Where to Actually Find Your First 1000 Users
You've built something. Maybe it's a side project, maybe it's a full product you've been grinding on for months. Now comes the part nobody warns you about: getting anyone to actually use it. Finding your first 1000 users is the difference between a project that dies quietly and one that gets real traction. But where do you even start looking?
1000UserGuide is a curated collection of over 300 channels—both domestic and international—specifically aimed at independent developers and founders who need to get their product in front of early users.
What It Does
At its core, this is a directory. The project collects and organizes promotion channels that are actually relevant to indie developers and early-stage startups. Instead of spending hours hunting through random forum posts or outdated lists, you get a structured resource you can browse by category.
The channels are grouped by type. There are domestic websites with dedicated sections for product launches, industry forums and communities where like-minded people gather, website directory and navigation sites that accept submissions, and Reddit subreddits aimed at developers and entrepreneurs. Each channel has its own characteristics, and the idea is that you pick the ones that match your product and target audience.
There's also a companion directory site at 1000.1000userguide.com that lets you filter channels by tags and search. The project is licensed under Apache 2.0 and is actively maintained—though the README notes that some links may go stale over time, and points to a community-maintained Excel list for the most current information.
Why It's Cool
The problem it solves is real and annoying. When you're launching something, you don't have time to build a spreadsheet of 300 potential promotion channels from scratch. You need a starting point. This gives you one.
It's opinionated about scope. The project doesn't try to be everything to everyone. It's specifically for independent developers and entrepreneurs looking for early users—not growth hackers at Series B companies, not marketing agencies. That focus means the channels listed are more likely to be relevant to your situation.
The categorization makes sense. Breaking channels into domestic sites, forums, directories, and Reddit communities maps to how you'd actually think about promotion. If you know your product does well in forum discussions, you go straight to that section. If you need directory listings for SEO, you've got a list ready.
It acknowledges its own limitations. The README is upfront that some sites may become inactive, and it points to a community-maintained alternative for ongoing updates. That honesty is refreshing—it's better than pretending a static list will stay perfect forever.
The companion tools add practical value. The tag-based search on the directory site means you're not just scrolling through a giant list. You can filter down to what's actually relevant to your product type. And the Seed Playbook manual, while a separate resource, complements the channel list with guidance on the broader process of finding and retaining early users.
How to Try It
Getting started is straightforward since this is a resource, not a library you install.
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Browse the main directory at 1000userguide.com to get a feel for the categories and channels available.
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Use the searchable directory at 1000.1000userguide.com to filter by tags. This is where you'll want to spend most of your time—find channels that match your product's niche.
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Check the Excel list if you hit dead links. The README points to a Feishu-hosted spreadsheet maintained by a community member (Key) as the more up-to-date resource: Excel目录清单.
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Star the repo if you find it useful—it's at github.com/naxiaoduo/1000UserGuide.
There's no installation, no configuration, no API keys. It's just a well-organized list you can start working through today.
Final Thoughts
This isn't a magic bullet. A list of 300 channels won't get you users by itself—you still have to write the posts, submit the listings, and engage with communities. Some channels will be dead ends. Some won't fit your product at all. But having a starting point that's been curated by someone who understands the indie developer context saves you the cold-start problem of not knowing where to look.
If you're an independent developer or early-stage founder trying to get your first batch of users, this is worth bookmarking. It won't do the work for you, but it'll make sure you're not wasting time on channels that were never going to work anyway. And in the early days, saving time is almost as valuable as finding users.
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