This week marked the start of a new phase of building Reboard: beginning marketing and sales efforts. It’s an exciting but daunting step, and every time I tell myself it’s time to reach out to our first prospect, something “important” comes up to tweak or improve. It’s frustrating to keep postponing because reaching out is critical—and, to be honest, not the most enjoyable part of the process.

You know that first contact with the market is going to look like a plane landing without wings. And this postponing of first contact is nerve-wracking. But it’s part of the journey, so let’s dive into what actually happened.

Scraping Emails: The Tedious First Step

The week began with one of the most mind-numbing tasks imaginable: scraping emails and contact information for property managers online. While it’s far from glamorous, this is the foundation of any sales effort. Without contacts, there’s no one to reach out to. So, I spent three days combing through a website that aggregates property managers in Belgium, gathering as much information as possible.

Why Am I Doing This Myself?

Good question (yes, I’m talking to myself—it’s 00:30 as I write this). The answer is simple: bootstrapping. Lead list providers in Europe are either non-existent or prohibitively expensive. Most of these services do exactly what I did—manually gather data online—but charge exorbitant fees for it. Since we’re working to minimize costs until we find a product-market fit, I decided to do it myself.

As Alex Hormozi points out in $100M Leads, when it comes to early-stage hustle, you need to think in hundreds. That’s exactly what I did, but staying focused on such repetitive tasks is incredibly challenging. My workflow maxed out at about 25 contacts before I needed a break. I managed to collect just under 100 contacts a day, but HubSpot filtered out 25% as invalid. My best guess is that they check email deliverability, and some addresses didn’t make the cut.

Why Belgium?

Belgium is where I’m from, and even though I’m currently based in Melbourne, I visit frequently. This means I can meet potential customers in person if needed. Plus, starting in Australia isn’t feasible right now—the bank data aggregator for Australian banks is too expensive for an early-stage startup like Reboard.

Crafting My First Cold Email

With 150 email addresses in hand, I began drafting my first cold email. The offer is straightforward: you get the product for free, and in return, I get your feedback to improve it. If you’re interested, we can book a call to discuss the opportunity. Simple enough, right?

The tricky part is that I’m also asking them to trust me with sensitive data to ensure the product integrates properly. Coming across as professional and committed is non-negotiable.

The Social Media Question

While discussing this aspect of “looks” with my sister, she raised an excellent point: “What about your social media presence?”

I hadn’t thought much about it. I’d been so focused on building the product that I neglected to establish a public presence for Reboard. But now, as I prepare to contact prospects, a blank social media profile could make us look like a scam. These days, everyone checks social media to form an opinion about a brand.

So, I refocused on creating content for Instagram. I will then repurpose the content for LinkedIn as well. I’ve been posting two to three times a day, covering Reboard’s vision, how it works, and addressing potential objections. The goal is to create an account that looks professional and demonstrates that we’re serious about this project.

I should finish setting up the Instagram profile tomorrow. Once it’s ready, I’ll share it with friends and acquaintances to generate initial interactions and feedback. This will also serve as a warm outreach opportunity—I’ll ask if they know any property managers who might be interested in Reboard.

Looking Ahead

Marketing so far hasn’t been hard work, but it’s tough to stay focused. Still, these tasks are critical for reaching our first customers.

This week, I learned two valuable lessons:

• Balancing value in a cold email is crucial. Instead of asking for help, focus on what you can offer.
• Looks and first impressions matter. To improve this, we need a strong social media presence that builds trust and credibility.

It’s a slow process, but every step, no matter how small, moves us closer to our goal. Here’s to putting in the hours, learning from the process, and seeing what next week brings!