Incy TemplatesFirst 10 Customers Plan
A prioritised plan for reaching a first set of real customers.
Build a warm-lead list, commit to one channel, and track named prospects instead of a vanity signup target.
Part of the First Customers Planner family. Also see: First Customers Planner: the Guide, Channel Selector.
- Version
- 1.0
- Last updated
- 9 Aug 2026
- Completion time
- 30–45 min
- Formats
- markdown
About this template
A structured plan for finding first customers: a warm-lead list, the one acquisition channel you've committed to with an outreach script specific enough to work, and a running log of named prospects and what happened with each.
Instructions
- Build your warm-lead list first — people who've already shown some signal, not strangers.
- Pick one channel that matches where your audience already spends attention, and commit to it before adding a second.
- Write outreach specific enough to each person that it couldn't have been sent to anyone else.
- Log named prospects and what happened with each — not just a running signup count.
What you'll need
A product ready to put in front of real people, and whatever warm signals you already have — people who've engaged with the problem, mentioned it to you, or signed up during a demand test.
Who it's for
Founders approaching launch who don't yet have a customer-acquisition plan.
When to use it
Use once you have a named product ready to put in front of real people.
When not to use it
Not useful before you have a real, named product to put in front of people — this plans outreach, it doesn't validate the idea itself.
What's included
A warm-lead worksheet, a one-channel commitment prompt, an outreach-script template built around specificity, and a named-prospect tracking log.
- First 10 Customers Plan (Markdown, AI-agent-ready) (markdown)
Completed example
Shift Swap's warm list: The 22 people who signed up during the demand test, prioritised toward the 6 who'd already been interviewed directly.
Channel: One, committed to — personally onboarding independent cafés and shops in the founder's own city, before even considering a second city.
Outreach line to one manager: "You mentioned the group chat gets buried and the same two people always end up covering — here's the thing we built for exactly that."
Tracking: Each prospect logged by name and stage, not a running signup count — this is how it became visible that managers were converting faster than individual workers.
Interpreting your result
If your tracking log is a number rather than named people with context, you'll learn much more slowly — the point of tracking individuals is noticing why some say yes and others don't.
Once you have real people using the product, Product/Market Fit Tracker is where you check whether they'd actually miss it.
Licence
Single-purchaser licence covering personal and commercial use, including client work. Redistribution or resale of the template itself is not permitted.