#9–1000 True Fans

All paths to a million go through a thousand.

As Product Managers we aspire to build products that millions of people will use, but designing for your millionth user is different than designing for your thousandth. A different mindset is required for each.

Kevin Kelly, early editor of Wired magazine, was the first to talk about 1000 True Fans (definitely worth a read it). He made the case that you can make a living with only 1000 people willing to pay you $100 per year, and because the Internet allowed you to reach anyone in the world, you could find those people.

“Diehard fans will drive 200 miles to see you sing; they will buy the hardback and paperback and audible versions of your book; they will pay for the “best-of” DVD version of your free youtube channel.” ~ Kevin Kelly

A true fan is someone who will buy anything you produce. We are all true fans of someone; we all have a writer, musician, game designer, or podcaster whose work we enjoy so much or find so valuable, that we're happy to pay them for it.

As a creator, finding 1000 True Fans requires a direct connection with people. This puts you in tune with the audience. The creator must read comments, ask questions, banter, and try different things to understand their fans. Sound familiar Product Managers? This is exactly the mindset we need when looking for product-market fit.

When designing for thousands, focus on individuals. When designing for millions focus on markets.

It's a long time before the humble Product Manager even thinks about the millionth user. They understand that only early customers can guide them. They understand their ideas don’t come fully formed and require a lot of feedback. Any PM who doesn't has been very lucky. They're the golfer who hits a hole-in-one their first time out.

The 1000 True Fans approach also applies to Product Managers at large companies. When Airbnb launched its “Experiences“ product — where people could make money providing local experience to visitors, like giving tours — they had 100M users but because Experiences was a new idea it was effectively a startup. These Product Managers were paying attention to their first 1000 true fans. When creating something new, the attention must be on the individuals.

Getting practical. Here are some things you can do to speed up your learnings from your first users:

  1. Set up notifications somewhere for every new sign up – This gives you a sense of how fast you’re growing and reminds you of each individual who’s trying your product.

  2. Contact each person and ask them why they decided to use your product – This validates or invalidates your assumptions about what makes your product useful. Only 10% will reply so it’s not as much work as you think.

  3. Make sure there’s a way for each person to pay you – This identifies your most passionate early adopters, ensures you’re providing real value, and gives you more confidence in your pricing. True fans are always willing to pay more and represent a high water mark for your pricing models.

  4. Create a way for people to share new feature ideas – Your 1000 True Fans have likely been thinking about the problem you’re solving just as long as you and will have ideas you’ve never considered (and will be excited to share them).

More than anything, “1000 True Fans” is a mindset to remind us to be humble in the early stages of new product development. Good Product Managers have strong intuitions but not all the answers.


This post is part of a series called “100 Things Every Product Manager Should Know.”