The "I'll be your first user" experiment started as a simple offer to help founders break through the silence of launching into the void. Three weeks later, it evolved into something much more revealing about what early-stage founders actually need—and what they think they need.
Who is it for?
This approach works best for founders who have a working product but struggle to get real users to actually try it. It's particularly valuable for solo founders or small teams who need honest feedback from strangers, not just friends and family. If you're still in the idea phase or haven't built anything yet, you'll want to wait until you have something people can actually use.
✅ Pros
- Gets real humans using your product instead of just commenting on screenshots
- Surfaces practical issues like broken signup flows that founders miss
- Creates accountability through "give feedback to get feedback" structure
- Addresses founder loneliness through genuine peer connections
- Forces contact with reality over endless polishing
❌ Cons
- Requires having a working product that strangers can actually try
- Can be overwhelming if you get more responses than expected
- Some founders want encouragement, not honest feedback about what's broken
- Quality depends entirely on maintaining the reciprocal feedback rule
- May surface uncomfortable truths about product readiness
Key Features
The experiment revealed that effective early user feedback requires actual product usage, not surface-level commentary. The "give feedback to get feedback" rule proved essential—without reciprocity, quality collapsed within days. The most valuable insights came from real usage scenarios: "I tried to sign up on mobile and the OTP never arrived" versus "Your landing page is clean." The community structure naturally filtered for founders ready to receive honest feedback about broken features rather than just seeking validation.
Pricing and Plans
The original experiment was completely free, with no monetization or funnel attached. The community link mentioned (nbarkiya.xyz/community) appears to maintain this approach. The real cost is time investment—both in trying other founders' products and in being prepared to hear honest feedback about your own. Some founders mentioned using paid alternatives like LaunchClub or other mastermind groups, though pricing details for these services may vary.
Alternatives
Traditional alternatives include posting in startup communities, using beta testing platforms, or running formal user research sessions. Some founders mentioned LaunchClub and Slack mastermind groups as structured alternatives. Others found success with small peer groups or using tools like Pulse for Reddit to find relevant conversations. The key difference is that most alternatives focus on feedback rather than actual product usage, which this experiment showed to be less valuable.
Best For / Not For
This approach works best for founders who have built something functional and are ready to hear honest feedback about what breaks. It's ideal for solo founders struggling with loneliness and those who've been polishing features without getting real users to try them. It's not suitable for founders still in the idea phase, those seeking only positive validation, or anyone not prepared to reciprocate by testing others' products. The experiment showed that founders who complain about "no users" but haven't shown their product to 10 humans often aren't ready for this level of reality testing.
The "I'll be your first user" experiment demonstrates that most founders need actual product usage more than feedback on landing pages or UI designs. The reciprocal structure works, but only when strictly maintained. While it addresses real problems like founder loneliness and the gap between building and testing, it requires founders to be genuinely ready for honest feedback about broken features. The approach is most valuable for those who've been avoiding real user contact while endlessly polishing their product.