Do Things That Don’t Scale: How We Landed Our First Customers by Being Unconventional

This is the story of how we won our first customers for VAUNT, as well as a few insights from my past startup ventures.

If you’re in the early days of launching a product, you’ve probably built something you’re excited about—and now, it’s time to bring in customers. In all the industries I’ve tackled so far—e-commerce, hospitality, real estate—I’ve entered as an outsider. I’m a technical founder, big on reading, fascinated by psychology, and a bit obsessed with solving tough problems. If there’s a challenge, I’m in.

1. Get in Front of Your Customers (Literally)

To start, you have to “do things that don’t scale.” I went against the grain by developing products before I had customers lined up, because I spent time gathering insights on each industry: in e-commerce, I spoke with people in management; in hospitality, I was a regular in restaurants, observing what worked (and what didn’t) and diving into the details of service; and in real estate, I was relentless about securing meetings and keeping records even when I was told that it’s not possible. And hey I have pictures to prove it!

There’s a ton of value in understanding traditional industries before you try to disrupt them. But if you’re building against the trends, you need to be intentional and tactical. Real estate, for example, has so much room for change through tech. When we were starting out, I literally went from construction site to construction site, collecting rejections until I got a “yes.” Ironically, one of our biggest clients today is from a site I was kicked out of early on.

Here’s a picture with me and my head of sales going on construction sites to talk to real estate developers.?

2. Get creative with your customer acquisition strategy

Everyone says to run ads, post on social, do this, do that. Sure, social media has opened new avenues, but the cost per lead keeps going up. And if you’re pitching investors, they’re going to ask: “What’s your customer acquisition cost? What’s your go-to-market strategy?” Especially for consumer products, acquisition costs can be brutal.

One unconventional thing I tried was running Facebook ads to attract B2B customers. Sounds crazy? Maybe. But we got conversions at $2–$3 per user because I knew our target audience in traditional industries spent time on social. It worked because we’d done the homework to know our customer’s profile in depth. What do they like, what brands they follow, what music they listen to, what are the most frequent purchases.

Another powerful strategy was leveraging my personal brand and connections. Back when I launched a restaurant app, I had experience as an influencer strategist and used my network to spread the word, I basically used my network to push my app for free and used my prior experience to do a huge launch party with limited budget—resulting in national news coverage, TV spots, and 1,000 downloads in under 10 minutes.? We also managed to put a huge launch party together where we had top celebrities, influencers, cooks and press with a super limited budget.

And I still get questions about the app almost 10 years later.

The key is always thinking outside the internet bubble to find ways to “hack the system” when resources are tight.

3. Do the Stuff Others Won’t

To stand out, you’ve got to be a bit unconventional. Competitors sticking to formal pitches? Try a meme (risky, but it can work even in B2B). I’m talking handwritten thank-you notes (such an underestimated tool), tailored demos, or whatever can get your foot in the door.

When we started doing custom software, we won our first pitch simply because I went all in on the details, making wireframes and a memo on how the business could run more smoothly.? I basically built a whole automated business on paper. And we won! I couldn’t believe it!

That’s how we eventually found ourselves in real estate software—by going the extra mile when others didn’t bother.

Going the extra mile for your clients is the way to win especially in the early days.?

4. Treat Your First Customers Like VIPs

Your first customers are gold. They’re taking a risk on you, so make sure they know how much you appreciate them. For us, that meant everything from handwritten thank-you notes to giving them early access to features, and rented out billboards for them to promote their business. We made them feel like they were part of something bigger, and they became our biggest advocates. And as we grow we strive to keep this culture alive.

Our customers are the reason we are still here and that we do what we do. We appreciate them so much and we always think about how we can bring more value to them and how to optimize their businesses and more important to drive business to them. Because every ecosystem is built on a strong feedback loop. And you always need to make sure that you close that feedback loop.

At VAUNT, we didn’t just celebrate our wins—we made sure to include our customers in the celebration too. Whether we hit a revenue milestone or launched something new, we made them feel like part of the team. That sense of community goes a long way.

I still have a couple of tricks up my sleeve, but saving it for another post. Would love to hear your thoughts on this and feel free to share your unconventional ways to how you landed your first customers and what you learnt from it.

Took a short break from the newsletter, but I’m back—and reintroductions are in order.

Hi, I’m Irina Constantin, CEO of VAUNT. We’re building a platform to streamline sales for residential developers and investors, aiming to be the operating system for the residential industry. So far, we’ve bootstrapped our way to impressive growth, and I’m excited to share the journey as we aim for $100M in revenue.

I’m a bit of a jack of all trades, curious about how the world works and dedicated to creating a happy, thriving workplace. I’m obsessed with solving tough problems, always thinking in systems, and bringing a fresh perspective to every industry I touch. My goal? To build something that leaves a lasting impact.

I’m sharing my story publicly because I didn’t have many examples to follow when I started. So, this is for anyone who wants a look behind the scenes.

Feel free to comment or reach out anytime—I’m always open to connecting and learning as we go.