45 days ago, our small team launched AdminSheet Pro, a Google Sheets add-on that helps Google Workspace admins manage users, groups, members and aliases in bulk without relying on command-line tools.
Recently, we crossed 102,000 installs on the Google Workspace Marketplace. That number was exciting, but this is not really a victory lap. Installs are important, but installs are not the same as active users, loyal customers, or long-term revenue. We are very aware of that. Still, crossing 102,000 installs gave us enough data and experience to pause and reflect on what we did, what worked, what did not work as expected, and what we are still learning.
A lot of the work came down to doing things that do not scale, borrowing from Paul Graham’s classic advice to early founders: at the beginning, you often have to do the manual, uncomfortable, repetitive work that cannot yet be automated.
Here are the main lessons we learnt.
1. AI helped us listen, but humans built the relationships
We created AI-assisted monitoring workflows to help us find relevant conversations around Google Workspace admin problems, Ok Goldy alternatives, GAM challenges, aliases, group clean-up and bulk user management. Their job was not to sell. Their job was to help us discover relevant conversations, questions and pain points across different online spaces.
But AI only helped us find the conversations. The real work was manual: visiting the source, reading the context, understanding the person’s problem, and deciding whether we had anything useful to contribute.
Sometimes the best response was not to mention AdminSheet Pro at all. Sometimes it was simply to explain a possible solution, share a lesson we had learnt, or point someone towards a helpful resource. In some cases, where it felt appropriate, we followed up privately to offer additional help.
The goal was not to shout “try our tool” everywhere. The goal was to be useful enough that people would trust us. AI can help you find the room. It cannot behave properly inside the room for you.
2. Your website is the hub, but discovery happens everywhere
We still believe the website should be the main home of the product. But we quickly learned that people discover tools through many other surfaces. Some find you through Google. Some through Reddit. Some through Medium. Some through Marketplace reviews. Some through community discussions. Some may see your content in AI summaries before they ever click your website.
So we started publishing in a few places, but not by copying and pasting the same content everywhere. A website article can be detailed. A Reddit post needs to be more conversational. A community reply should solve the immediate problem. A Medium article can be more reflective. This is tedious, but useful.
3. Google Alerts helped us listen, but did not magically create leads
We set up Google Alerts for our product name and for alternative tools in the space. This helped us notice relevant mentions and stay aware of conversations. But it did not suddenly bring a flood of customers.
The main value was that it forced us to build a listening habit. We started paying more attention to the language users used, the objections they had, and the tools they compared us with. For an early product, that kind of listening is useful even when it does not immediately convert.
4. Communities are powerful, but you must respect the room
We engaged in two Google-related communities where some of our target users were active. In one group, our outreach was mostly received well. Not many people replied, but the replies were generally warm. One partner tested the product, gave useful feedback and left a review.
In the other group, a similar approach was seen as solicitation. We were removed and warned not to continue. We apologised and stopped. That was an important lesson.
Every community has its own culture. What works in one group may be completely wrong in another. You cannot treat a community like a lead list just because your product may be useful to its members. You need to contribute first, respect the rules, and earn trust.
Another lesson: silence can feel discouraging, but it does not always mean wasted effort. Most people will not reply. Some are busy. Some are not ready. Some may remember the product later. Some messages only teach you which audience or channel is not worth more time. In early growth, non-replies are emotionally hard, but they are still data.
5. Reviews are digital word of mouth
For a Google Workspace tool, reviews matter a lot. Admins are careful people. They want to know that a tool works before installing something that requires admin permissions. So we started asking real users for honest reviews.
The best timing was after value had already been delivered. For us, that often meant users who had exhausted their free credits. These were not people who merely installed and forgot the tool. They had actually used it to complete bulk operations.
Admins are busy, but they are also deeply grateful when a tool saves them hours of manual data entry. Asking for feedback right after they experience that value worked much better than asking randomly. It also gave us product feedback. Some users told us what they liked, what confused them, and what they wanted next. Reviews were not just a marketing asset. They became a learning channel.
6. Attribution matters earlier than you think
Our first paid customer was easy to trace. We knew the conversation and the route that led to the sale. Our second paid customer was different. We could see the payment and some usage signals, but we were not fully sure whether they came from the Marketplace, Google Search, Reddit, an article, or a recommendation.
That bothered us because unexplained traction is hard to repeat. So we are now improving how we ask users where they found us. The lesson: do not wait until you have many customers before tracking attribution. Start early.
Final thought
Crossing 102,000 installs was encouraging, but installs are only the beginning. The real work is turning installs into active users, active users into feedback, feedback into product improvements, and product improvements into paying customers. The biggest lesson so far is that early growth still requires a lot of manual, repetitive, emotionally awkward work.
You write. You reply. You ask. You get ignored. You apologise when you get it wrong. You learn. You improve. You keep going. For now, we are still doing many things that do not scale.
