/database / first-1000-customers-b2b-saas-edition

#16 · Playbooks

How to Get Your First 1,000 B2B SaaS Customers

Use real YC B2B examples to compare cold outreach, integrations, community, and other early acquisition channels.

Cold email sequences, LinkedIn outreach, the integration that unlocked distribution — week by week acquisition for 50 YC B2B companies.

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Three B2B companies in the acquisition study

Pro turns these company records into week-by-week acquisition cases with channel, outreach method, inflection point, and source.

CompanyBatchCategoryPublic recordSource
IroncladW15Legal / SaaS$3.2B valuation (2022). Contract lifecycle.Verify ↗
RetoolW17DevTools / Internal Apps$3.2B valuation (2022).Verify ↗
PostHogW20DevTools / AnalyticsOpen-source product analytics.Verify ↗

3 representative records · Full analysis and complete dataset in Pro

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What's inside

  • · Structured rows — searchable, filterable, exportable
  • · Source link on every entry — verifiable in one click
  • · Founder, batch, category and outcome tagging
  • · Updated as new public information emerges
  • · Web-readable + PDF download
  • · Complete database included with YC Insights Pro

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FAQ

What can I learn from this free first 1000 B2B SaaS customers sample?
Pro turns these company records into week-by-week acquisition cases with channel, outreach method, inflection point, and source. The sample rows are live, source-linked records you can verify without signing up.
What is the First 1000 Customers — B2B SaaS Edition?
Cold email sequences, LinkedIn outreach, the integration that unlocked distribution — week by week acquisition for 50 YC B2B companies. It's part of the YC Insights database — the largest open library of Y Combinator learnings, built entirely from publicly available essays, batch pages, founder interviews and S-1 filings.
Who is the First 1000 Customers — B2B SaaS Edition for?
Founders, operators and investors who want a structured view of the playbooks side of the YC ecosystem. Whether you're applying to YC, picking an idea, or studying what's worked, this database compresses hundreds of hours of public research into one place.
Where does the data come from?
Everything is sourced from publicly available material: YC's own website, batch pages, founder interviews, partner talks, S-1 filings, and long-form podcasts. Every claim is linkable to a public source — no insider data, no leaks.
How do I access the full First 1000 Customers — B2B SaaS Edition?
The live sample is available on this page with no signup. YC Insights Pro members get the complete searchable database, every source link, filters, and future updates for $19/month or $190/year.
Is YC Insights affiliated with Y Combinator?
No. YC Insights is an independent research project. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Y Combinator. Everything we publish is built from publicly available Y Combinator material with sources linked.
What else is in the YC Insights database?
46 databases in total across founder origins, pivots, first-1000-customer stories, batch packs, vertical packs, deep reports and master playbooks. Browse them all at /database.

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YC Insights is an independent resource. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Y Combinator. Built from publicly available material.