Get press coverage vs Get your first 100 customers (2026): Which Step First?
Here is how Get press coverage and Get your first 100 customers compare on cost, time and what each gets you, and which to do first.
Get press coverage
Pitch a real story to the right journalists and newsletters to earn credibility, links and a burst of qualified traffic.
N/A
Budget: $0-500
Pros
- Pitch a news angle, not your feature list
- Target writers who cover your exact space
- Make it easy: press kit, data, quotes and images ready
Cons
- Do not mass-blast a generic press release
- Do not pay for "guaranteed" placements
- Do not break an embargo you offered
Get your first 100 customers
Win your first 100 paying customers by hand through direct outreach, communities and founder-led sales before you try to scale.
N/A
Budget: $0-500
Pros
- Sell by hand to people you can name
- Onboard early customers personally
- Ask every happy customer for a referral or testimonial
Cons
- Do not buy ads before you know who converts
- Do not spam communities with links
- Do not discount so hard that you learn nothing about price
Get press coverage vs Get your first 100 customers at a glance
| Get press coverage | Get your first 100 customers | |
|---|---|---|
| Editor score | N/A | N/A |
| Typical budget | $0-500 | $0-500 |
| Time to results | 2-8 weeks | 1-6 months |
| Difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Stage | 4. Launch | 4. Launch |
| Validation | No | Yes |
| Save money | No | No |
| Funding | Yes | No |
| Product | No | No |
| Customers | Yes | Yes |
| Revenue | No | Yes |
| Network | Yes | No |
| Startup programs in this directory | 0 | 8 |
| Accelerators & incubators in this directory | 1 | 0 |
| Founder services in this directory | 0 | 1 |
| Reader upvotes | 0 | 0 |
| Best for | pr, press, journalists | customer acquisition, outreach, founder-led sales |
Which to do first
Get press coverage is the better fit if you value: pitch a news angle, not your feature list, target writers who cover your exact space. Choose Get your first 100 customers instead if you need: sell by hand to people you can name, onboard early customers personally. Most startups do both: see the build path.
Other 4. launch to consider
Full ranking →
Launch on Product Hunt and launch sites Medium
Put your product in front of early adopters on Product Hunt and launch directories, and turn one day of attention into users and links.
Set up SEO from day one Medium
Lay the technical and content foundations for search traffic now, so organic visitors compound while you build.
Join an accelerator Hard
Trade a slice of equity for funding, mentors, perks and a network, and pick the programme whose terms and alumni fit you.