Introduction
Part four of the Founder's Playbook tackles the four critical operational challenges that define your first 12 months: finding and converting early adopters who will pay for your solution, securing the right type of funding from investors aligned with your vision, discovering high value keywords that drive qualified traffic, and building backlinks that establish authority and search visibility.
The early adopters cluster addresses the fundamental question: how do you find customers willing to invest time and money in a product that barely works? Early adopters are not price sensitive; they are solution hungry. They will forgive rough edges if your core solution solves their urgent problem.
The funding cluster spans multiple investor types and geographies. Whether you are bootstrap funding a B2B SaaS startup in the Benelux, raising pre-seed capital for a female-led startup, or finding strategic CVCs interested in deep tech, the principles remain consistent: build genuine relationships, demonstrate traction, and align with investors who understand your market.
The keyword and backlink cluster focuses on the mechanics of organic growth. You need to find the keywords your customers actually search for, understand which ones are reachable given your current authority, and earn backlinks from sites that Google trusts. These are the unglamorous fundamentals that compound into sustainable traffic over years.
Check out the Complete "How to" Series:
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 1: Startup Strategy, Funding and Business Fundamentals
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 2: SEO, Naming, and Competitive Analysis
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 3: Content, Business Models, and Growth
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 4: Finding Customers, Funding, and Keywords
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 5: Backlinks, Funding, Growth, and AI Visibility
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 6: Launching, Naming, Tools, and Fundraising
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 7: Costs, Funding, Naming, and Starting Up
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 8: Tech Startups, Tools, AI, and Keyword Research
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 9: SEO Tools, Schema Markup, and AI Optimization
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 10: 2026 Trends, AI, and Future Opportunities
How to Find Competitors Keywords Free on YouTube
Use TubeBuddy free tier or study competitor video titles and tags, check YouTube autocomplete for keyword variations you see in competitor content, analyze their most popular videos for keyword patterns, and cross reference with Google Trends for seasonal demand. Free methods require more manual work but work for starting your research.
How to Find Competitors Keywords With Moz
Enter a competitor domain in Moz Rank Tracker, view the keywords they rank for in the campaign dashboard, sort by position to see where they have achieved top ten rankings, and identify gaps where you have not ranked yet. Use keyword priority score to focus on quick win opportunities.
How to Find Deep Tech Startups Funded by Strategic CVCs
Use Crunchbase and PitchBook to filter by strategic investor and deep tech category, research which corporates are running active CVC programs, join deep tech investor networks and communities, and attend conferences focused on your specific tech domain such as biotech or robotics. Strategic CVCs look for technical founders with IP or unique know how.
How to Find Deep Tech Startups Funded by Strategic CVCs
Same approach: filter on investor platforms for strategic CVC backing, research corporate venture arms of major companies in your space, network with other deep tech founders to understand which CVCs are actually writing checks, and prepare technical due diligence materials CVCs will expect. Deep tech funding timelines are longer than venture, so plan accordingly.
How to Find Early Adopters
Identify communities where your target customers congregate online such as Slack groups, subreddits, or Discord servers, engage genuinely without selling, listen to their exact language and problems, and offer your solution only when invited. Early adopters find you; you do not find them through broadcast marketing.
How to Find Funding for AI Startups
Demonstrate actual product and customer traction before raising capital, show differentiation beyond just using GPT4, target specialized AI investors who understand your vertical, and prepare for longer due diligence cycles as investors educate themselves on AI risk. Most AI funding goes to teams with prior successful exits.
How to Find Good Backlinks
Target sites that already link to content similar to yours, identify broken links on high authority sites and pitch your content as a replacement, contribute guest articles on relevant blogs, and build genuine relationships with journalists and creators in your space. Good backlinks come from sites that genuinely benefit their audience by linking to you.
How to Find Good Keywords for AdWords
Start with high intent keywords that indicate purchase readiness, analyze competitor ad copy to see which keywords they target, test keyword groups and measure conversion rates rather than click through rates, and adjust bids to reflect actual revenue per conversion. Start with long tail keywords before scaling to broader terms.
How to Find Google Search Volume
Use Google Keyword Planner for free search volume estimates by connecting to a Google Ads account, filter by location and language, and treat estimates as ranges rather than exact numbers. Cross reference with Google Trends to understand seasonality.
How to Find High Search Volume Keywords
Search your main category keywords in a keyword tool, sort by monthly search volume, and identify keywords with 1000 plus monthly searches. Note that high volume often correlates with high competition and lower intent; mid-volume keywords with clear intent often convert better.
How to Find Ideas for a Business
Identify problems you personally experience or see in your network repeatedly, interview people about their frustrations and workarounds, research companies raising capital in those spaces, and validate that people would pay to solve the problem. The best business ideas come from lived experience.
How to Find Incubator for Startup
Research incubators in your geography and sector on platforms like F6S or Crunchbase, attend info sessions to understand cohort structure and mentor quality, check alumni portfolios and outcomes, and apply to programs that offer customers or strategic introductions, not just office space. Equity terms matter more than prestige.
How to Find Investors for a Business Idea
Network through founder communities and pitch competitions, attend investor panels to understand their investment criteria, ask founders in your space for warm introductions, and start with angels before approaching VCs. Only raise capital if you have traction or a particularly defensible idea.
How to Find Investors for B2B Software Startup Benelux
Research VCs with offices or portfolio companies in Benelux, attend events like Amsterdam Dance Event or other startup conferences, leverage platforms like Dealroom for European investors, and prioritize VCs who understand European market dynamics and sales cycles. Most B2B VCs in region focus on horizontal SaaS.
How to Find Investors for Female-Led Startup
Research funds explicitly focused on female founders, attend female founder events and accelerators, leverage platforms that surface female investor networks, and connect with women-focused angels. Female founder funding has increased but remains capital constrained relative to demand.
How to Find Investors in the Netherlands
Use Dealroom or LinkedIn to find Dutch VCs and angels, attend events like Startup Amsterdam or Picnic Tech, join founder networks like Scale Nordic or StartupAmsterdam, and leverage warm introductions from existing portfolio founders. Netherlands has strong B2B software and scale-up ecosystem.
How to Find Investors Interested in Sustainable Technology Startups
Research VCs with ESG mandates or climate tech portfolios, attend climate and sustainability focused investment conferences, join sustainability startup networks, and highlight impact metrics alongside financial projections. Impact investors increasingly demand measurable environmental or social metrics.
How to Find Keyword Difficulty
Enter your target keyword into Ahrefs or Semrush and note the keyword difficulty score on a 0 to 100 scale. Analyze top ranking domains for authority; if they are all high domain authority sites, difficulty score is accurate. If top results are weaker sites, you may rank faster than the score suggests.
How to Find Keyword Search Volume
Use Google Keyword Planner for free estimates or Ahrefs and Semrush for more granular data, select your target country and language, and record the monthly search volume. Treat volumes as estimates for comparison, not absolute numbers.
How to Find Keyword Search Volume on Google
Open Google Ads, go to Keyword Planner, click Discover New Keywords, enter your keyword, set country and language, and read the average monthly search volume range. Google provides ranges, not exact volumes, to account for variation across months.
How to Find Keywords for Page Moz
In Moz Keyword Explorer, identify 5 to 10 primary keywords relevant to your page topic, check their search volume and priority score, ensure they align with your page intent, and cluster related keywords together. Optimize your page for the primary keyword plus 2 to 3 related keywords.
How to Find Keywords Search Volume
All methods converge: use Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, Semrush, or SEMrush free tier to check volume, filter by location and language, and compare volumes across related keywords to prioritize your content strategy. Volume is important but intent is more important.
How to Find Long Tail Keywords
Search your primary keywords in Ahrefs or Semrush and examine suggested keyword variations, look at what customers actually type in your customer interviews or support tickets, use Google autocomplete and People Also Ask for natural variations, and target keywords with 50 to 500 monthly searches. Long tail keywords convert better and rank faster.
How to Find Long Tail Keywords Ahrefs
In Ahrefs Keyword Explorer, search your main topic, then review keyword ideas sorted by difficulty, filter for keywords with 100 to 1000 monthly searches, and examine the matching search intent. Long tail keywords cluster around specific user questions rather than broad topics.
How to Find Long Tail Keywords for SEO
Identify your primary topic, then ask: what specific questions would people ask about that topic? Research those questions in keyword tools and look for keywords with 50 to 500 monthly searches. Target combinations like primary keyword plus modifier words.
How to Find Long Tail Keywords With Ahrefs
Use Keyword Explorer with volume filter set to 100 to 500, difficulty filter set to below 30, and examine the Parent Topic to understand thematic clusters. Click into top ranking pages to understand how to structure content for these keywords.
How to Find Longtail Keywords
Same process as long tail keywords: find variations of your primary keyword with lower monthly volume but high intent and relevance. Long tail keywords are easier to rank for and convert at higher rates than broad keywords.
How to Find Low Competition Keywords for Free on YouTube
Use YouTube autocomplete to see keyword variations, analyze competitor video titles and tags, check YouTube Studio analytics if you have a channel for keyword-to-traffic patterns, and use Google Trends to identify rising keywords. Low competition means fewer optimized videos for that term.
How to Find Monthly Search Volume for Keywords
Use Google Keyword Planner free tool, enter your keyword, select country and language, and read the average monthly searches column. For more precise data, use Ahrefs or Semrush monthly volume estimates.
How to Find My Competitors Keywords
Enter competitor domain in Ahrefs Site Explorer or Semrush Domain Overview, view Organic Keywords report, sort by traffic to see their revenue generating keywords, and identify keywords where they rank but you do not. Build content around these gaps.
How to Find New Keyword Opportunities Using Ahrefs
Use Content Gap report in Ahrefs to compare your domain against competitors, identifying keywords they rank for that you do not, use Keyword Explorer to find variations of your primary keywords with lower difficulty, and look at top performing content across your niche to identify trends you have missed. Combine multiple Ahrefs reports for comprehensive strategy.
How to Find Out Competitors Keywords
All methods converge: use Ahrefs, Semrush, or similar tools to analyze competitor domains and see their ranking keywords, or manually review competitor website content and meta data. Paid tools are faster; free methods require more manual research.
How to Find Out What Keywords My Competitors Are Using
Enter competitor URL in Ahrefs Site Explorer, view Organic Keywords report showing all keywords they rank for with positions and traffic estimates, then compare against your own keyword list. Identify overlaps and gaps to inform your content strategy.
How to Find Out Who Called You
Use reverse phone lookup services like TrueCaller, Whitepages, or your phone carrier's tools to identify unknown callers. For business calls, cross reference the number with company databases or LinkedIn to identify the caller.
How to Find Out Who Called You for Free
Use free reverse phone lookup services, check online call databases, search the number on Google, or ask your network if they recognize the number. Most free services provide limited information compared to paid alternatives.
How to Find Out Who Is Calling You
For incoming calls, check caller ID if available, ask them directly who they are and their business, or use call screening tools like Google Call Screen. Do not answer if you do not recognize the number; legitimate callers will leave a message.
How to Find Out Who Rang You
Same as finding who called you: use reverse phone lookup, ask them directly, check your call logs, or search the number online. Legitimate business calls will identify themselves.
How to Find Out Your Competitors Keywords
Use Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, or similar SEO tools to analyze competitor domains and extract their ranking keyword lists. Export the lists to compare against your own keywords and identify strategic gaps.
How to Find Pre Seed Investors
Network through founder communities and angel groups, attend pitching events and competitions, ask successful founders for warm introductions, and target micro VCs and angels with check sizes of 100K to 500K. Pre seed investors look for founders, not finished products.
How to Find Problem for Startup
Observe industries you understand, interview practitioners about their biggest frustrations, note which problems they have learned to work around, and validate that they would pay to eliminate the workaround. The best startup problems come from lived experience.
How to Find Problems to Solve Entrepreneur
Document frustrations you experience weekly, interview 20 people in your target market about their frustrations, identify problems that multiple people mention unprompted, and validate willingness to pay. Entrepreneurship begins with genuine empathy for unsolved problems.
How to Find Quality Backlinks
Target high authority domains that are relevant to your industry, analyze their linking patterns to understand what types of sites link to them, create content aligned with their interests and audience, and reach out with personalized pitches that explain mutual benefit. Quality backlinks come from genuine alignment, not transactional link building.
How to Find Search Volume
All major keyword tools provide search volume data: Google Keyword Planner free, Ahrefs and Semrush paid, or free tools like Ubersuggest and SEMrush free tier. Filter by country and language to match your target market.
How to Find Search Volume for a Keyword
Enter a single keyword into Google Keyword Planner or any major keyword tool, set your target geography and language, and read the average monthly searches. Cross reference multiple tools if making strategic decisions.
How to Find Search Volume for Keywords
Bulk upload your keyword list into Ahrefs, Semrush, or Keyword Planner to get volumes for all keywords at once, then sort by volume and filter by your target geography. Combine with difficulty data to prioritize which keywords to target first.
How to Find Search Volume of a Keyword
Any keyword tool will provide this: search the keyword, select location and language, and note the average monthly searches. Treat as estimate for relative comparison rather than absolute number.
How to Find Search Volume of Keywords
Same as singular: bulk keyword upload into a keyword tool, select country and language, and review volumes for your entire keyword list. Sort and filter to identify high volume opportunities.
How to Find Search Volume on Google
Use Google Keyword Planner as the official Google source for search volume data, filter by country and language, and note that data represents ranges rather than exact numbers. Google Trends supplements with interest over time visualization.
How to Find Startup Ideas
Identify an industry you understand deeply, interview 20 people in that industry about unsolved problems, research which problems already have solutions, and validate that customers would pay to solve the unsolved problems. The best startup ideas feel obvious only in retrospect.
How to Find the Search Volume for a Keyword
Enter your keyword into any major keyword tool, select geography and language, and record the monthly search volume. Compare volumes across related keywords to prioritize.
How to Find Top Keywords of Competitors
Use Ahrefs Site Explorer or Semrush Domain Analytics to enter competitor domain, sort Organic Keywords report by traffic, and note which keywords generate the most visits. Analyze the content on those pages to understand what Google rewards.
How to Find Top Keywords of Our Competitors Sites
Same process: paste competitor URL into Ahrefs or Semrush, sort Organic Keywords by estimated traffic, and identify their top 20 revenue generating keywords. Build content addressing the same topics and audience intent.
How to Find VCC for Ahrefs
Ahrefs does not use VCC for free trials; instead they offer time limited free trials or free versions of some tools. If you need Ahrefs access without payment, use their free Site Explorer tool or look for alternative free tools like Ubersuggest or Semrush free tier.
How to Find Venture Capital for Environmental Startups
Research VCs with climate and sustainability focus on platforms like Dealroom or Crunchbase, attend climate tech investment conferences, join sustainability startup networks, and highlight both impact metrics and financial projections. Environmental VCs increasingly want measurable impact alongside returns.
How to Find What Keywords My Competitor Is Using
Enter competitor domain into Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz, view their Organic Keywords report, and examine keywords ranked by position and traffic. Export to a spreadsheet to compare against your own keyword coverage.
How to Find Who Called Me
Check your phone call log for caller information, use reverse phone lookup services, ask the caller directly who they are, or search the number online. Business calls will identify themselves; do not answer unknown numbers.
How to Find Who Called You
Use reverse phone lookup free or paid tools, ask friends or colleagues if they recognize the number, search the number on Google, or let it go to voicemail and listen to the message. Legitimate callers will provide context.
How to Find Who Is Calling You
Answer and ask; if they do not identify themselves, hang up, use call screening tools to filter unknown numbers, or use reverse lookup services to identify callers before answering. Protect your time from spam and irrelevant calls.
How to Find Your Competitors Keywords
Any SEO tool with competitor analysis feature will show this: Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, or Similarweb. Export their keyword lists and compare against your own to identify coverage gaps.
How to Find Your Competitors Keywords Free on YouTube
Study competitor video titles, descriptions, and tags for keyword patterns, use YouTube autocomplete to see variations people search, analyze which videos get engagement, and note recurring keywords across their top videos. YouTube Studio analytics reveals keyword performance if you have your own channel.
How to Find YouTube Keyword Competition Score and SEO
Use free tools like TubeBuddy or VidIQ to analyze YouTube video SEO metrics, review top ranking videos for your keyword to understand content requirements, check comment volume and watch time to measure competition, and note how many videos are optimized for your keyword versus adjacent keywords.
How to Form a Problem Statement
Write the problem in specific terms, identify who experiences it and how often, quantify the impact, and distinguish your angle from how competitors frame the issue. A strong problem statement makes your solution feel inevitable.
How to Formulate a Problem Statement
Start with customer pain points from interviews, articulate the core problem clearly and specifically, quantify scope and impact, and connect to why solving this problem matters. Test your problem statement with customers to ensure it resonates.
How to Fund a Start Up Business
Use personal savings to maintain control, presell your product to generate early revenue, apply for grants in your sector, pitch angels once you have traction, and only consider venture capital if pursuing markets requiring significant capital. Most successful startups are bootstrap funded initially.
How to Gain Backlinks
Create genuinely useful content, participate in relevant communities without selling, contribute to expert roundups and publications in your space, build relationships with journalists and creators, and reach out to relevant websites where your content fits. Backlinks come from value, not transactions.
How to Generate a Business Idea
Spend significant time in an industry observing workflows and frustrations, interview practitioners about unsolved problems, research competitor solutions and identify gaps, and validate that customers would pay to solve the gap. The best ideas emerge from curiosity, not brainstorming.
How to Generate a Business Name
Brainstorm at least 100 names using different frameworks: descriptive, founder-based, metaphorical, invented words, and acronyms. Test finalists with target customers and verify domain and trademark availability.
How to Generate Business
Define a specific problem, validate that customers care, build a simple solution, and sell to early customers. Business generation is proof of market demand, not business plan perfection.
How to Generate Business Idea
Identify an industry, interview people in that industry, identify common frustrations, and validate that people would pay to eliminate frustrations. Sustainable business ideas come from deep customer empathy.
How to Generate Business Ideas
Interview practitioners in industries you find interesting, document their biggest headaches, research solutions that already exist, and assess market size for the unsolved problems. Generate many ideas and evaluate each against willingness to pay.
How to Generate Ideas for Business
Observe processes in industries you understand, interview people about inefficiencies and workarounds, look for patterns across interviews, and test whether multiple people independently mention the same problem. Good ideas come from pattern recognition.
How to Generate More Backlinks
Expand your content strategy to address more topics your customers search for, develop relationships with more sites in your industry, increase guest posting contributions, and ask customers and partners for introductions to relevant sites. Backlink growth compounds as your reputation builds.
How to Generate New Business Ideas
Repeat the process for every industry that interests you: interview practitioners, identify problems, validate demand. You are looking for ideas that 10 people tell you unprompted.
How to Generate New Ideas for Business
Talk to more people in different industries, ask them what would make their job easier, research how other industries solve similar problems, and look for gaps where solutions are missing or suboptimal. Business ideas emerge from pattern recognition across industries.
How to Generate Quality Backlinks
Target high authority sites relevant to your industry, create content aligned with their audience interests, reach out with personalized pitches explaining why your content benefits their readers, and build ongoing relationships so linking becomes natural. Quality requires targeting specific relevant sites, not broadcasting outreach.
How to Generate Revenue for Startups
Offer your solution to early customers at discounted rates in exchange for feedback and case studies, ask customers to prepay for annual plans to improve cash flow, bundle related products to increase average revenue per customer, and raise prices once you have clear product market fit. Revenue beats funding as proof of demand.
How to Generate Startup Ideas
Follow a systematic process: pick an industry, interview 20 practitioners, identify unsolved problems, validate willingness to pay, and only then build. Sustainable startup ideas come from understanding customer pain deeply.
How to Get 3000 SEO Clients Ahrefs
This question appears in GSC but is likely a mistyped or fraudulent search intent. Focus instead on how to acquire 10 to 50 quality clients through referrals and reputation building, which is far more sustainable. Avoid chasing large numbers of low quality clients.
How to Get a Backlink
Create content relevant to a target site's audience, identify where your content fits as a reference, and reach out with a personalized pitch explaining why their readers would benefit. Alternatively, contribute as a guest post to an industry publication.
How to Get a Startup Business Loan With No Money
Most traditional lenders require collateral or personal guarantee, but some options exist: SBA loans in the US offer lower requirements, online lenders look at business traction over personal credit, and government grant programs support certain startup types. Show business traction rather than personal assets.
How to Get Adobe XD for Free
Adobe XD offers a free plan for individual designers with limited cloud collaboration features, or students and educators get free access through Adobe Creative Cloud. For unlimited features, subscription costs 12.99 dollars monthly or is included in Creative Cloud bundle.
How to Get Ahrefs Account for Free
Ahrefs does not offer a free account or truly free trial; they offer limited free tools and time limited trials. Use free alternatives like Ubersuggest, SEMrush free tier, or Moz free tier while evaluating if paid Ahrefs is worth it.
How to Get Ahrefs Free
Ahrefs free tools provide limited functionality: Site Explorer free version shows basic metrics, or use a free trial for limited time. For ongoing free access, use alternative tools like Ubersuggest or Moz free tier.
How to Get Ahrefs Premium for Free
You cannot get Ahrefs premium for free; they do not offer free premium access. Options are limited free tools, time limited trials, or paying for subscription. Educational discounts may be available for students and educators.
How to Get an Internship at a Startup
Reach out directly to founders or hiring managers explaining what problems you could solve, offer to work on a specific project for free for two weeks to prove value, build a portfolio of startup relevant work, and network in startup communities. Startups hire for value creation, not credentials.
How to Get an Up to Date Moz Pro Report
Log into your Moz Pro account, navigate to the Reports section, select the report type you want generated, set date ranges, and click Generate. Moz updates reports on schedule; for real time data, review the dashboard directly.
How to Get Angel Investors
Pitch to multiple angels simultaneously after building genuine relationships, ask existing investors for referrals to other angels, attend angel investor networks and pitch competitions, and demonstrate traction before seeking capital. Angel investing is relationship and pattern based.
How to Get Another Free Trial of Ahrefs
Ahrefs typically offers one free trial per email address and account. For another trial, use a different email address or wait until you actually need the data enough to pay. Most bootstrapped founders use free alternatives until they can justify the expense.
How to Get Backlink
Write content your target audience needs, identify a relevant site where that content fits, reach out with a personalized pitch explaining mutual benefit, or contribute a guest post. Simple backlinks come from alignment and generosity, not transactions.
How to Get Backlink From Yahoo
Yahoo no longer operates a web directory or link trading platform. Focus instead on earning backlinks from relevant industry sites, publications, and communities where your content genuinely serves their audience.
How to Get Backlinks 2017
Strategies from 2017 remain largely valid: create valuable content, earn mentions from relevant media and websites, contribute guest posts, build relationships with creators and journalists. Avoid tactics like directory submissions or link exchanges that do not scale.
How to Get Backlinks 2020
Modern backlink strategies focus on content quality and relationship building: create genuinely useful content, identify sites that would benefit by referencing you, reach out with personalized pitches, and build ongoing relationships. Spammy tactics are less effective due to Google's improvements in link quality detection.
How to Get Backlinks Fast
Fast backlink tactics are often low quality and risky: focus instead on content that naturally attracts links, build relationships with journalists and creators, and accept that quality backlinks take months to accumulate. Quick wins often come from broken link building and resource page placements.
How to Get Backlinks for Free
Create valuable content, participate genuinely in communities where linking is natural, contribute guest articles, and build relationships with creators and journalists. Free backlinks come from generosity and alignment, not transactions.
How to Get Backlinks From Authority Sites
Target high authority sites relevant to your industry, analyze why their audience would benefit from linking to your content, create content that solves a specific problem their audience faces, and reach out with personalized pitches. Authority site backlinks take longer but deliver far more value.
How to Get Backlinks From High PR Sites
High PR sites link based on content quality and relevance to their audience, not your request. Create content genuinely worthy of linking, build relationships with site owners and editors, and contribute as a guest contributor. PR is earned through value, not negotiated.
How to Get Business Ideas
Interview entrepreneurs and practitioners about their biggest headaches, research industries and observe where solutions are missing, attend industry events to understand pain points, and validate that multiple people would pay to solve the same problem. Business ideas come from empathy.
How to Get Cited by ChatGPT
Write content that directly answers specific questions with data, original research, or frameworks ChatGPT users will see, structure content clearly for easy extraction and citation, include author information so you get credit, and focus on evergreen topics your audience will search. Citation is not guaranteed but following these practices increases likelihood.
How to Get Early Adopters
Identify communities where your target customers congregate, engage genuinely and offer help before selling, listen to their language and problems, and invite them to beta test your solution when ready. Early adopters come through relationships, not marketing.
How to Get Early Adopters for Startup
Start with your founder network, beta test with warm contacts who understand your vision, identify online communities where your target customer congregates, and engage as a helpful member before pitching. Early adopters care more about solving their specific problem than getting a deal.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
Violetta likes to write about Startup News in Europe, Best startups of the year, Latest Startup News, Building your first startup, Startup News for Female Founders in Europe, News for Female Entrepreneurs and Engineering News
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
