, Telegram, Discord, or even LinkedIn. Mention what excites you about their work and how your project aligns with their interests.
  • Inviting them to try the product directly, not through mass invites or spam. Offer calls or even 1:1 onboarding sessions.

In these early stages, founders often act as customer support, community manager, and educator. You can ask: “What broke during onboarding? What feels confusing? What would make you want to invite a friend?” Every answer helps you spot gaps in messaging or UX that no analytics dashboard can show.

Building trust is the priority. If you win over 10 true believers through sweat and late-night DMs, they’ll start bringing in the next 50.

Community Growth and Early Partnerships

In web3, communities live and breathe on real-time, always-on platforms. Discord and Telegram groups are ground zero for shaping product culture, while hackathons, Twitter threads, and early integrations drive outsized attention. But where are early adopters in web3 and crypto actually hanging out?

Active hubs include:

  • Discord servers focused on new protocols like zkSync, Aptos, or NFT projects.
  • Telegram groups dedicated to technical deep-dives, early alpha, and plain hype.
  • Twitter, the go-to for rapid updates, direct interaction with VCs and founders, and viral content.
  • Hackathons (in-person and virtual) that attract talent and early experimenters, eager to test new ideas.
  • Reddit and regional hubs (e.g., Korea, Dubai) where dedicated threads or channels rally focused conversation and feedback.

Founders use these spaces to:

  • Host AMAs (Ask Me Anything) and live demos, answering questions in real-time.
  • Form early partnerships with compatible projects, wallets, or DAOs. Early integrations (for example: being the first “official wallet” for a new Layer 2 chain) can spark organic interest.
  • Nurture small, private circles of power users or contributors, keeping them in the loop and recognizing their feedback publicly.

You want to keep an ear to the ground: What are users saying in Discord? Are Telegram admins skeptical or supportive? Is Twitter buzzing about your beta or ignoring it? These signals reveal if you’re reaching the real community.

Incentives and Gamified Onboarding

Early users don’t just want to try your dApp—they want a reason to care. So, what motivates the first wave of users to join and stick around?

The most effective incentives include:

  • Airdrops: Offer tokens to early testers, bug reporters, or content creators. Structure airdrops so they’re earned (through real engagement, not just showing up).
  • Rewards for participation: Think exclusive NFTs, badges, or on-chain reputational points for completing specific actions.
  • Token-gated access: Build private Discord channels or early feature access only available to token holders or contributors. This feels like joining a secret lab or underground club and attracts those eager to get in early.
  • Referral loops: Use unique invite codes or “refer a friend, earn X” programs. Referrals drive network effects and organically expand your reach.

When you design these systems, keep two questions in mind: “Would I be excited to earn this reward as a user?” and “Are the incentives aligned with real contribution, not just clicks?” Careless rewards can poison culture with bots or mercenaries, while smart incentives build loyalty.

Content and Thought Leadership for Early Influence

Before big headlines and mainstream buzz, early users look for leaders who share insights, outline a strong vision, and teach. As a builder, your blog posts, threads, or explainer videos can be an on-ramp for new users—often guiding the most valuable early contributors.

Key strategies:

  • Document the journey: Share weekly or biweekly updates (“Building in public”) with honest takes on progress, setbacks, and lessons learned. Users feel part of something early.
  • Explain complex parts: Offer plain-language breakdowns of how your protocol or incentive systems work. Use infographics, diagrams, and quick video walkthroughs if possible.
  • Publish thought leadership: Write on emerging trends in web3 or topics relevant to your target audience. Post on Twitter, Substack, or Medium, and amplify across communities.
  • Host Twitter Spaces or Podcasts: A Q&A or expert roundtable positions your team as visible, accessible, and smart.

Prospective users often wonder: “Who’s behind this? Do they know what they’re doing? Can I trust them to stick around?” Consistent, open content builds that trust quickly—and encourages the best users to get involved early.

By layering personal outreach, targeted incentives, highly engaged communities, and valuable content, founders give their projects the energy needed to move from an idea to a movement. The momentum from those first 100 users sets everything else in motion.

The Feedback Flywheel: What Founders Learn from the First 100 Users

Bringing on those first 100 users isn’t just a growth goal—it sparks a self-sustaining loop that drives learning, iteration, and expansion. Early user feedback acts like a flywheel: insights gathered from real-world use help founders improve the product, foster a stronger community, and align incentives that attract more engaged participants. This ongoing cycle gives your project increasing momentum, but managing it well requires focus and adaptability. Here’s what top crypto and web3 founders discover as this feedback loop accelerates.

Iterative Product Development from User Insights

The first users are more than a sounding board—they reveal problems and priorities impossible to predict from inside your team. As early adopters interact with your product, they expose real friction points and feature gaps. Founders often learn that the most requested features are not the ones they anticipated, and onboarding flows tested in-house may confuse even savvy crypto users when released openly.

Smart teams use several approaches to maximize value from early feedback:

  • Routine check-ins, AMAs, or user surveys inside Discord and Telegram
  • Quick product tweaks prioritizing the most painful or high-impact issues
  • Transparent sharing of ongoing revisions so users see their input put into action

Every app update or patch can spark a fresh round of suggestions. Each cycle builds trust, and the effect compounds: as fixes roll out, early users feel involved and become more likely to flag deeper insights. Founders who ignore this loop or delay changes risk losing both users and goodwill before their flywheel gains speed.

Ask yourself: Are we building with our users, or just for them?

Community Engagement and Power Users

Your first 100 users double as your earliest evangelists and critics. Within this group, a few will emerge as “power users”—the people who find edge cases, share honest reviews, and help new members onboard. Engaging these power users must become a core part of your strategy.

High-performing teams unlock value from power users by:

  • Giving public recognition through special Discord roles, badges, or mentions in updates
  • Inviting them to small feedback groups, calls, or advisory channels
  • Empowering them to help moderate, create educational content, or host events

These efforts spark organic network effects, as active contributors often bring their friends or contacts into your community. Good culture grows when power users model desired behaviors, help answer questions, and build healthy norms.

Questions to consider: Which users consistently help others? Who provides the most valuable feedback? Do you know what motivates your power users—recognition, rewards, purpose?

Tokenomics, Governance, and User Incentives

If you want early adopters to go from testers to true believers, align your tokenomics and rewards with actions that matter. The first 100 users want to feel their effort is recognized—not just in words, but in actual ownership or influence.

Web3 founders learn that incentives are more than coins or badges:

  • Early contribution rewards (tokens, NFTs, whitelists) tied to meaningful actions, like reporting bugs or producing guides
  • Experience-based governance where engaged users can vote on upcoming features or protocol parameters
  • Referral bonuses that encourage the right kind of user growth—not just sheer numbers, but new contributors who stick around

Transparent rules and public roadmaps foster trust; users feel included when they see how participation links directly to influence or upside. When incentives are confusing or under-communicated, confusion and frustration slow your momentum.

Prompt for founders: Is your incentive system bringing in helpful users—or is it mostly drawing mercenaries who disappear after the first airdrop?

Balancing Hype and Sustainable Growth

Early energy is a resource, but it needs management. Building in public, creating buzz, and rallying a community can attract attention fast, but overpromising or skipping tough conversations can sink a project’s credibility. Founders often learn—sometimes painfully—that setting grounded expectations and being transparent about setbacks creates long-term loyalty.

Here are practical tactics for managing this balance:

  • Be open about what’s ready and what’s not; admit known bugs or feature gaps
  • Share incremental wins, not just big launches; users want to see progress
  • Document pivots and lessons openly, so supporters feel included, not misled

Ask yourself: Are you building a community that loves honest progress, or only hype? What stories are you telling about your growth?

Prompt for reader reflection:
How can you use early momentum without overpromising? Think about which updates, milestones, and setbacks you share with your users. Does your messaging earn long-term trust, or just short-term excitement?

Moving Beyond 100: Scaling Foundations for Growth

Reaching your first 100 users is an early win, but real progress comes from building frameworks that can handle ten times as many. Sustainable growth in crypto and web3 means more than surface-level numbers. It’s about setting up the right metrics, expanding your reach with intention, and crafting repeatable systems founders can trust as they scale. This section covers the core building blocks for growth after your first hundred users—from measurement to playbooks—so your project stays resilient, focused, and ready for what’s next.

Tracking the Right Metrics: Activation, Retention, Quality

Numbers only tell part of the story. What really counts is understanding the journey users take—from landing on your site to becoming active contributors.

When moving past 100 users, focus on three key pillars:

  • Activation Rate: Are users getting to their first meaningful action—like submitting a transaction, joining your DAO, or minting an NFT? Track how many sign up, but pay even closer attention to those who reach this early milestone.
  • Retention: New faces don’t matter if they disappear. What percentage of users return after a week or a month? Retention rates show if your value sticks.
  • User Quality: All signups aren’t equal. Are new users adding real feedback, building tools, or just farming airdrops? Define what a “high-quality” user looks like and track behaviors (such as active governance participation, content creation, or helpfulness in chats).

Ask yourself:

  • Are you tracking deeper engagement in analytics—not just wallet connections or logins?
  • Which segments (geography, interest, referrer) show stronger retention or higher-quality contribution?
  • What drives drop-off: onboarding pain, unclear incentives, or lack of value?

Good data lets you double down on what’s working—and course-correct with speed when something breaks.

Expanding Community and Market Reach

After 100, scaling means moving beyond your comfort zone and growing your ecosystem thoughtfully. Communities in web3 aren’t just Discord numbers—they’re living, breathing networks built on trust and shared ownership.

Here are proven ways to expand without losing your core:

  • Localize and Diversify: Global communities win in web3. Translate resources, set up region-focused chats, and invite ambassadors from target markets (think Asia, Africa, Latin America) to lead.
  • Nurture Community Leaders: Promote power users to moderators or role models. Reward collaboration, not just noise. DAOs and decentralized governance tools make scaling roles easier.
  • Deepen On-chain Incentives: Use token/NFT rewards for contributors, launch “community quests,” or host hackathons. Publicly recognize standout efforts.
  • Cross-pollinate: Form alliances and co-marketing with aligned projects. Shared Twitter spaces, AMAs, or referral events boost awareness with real potential users.
  • Layer Communication Channels: Not everyone uses Discord. Set up channels in Telegram, Reddit, or blockchain-native forums. Keep engagement authentic—avoid bots or empty airdrop seekers.

Prompt to consider: Are your new users connected to your project’s mission, or are they just hunting the next token? Real expansion is about building relationships, not just blasting invites.

Building a Playbook for Repeatable User Growth

Scaling isn’t random. The best founders rely on a simple, living playbook that keeps their team focused, metrics-driven, and ready to adapt. Here’s a checklist you can revisit as your project grows:

  • Define what a “core user action” is. Is it staking, voting, minting, or something else?
  • Automate onboarding feedback. Set up forms or bots to collect friction points for every new cohort.
  • Set weekly review cadences. Track metrics, share wins and misses, celebrate key user stories.
  • Segment your community. Identify power users, builders, silent lurkers, and remove spam or bots early.
  • Establish a contributor ladder. Publish explicit ways users can level up—like trial mod roles, bounties, or feature requests.
  • Regularly share product and community updates. Transparency builds trust with all segments, not just early adopters.
  • Rerun what works. Double down on events, content, or partnerships that drive proven signups and retention.
  • Document systems and tools. Keep everything from Discord bots to token distribution docs accessible for new volunteers or team members.

Take time every month to review: what’s still working? What processes need tuning as your user base evolves? Use questions like:

  • Are top contributors burning out or thriving?
  • Are you reaching new types of users each month?
  • Are partnerships driving actual activity, or just cross-promotion?

A strong playbook grows with your project, giving you clarity—and your users consistency—across every stage of scale.

Conclusion

Landing your first 100 users is more than a growth target. It is the moment your project earns its pulse. Each interaction, bit of feedback, and onboarding step sets your culture and improves your product. The choices you make here—how you support new users, listen, respond, and reward—echo as you scale.

Treat these early days as your most valuable learning period. Ask directly: What do users need and where do they struggle? Why do they stay or leave? Which actions lead to lasting involvement? Early users want to contribute, not just consume. Their questions and insights often highlight hidden gaps in your message or design.

Now is the time to invite fresh feedback or host a small AMA with your community. How can your story reflect what your best users are telling you? What changes will help the next hundred feel just as invested? Thank your current advocates, and challenge yourself: What’s your next step to deepen the connection? Each thoughtful decision you make now builds the foundation for every milestone to come.