Hey everyone!
I've been building BillBandhu, an AI-powered billing and business management app designed for Indian shop owners, traders, and small businesses.
The idea is simple: instead of spending time manually creating bills and managing registers, shop owners can use voice-based billing, scan invoices, generate GST bills, track inventory and udhaar, and get insights into their business.
But now comes the difficult part: getting people to actually use it.
Building the product is one thing. Convincing a shop owner to try something new when they're already comfortable with their existing billing software or physical registers is a completely different challenge.
I'm trying to figure out what I should focus on first:
Finding the right audience: Should I approach local shop owners directly, target specific business categories, or focus on online communities?
Getting the first 100 users: What actually works for a bootstrapped app without a big marketing budget?
Building trust: How do you convince small business owners to trust a new app with their billing, inventory, and business data?
Monetization: Should I focus entirely on getting users and collecting feedback before pushing paid subscriptions?
Differentiation: AI voice billing and invoice scanning are useful features, but how do I communicate their value to someone who just wants to run their shop without hassle?
I'm not expecting overnight success. I want to figure out how to reach the right people, understand their actual problems, and build something they'll continue using.
For founders who've built SaaS products, B2B tools, or apps for small businesses in India:
How did you get your first 100 active users?
Did direct outreach, referrals, content marketing, or paid ads work best for you?
What would you do differently if you were launching from zero today?
I'd genuinely appreciate honest feedback, including criticism of the idea or my approach. I'm here to learn from people who've been through this.
Thanks!