1. List every coworker from the last 10 years
Open LinkedIn, go to each past employer's page, and click People to see who worked there with you. Add your old Slack workspaces, team photos and email threads. Put every name in a spreadsheet with company, role and how well you knew them. Aim for 100 names before you message anyone.
2. Tag the ones with a budgeting trigger
Mark people who recently changed jobs, moved cities, bought a house, got married or had a kid. LinkedIn job changes and Instagram posts show most of this. Also flag roles that get variable pay, like account executives, recruiters, freelance designers and nurses on shift pay. These people feel the pain of budgeting right now.
3. Send a personal note, not a pitch
Write each message by hand and mention something you shared. Example: "Hey Priya, it's been a while since the Q4 launch crunch at Acme. I built a budgeting app for people with irregular paychecks and remembered you saying commission months were stressful. Would you try it for two weeks and tell me what's broken?" Ask for feedback first. The sale comes later.
4. Do a 20-minute setup call
When someone says yes, get on a short Zoom or phone call and set up the app with them. Watch them connect accounts and create their first budget without helping unless they get stuck. Write down every place they hesitate. This is your best product research and it builds trust in an app that touches their money.
5. Ask for payment at day 14
After two weeks, send a direct message. Example: "You've logged in 11 times and set up 4 categories. Want to keep going at $5 a month as a founding user? Price is locked for life." Use a Stripe payment link so it takes 30 seconds. If they say no, ask what would make it worth paying for.
6. Ask each user for two names
Paying users know people with the same money problems. Ask: "Who else from our old team, or your current one, complains about money at the end of the month?" Offer them a free month for each friend who pays. Former coworkers often still sit in the same group chats, so one yes can bring three more.
7. Post in old company alumni groups
Many companies have alumni groups on LinkedIn, Slack or Facebook. Search LinkedIn for "[Company] alumni" and check if your old team has a WhatsApp group. Post a short, honest note about what you built and who it is for, and offer founding user pricing to alumni. Keep it to one post and reply to every comment.
8. Track it and repeat weekly
Keep a simple tracker with columns for messaged, replied, set up, paid and referred. Send 10 new messages every weekday and follow up once after five days with no reply. Hulby, an AI cofounder, can run this list, draft the messages and remind you of follow-ups daily.
Mistakes to skip
- Sending the same copy-paste message to everyone, which reads as spam even from a friend.
- Asking for money in the first message before they have tried the app.
- Only messaging close friends and skipping the coworkers you knew less well.
- Giving free access forever, so you never learn if anyone would actually pay.
Want this done for your budgeting app, every day?
Hulby finds the people asking for what you built, writes every reply and email, and keeps you on it until they pay. Free to start.
Find my first customersQuestions
Isn't it awkward to sell to former coworkers?
Less than you think if you ask for feedback first and charge only after they see value. Most people like helping someone they worked with.
How many coworkers should I message?
Start with 50 to 100. Expect a fraction to reply, and a smaller fraction of those to pay.
What should I charge founding users?
Pick a low, simple price like $3 to $8 a month and lock it for life. The goal is proof that people pay, not revenue.
What if they are worried about connecting their bank?
Explain plainly which provider you use and what data you store. Offer manual entry so they can try it without linking accounts.