How You Can Use Momentum to Build Your Product

Most founders believe that building the product is the hardest part of the startup journey. I used to believe that too. For a long time, I thought that once the product was ready, users would automatically come. If the idea was good enough, people would somehow discover it. When I started building Fueler four years ago, I told myself the same comforting lie.

Reality hit hard. Building the product is barely 10% of the work. The remaining 90% is about building momentum.

I am Riten, Founder of Fueler. Fueler is a portfolio platform that helps individuals showcase their proof of work and helps companies hire through assignments instead of resumes. 

When we launched, I was confident people would immediately see the value. They didn’t. Nobody was waiting for us, and nobody cared. That moment taught me one of the most important lessons of my founder journey: your job doesn’t end when the product is built. In many ways, that’s when the real work begins.

This article is about how I built momentum for Fueler from zero, and how you can apply the same thinking while building your own product.

What Momentum Really Means for Founders

Momentum is often misunderstood. It is not about going viral overnight, and it is not about having a large marketing budget or a perfectly planned launch. Momentum is about showing up every single day and continuing to talk about your product even when nobody seems to be listening.

In the early days, momentum feels slow and uncomfortable. You are putting in effort without seeing visible results, and that can be discouraging. But momentum compounds quietly. If you stay consistent long enough, small actions start stacking up and eventually create forward motion that becomes hard to stop.

For me, momentum meant doing things that clearly did not scale. Especially in the beginning, progress came from effort, not automation.

Building Momentum Offline

Before Fueler had any meaningful online presence, everything started offline. This phase is often ignored, but it is powerful because it forces real conversations with real people. Offline momentum builds conviction, not vanity metrics.

I started by talking to friends about Fueler. I explained the problem we were trying to solve and asked them to try the product. I didn’t ask for praise. I asked for honest feedback. Most of them were not our ideal users, but many introduced me to people who were. Those introductions became our earliest signals of demand.

I also spoke to relatives and known people, including those I rarely interacted with. Family gatherings turned into opportunities to explain what I was building and why it mattered. While many listened out of curiosity, a few became strong supporters. When you are starting from zero, every genuine conversation counts.

Even casual interactions helped. At coffee shops, bookstores, and local stores, conversations around careers and work came up naturally. When they did, I shared how Fueler could help people build portfolios and find opportunities. These conversations rarely converted instantly, but they helped me understand how people actually think about careers.

I also attended startup events and meetups regularly. I didn’t go there to pitch Fueler aggressively. I went to listen, ask questions, and help others where I could. Over time, people began recognizing me as someone who was genuinely building something, not just selling an idea.

When Everything Moved Online

When COVID arrived, all offline efforts stopped overnight. We had no option but to move fully online. That shift forced us to build momentum entirely through the internet, and in hindsight, it changed everything for us.

I began sharing our journey publicly on social media, especially on Twitter. Every day, I wrote about what we were building, what was not working, and what I was learning along the way. There were no growth hacks or viral tricks involved. It was consistency, plain and simple. Slowly, people started following the journey, not just the product.

Alongside this, I sent cold emails and DMs at scale. Over time, I personally reached out to around two thousand people. I did not ask them to sign up immediately. I asked for feedback. Most messages were ignored, some received thoughtful replies, and a few turned into early users. Each response gave us clarity and helped improve the product.

I also spent time being active in online communities where our users already were. Instead of promoting Fueler directly, I focused on answering questions around portfolios, careers, and hiring. By being consistently useful, people began associating my name and ideas with Fueler naturally.

We also started hosting free webinars and live sessions on building portfolios and showcasing proof of work. I shared everything I knew without holding back. This approach built trust over time. People started believing in Fueler because we helped them before asking for anything in return.

The Moment Momentum Became Visible

In 2022, I attended an event in Bangalore wearing a Fueler hoodie. Someone from across the room looked at me and asked if I was from Fueler. That moment stayed with me.

It wasn’t because Fueler had become famous. It was because momentum had started working quietly in the background. People were recognizing the work, not the noise.

How Momentum Improves Your Product

Momentum does more than bring users. It actively improves the product you are building. When you talk to users regularly, you begin to understand their problems at a much deeper level. Feedback becomes clearer, patterns start emerging, and decision-making becomes easier.

Momentum also prevents you from building in isolation. Instead of guessing what users want, you learn directly from them. Over time, this shortens the distance between what you build and what the market actually needs.

On difficult days, momentum also becomes emotional fuel. Knowing that even a few people care about what you are building can be enough to keep you going.

Here are 3 Frameworks that can help you build your startup and build momentum.

What Momentum Means to Me as a Founder

For me, momentum is not complicated. It means showing up every single day, even when progress feels invisible. It means continuing to talk about your product even when nobody responds. It means helping people without expecting immediate returns.

Momentum is about being visible, consistent, and genuinely useful. If you do this long enough, growth becomes a byproduct rather than the goal.

Final Thoughts

If you are building a product today, do not wait for perfection. Do not wait for launch day to start talking about what you are building. Start now. Talk to people. Share your journey. Help without expectations.

Momentum is built one day at a time. And once it starts, it becomes your biggest advantage.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is momentum in product building?

Momentum in product building means consistent effort to create awareness, trust, and usage of your product over time. It involves daily actions like talking to users, sharing progress, gathering feedback, and staying visible. Momentum helps products grow steadily instead of relying on one-time launches.

How can early-stage startups build momentum without money?

Early-stage startups can build momentum by focusing on conversations instead of ads. Talking to friends, reaching out on social media, sending cold emails, joining communities, and hosting free sessions are low-cost ways to attract early users and build trust.

Why do products fail even after being well-built?

Many products fail because founders stop after building. Without momentum, even great products remain invisible. Users do not magically appear. Continuous effort in distribution, feedback, and communication is required after the product is launched.

How long does it take to see results from momentum?

Momentum usually takes months, not weeks. In the beginning, results are slow and often discouraging. But with consistent effort, momentum compounds. Over time, recognition, trust, and user growth start happening naturally.

How does momentum improve product-market fit?

Momentum puts founders in constant touch with users. Regular feedback helps identify real problems, refine features, and remove assumptions. This continuous learning process helps founders move closer to product-market fit faster and more confidently.

What is Fueler Portfolio?

Fueler is a career portfolio platform that helps companies find the best talent for their organization based on their proof of work.

You can create your portfolio on Fueler, thousands of freelancers around the world use Fueler to create their professional-looking portfolios and become financially independent. Discover inspiration for your portfolio

Sign up for free on Fueler or get in touch to learn more.