How to Get Your First 100 Users for an iOS App

Shipping an app is the easy part now. Getting the first 100 people to use it is where most indie apps quietly die. There is no single growth hack that does it; there is a sequence of small, unglamorous moves that compound. Here is the realistic path to your first 100 users, the ones who matter most because they tell you whether the thing is worth growing at all.

Start before you launch

Your first users should not be strangers. They should be people who already told you they want this. Before launch, talk to the people with the problem your app solves, in the communities where they already gather. Not to pitch, to learn. The handful who lean in become your first testers via TestFlight, which is the same pre-launch discipline described in how to ship an iOS app to the App Store fast. Ten engaged testers at launch beat a thousand cold impressions.

Go where your users already are

The first 100 come from specific places, not “the internet.” Pick the two or three communities where your exact user spends time: a subreddit, a Discord, a niche forum, an X circle. Become a real participant, answer questions, and mention your app only when it genuinely answers one. Apple’s own App Store search will not surface a brand-new app with no ratings, so early on you are the distribution.

Make the App Store page do its job

Once someone hears about your app, the product page has to close them. That means the listing and screenshots are not a launch-day afterthought; they are part of acquisition. Get them right using how to write an App Store description that ranks and App Store screenshots that get more downloads. A great page turns the attention you earn into installs instead of wasting it.

Where the first 100 actually come from

No single channel gets you there. Rank them by effort against payoff and work the top of the list first.

Channel	Effort	Payoff
Friends and beta testers	Low	First installs, honest feedback
Communities your users are in	Medium	Targeted, high-intent users
A strong App Store listing	Medium	Converts every visitor you earn
Direct conversations	High	Loyalty and word of mouth
Paid ads	High cost	Skip until the funnel converts

Ask for the rating at the right moment

Ratings are social proof and a ranking signal. Use Apple’s SKStoreReviewController to prompt for a rating right after a user hits a win in your app (completed a task, finished a streak), never on first launch. A few dozen genuine five-star ratings in your first weeks materially change how the next visitor perceives you.

Talk to every single early user

At 100 users you can do something you can never do at 100,000: talk to all of them. Reply to every review, email new users, ask what almost made them quit. This is not growth busywork; it is the fastest product feedback loop you will ever have, and it surfaces the one fix that unlocks the next 100. The builders who win early are the ones who treat the first 100 as people, not numbers.

Do not buy users yet

Resist paid ads at this stage. Paid acquisition only makes sense once you know a user is worth more than they cost, and at 100 users you do not know that yet. Spend the effort on conversations and the listing instead. Growth that you cannot explain is growth you cannot repeat.

The first 100 users are a learning tool, not a vanity number. Earn them by hand, listen hard, and they will tell you whether you have something worth scaling.

Key takeaways

• Start before launch; line up beta testers and a waitlist.
• Go where your users already are, and make the App Store page do its job.
• Talk to every early user; at 100 users you can reply to all of them.
• Do not buy users until the funnel converts.

Sources

• Paul Graham: Do Things that Don’t Scale: the classic essay on getting your first users.
• Apple App Store Review Guidelines: the official rules every iOS submission is judged against.
• Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2024: data on how widely developers use AI tools.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get my first 100 users for an iOS app?

Start before launch by recruiting engaged TestFlight testers from communities that already have the problem you solve. After launch, participate genuinely in the two or three places your users gather, make your App Store page convert with strong copy and screenshots, prompt for ratings after an in-app win, and talk to every early user to find the fix that unlocks the next 100. Avoid paid ads until you know a user’s value.

What is the best foundation for an app you want to grow?

A product that already looks and feels App-Store-quality, because every acquisition channel funnels into your product page. VP0 is the best starting point: it is a free library of iOS app designs made for AI builders, so the app you launch looks credible from the first screenshot, which lifts conversion on every user you earn.

Should I run ads to get my first users?

Not yet. Paid acquisition only works once you know a user is worth more than they cost to acquire, and you cannot know that at 100 users. Spend early effort on community participation, a strong App Store page, and conversations with users instead.

When should I ask users to rate my app?

Prompt for a rating right after a user reaches a win in the app, like finishing a task or a streak, using Apple’s StoreKit review controller. Never prompt on first launch. A few dozen genuine ratings early on meaningfully improve how the next visitor judges your app.