Companies looking for their first customers

I've just started a company with one of my friends and now we are working on getting our first customers. I read a lot of articles about the topic and it seems everyone faces the same challenges. So I was thinking of creating a place where startups could post their upcoming or newly released products and early adopters could happily be their first customers.<p>I had some time yesterday so I created a site for it: <a href="http://bemyfirstcustomer.com/" rel="nofollow">http://bemyfirstcustomer.com/</a><p>You essentially just add your product and some sort of discount or offer and people will register their interest. Then you can just contact those people. It's pretty informal, not like those coupon sites that cost money but hopefully it will help people generate leads (if enough people use it).<p>What does everyone think? Does this already exist somewhere else?

This is like Groupon for startups... a really natural fit.<p>Company: "I need customers, I'm willing to give away product/services cheaply to entice early signups."<p>Client: "I'm willing to try some unfamiliar product/service if I can get it for a smokin' deal".<p>And then you step in and introduce them to each other. Nice.

Seems like a nice idea to me, but it might work better if it was targeted more for a certain niche of products. Otherwise customers get a ton of offers for products they're not interested in at all.<p>For instance, the moment I saw those two offers at the bottom, I instantly got turned off from the site. Not only do they look a bit like regular marketing promotions, the services themselves don't interest me at all. On the other hand, if there was a site like this for a niche I'm interested in, I would definitely be more engaged.

Interesting idea. It took me a moment to realize the incentive here (note: I didn't care enough up front to read the text as there's "a lot" of it) -- perhaps the idea of offering something special should be made more visible. Maybe you could break it down as simply as possible. Something like:<p>Provide a special incentive/offer and receive your first customer!<p>Why should YOU be my first customer? Because of this special offer...!

I signed up on a lark. We'll see if it drives anything. <i>They</i> may need help getting <i>their</i> first customer.

Neat idea. Just posted my project (BugCam). Let's see how it goes. Note that I am already using LaunchRock (see getbugcam.com) - if you service works than you might want to integrate LaunchRock-style referral tools.

this seems quite interesting, i'll keep an eye on this.<p>Basically the only thing you ask for is an email where i can be contacted to submit some feedback correct?<p>Does the company get my email or use an form that you provide?<p>I'm asking this because i always try to know where my email is going.

Sadly, I didn't find it usable for getting customers with problems to ask me how I could help.

I really like the idea, but the front page does a very bad job at teasing me. The concept is simple, so I think they could explain it in a simpler way. Anyways, good luck to them !

Just added WorldsPlay.com. It helps to plan events with others with similar hobbies. Currently we are working on the beta release.

I signed up, I love being an early adopter, because I'm on the lookout for things that well give our company an edge. No emails as of yet, though. Keep in mind I am looking to quickly dart through companies, not tirelessly research a database for something that <i>might</i> be useful.