If you're pre-product, identify a solvable problem that your target customers are facing. Many problems can be solved without a scalable solution/product for a

If you're pre-product, identify a solvable problem that your target customers are facing. Many problems can be solved without a scalable solution/product for a few customers. Hack together a presentable solution/deliverable. Call it your beta program and do it for free. Set KPIs and collect metrics on your successes. Leverage those successes as references. Now that you've used those successes to get some money and build a team start releasing versions of the solution and convert your beta users to paid customers at a discount and incentives them with more discounts for any new paying customers they can refer. Have them post on linkedin for you, do press releases and most important cultivate and treasure those initial relationships. You will need to call on them again and again.