Founder-First Customer Support

Shaan suggests starting with manual, founder-led customer service before automating, as this builds deep customer understanding and creates better systems. The approach seems small but has outsized impact on business success.

Key Points:

• Start Manual and Personal:

  • Do customer service yourself in early stages
  • Manually onboard first 10-100 users
  • Sit side-by-side with customers during product installation/onboarding

• Benefits:

  • Teaches you deeply about your product
  • Provides direct market insights
  • Helps identify patterns and common issues
  • Enables building better systems based on real experience

• Follow-up Strategy:

  • Always send follow-ups even if it feels like "low status"
  • Assume people are busy rather than uninterested
  • Remember you're offering value
  • Follow-ups are "where all the magic is"

• Focus on Recurring Activities:

  • Identify daily recurring tasks
  • Make them 2% better
  • Small improvements compound over time
  • Examples include meeting structures, customer onboarding processes