Project your launch day user count
From social, ads, or word-of-mouth
% of waitlist who invite at least 1 friend
% who sign up when you launch
At launch
360 waitlist
→ ~72 active users on launch day
Without referrals
340
Referral lift
+20 users
| Week | New signups | Total waitlist |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | +31 | 131 |
| Week 2 | +31 | 162 |
| Week 3 | +32 | 194 |
| Week 4 | +32 | 226 |
| Week 5 | +33 | 259 |
| Week 6 | +33 | 292 |
| Week 7 | +34 | 326 |
| Week 8 | +34 | 360 |
Referral virality
The best waitlists use referral mechanics — "skip the line by inviting 3 friends." This turns your waitlist into a growth loop. Referral rates of 15–25% are achievable with good incentives.
Waitlist conversion rate
Typical waitlist-to-active-user conversion is 15–30%. Make your launch email personal, create urgency, and launch in batches (first 100, then 500, etc.) to maintain engagement.
Where to collect signups
A landing page with a single email field + value proposition converts 15–40% of visitors. Launch it before you build anything — validation before a line of code.
Launch timing
Tuesday–Thursday 9–11am EST is peak for product launches. ProductHunt launches do best on Tuesdays. Pre-schedule your emails to hit inboxes when people are at their desks.
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