“How are you going to get your first customer to buy from you?”

People come to me several times a week with ideas for a startup.  They are usually focused on financials and product and TAM. 

I don’t care about TAM until I know how they are going to get “Tammy.” 

And, I don't mean psychographic "Tammy." I mean a real, living, breathing human being. 

Why will she take the risk of being the first customer? 

If the startup is a B2B, this is even more important. Career risk is the biggest blocker for getting early adopters for a B2B startup.  

Understanding the importance of this separates entrepreneurs from managers & consultants in established concerns.

If you are launching a new product, service or business, who will be your first customer? Why will they take a risk on you? 

How will you move from zero to one?