The Product Journey to Get 100K Signups: MVP to Full Product.

In 15 years I’ve launched 36 companies and products, so the product journey is territory I know well.

Most people will tell you it’s very hard to get 100,000 people to sign up for your product or service. And you know what? They’re right. It’s extremely hard. It’s not impossible.

That’s a fact. Hundreds of companies and projects attract millions of users in a matter of days. So what’s stopping you from trying?

I’ve done it a number of times, scaling brands to hundreds of thousands of users at a time. I’m not claiming a magical formula or a guaranteed win — there isn’t one. What I do have is a repeatable framework, built through experience, that shows how it can be done.

Start small, iterate, then scale

The road to 100,000 signups doesn’t start with grand strategy or a big budget. It starts with a single user. Aim for one person. Get them in, listen to them, ask about their experience. What worked? What didn’t? Fix what they raise — quickly — then go get more users.

Once the experience works for one user, the next target is ten. Then a hundred. This phase is about insight, not scale. Your early adopters are the most valuable asset you have right now — they’ll give you honest feedback and help you refine the offer before you pour fuel on it.

When the kinks are ironed out and a small audience has validated the product, it’s time to pull your key growth lever: affiliation. But before we get there, the foundation — building something people truly want.

Finding the right product fit

One of the hardest parts of reaching 100,000 signups is building something that resonates with your target audience. Let me use prop firms as the example.

In 2021 this wasn’t even a core part of my business. We were focused on FX tech and products at the time, but we saw an opening in the prop space. We needed to test the new direction — which meant building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

Jason and I set out to build a simple dashboard and an API for trading accounts. Nothing fancy — users could view their account status and track progress toward specific goals. The sales and payment setup was as basic as it gets: WooCommerce and WordPress for the landing page, Cryptochill for crypto payments.

Building an MVP

Simple as it was, the MVP worked. Users chose a challenge, paid for it, and logged into the dashboard to track their progress. Within a few weeks we’d sold six figures’ worth of products. We were onto something.

The MVP wasn’t groundbreaking — it mirrored existing offerings. But it gave us the confidence to commit fully to the direction. We launched FunderPro, a company dedicated to prop firm evaluations, offering a funded stage in the live markets. After a year of hard work and resource investment, FunderPro.com officially went live in March 2023.

The growth lever: affiliation

So how did we scale the users? One word: affiliation.

Affiliation is one of the most powerful growth mechanisms you can deploy. The idea is simple — get one user into the product journey, then incentivise them to bring in another. Or better, a few others.

Every user becomes a mini-ambassador for your product. Offer the right incentives — discounts, rewards, financial compensation — and your early adopters turn into an active sales force.

At FunderPro, we built an affiliate programme that rewarded users for referring others. One user brought in several, who each did the same. A snowball, not a campaign.

Why the ecosystem matters

The other critical piece of scaling to 100,000 users: an ecosystem that keeps people engaged. A seamless user journey, strong support systems and value-added features are what turn signups into a loyal base — people who stay, and who actively promote the product for you.

At FunderPro we didn’t stop at the MVP. Over time we added features, improved the interface and built a robust support system. Users who arrived through referrals stayed engaged and felt valued — which made them far more likely to bring the next person in.

The road to 100K framework

Reaching 100,000 signups is a long-term game. It takes persistence, adaptability and a willingness to actually listen to your users. The simplified roadmap:

• Start with an MVP: test your idea with a basic version of the product.
• Gather feedback: work with early adopters to refine the offer.
• Leverage affiliation: build an incentive programme that encourages referrals.
• Iterate and improve: keep enhancing the product journey based on what users tell you.
• Scale strategically: invest in marketing and partnerships to reach bigger audiences.

The journey is hard. The rewards can be immense. Get to 100,000 users and you haven’t just validated the product — you’ve built a foundation for sustained growth.

So, what’s stopping you from starting today?