Most founders burn their first 6 months on channels that don't move the needle at pre-seed.

Here's what I've seen work consistently:

1. Cold DMs on X/LinkedIn (but done right)

Not "hey check out my product." Instead: find people publicly complaining about the problem you solve, reply with genuine value, then DM with a specific offer. 15 minutes/day, 3-5 users/week.

2. Building in public with receipts

Share your actual metrics. Revenue screenshots, user feedback, failed experiments. People follow transparency. One founder I know went from 0 to 800 users in 4 months just posting weekly build updates.

3. Micro-communities (Discord servers, Slack groups, subreddits)

Find where your target user already hangs out. Don't spam links. Answer questions for 2 weeks first. Then share your product when it's genuinely relevant. This compounds.

What doesn't work at this stage:

• Paid ads (your LTV can't support it yet)

• SEO (too slow, too competitive)

• Product Hunt launches (spike then nothing)

• Podcasts (wrong stage)

• "Viral" features (you don't have the base to go viral)

I break down one of these strategies every week in MarketPulse — real playbooks, real numbers, no theory.