How To Get Your First Customers

How To Get Your First Customers

Author: Y Combinator January 14, 2026 Duration: 5:41

When you're starting out, it isn’t enough to just build a minimum viable product. You also need a minimum evolvable product - one that can adapt to the needs of those critical early customers. In this episode of Main Function, YC General Partner Ankit Gupta offers an update to the classic MVP playbook. He’ll outline strategies for getting your first customers, the power of adaptability and how feedback from early users will ultimately shape the future of your product and your company.

Apply to Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply

Work at a startup: https://www.ycombinator.com/jobs

Chapters:

00:00 – The Minimum Evolvable Product

00:46 – Finding the First Believers

01:29 – Counterintuitive Rules To Get Early Users

02:10 – Learn Fast, Don’t Fear Churn

02:52 – How Early Users Shape the Market You Enter

04:22 – Tesla Case Study

05:14 – How To Build To Evolve


Behind every successful startup is a story, and the Y Combinator Startup Podcast is where those stories are told in full. This isn't about polished theory; it's the raw, practical conversation happening between founders who have been in the trenches and the Y Combinator partners who advise them. You'll hear directly from people who have navigated the chaotic journey from a flicker of an idea to building a company that scales, discussing not just their victories but, more importantly, the hard lessons and tactical decisions that aren't found in any textbook. Each episode feels like a candid office-hours session, stripping away the hype to focus on the real work of making something people actually want. For anyone curious about the mechanics of building a technology company-the early uncertainties, the pivotal moments, and the relentless focus on execution-this podcast offers an unfiltered look at the craft. Tune in for genuine insights from the frontlines, where the focus remains squarely on the art and science of building things that matter.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Y Combinator Startup Podcast
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