What's a Good Waitlist Conversion Rate (and How to Increase Yours). | VC & Startup Jobs.
How to Generate leads from Reddit & Product Stickiness Framework.
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In today’s newsletter -
Deep Dive: What is a Good Waitlist Conversion Rate (and How to Increase Yours).
Quick Dive:
How B2B SaaS Founders Can Use Reddit to Drive Leads: A Step-by-Step Guide.
Product Stickiness Framework: Triggers, Constraints, and Rituals.
Major News: Amazon submits last-minute bid to acquire TikTok, Rippling employee admits to spying for rival Deel in explosive affidavit, a16z in talks to buy TikTok USA & ChatGPT hits 20 million paying subscribers.
20+ VC & Startups job opportunities.
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🚀 Due Diligence 2.0: Strategies for the AI Era
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📜 TODAY’S DEEP DIVE
What is a Good Waitlist Conversion Rate (and How to Increase Yours).
Waitlists. They’re either a growth lever or a black hole where leads go to die.
Every founder gets excited when a waitlist starts growing. A thousand signups. Ten thousand. Feels like traction, right? But here’s the trap: Most waitlists convert at just 2–3%. That’s not traction. That’s a leaky funnel with a vanity metric on top.
In fact, many startups end up showcasing waitlist numbers as early “proof” of interest. But without real engagement or conversion, a waitlist is just a list of emails – not customers.
So what does a good waitlist actually look like? And more importantly, how do you build one that converts? Scalemath recently shared a solid framework that founders can actually use, so I wanted to highlight a few key points from it, along with some of my own thoughts:
What’s considered a good waitlist conversion rate?
The short answer: It depends.
The better answer: here’s what benchmarks across industries show:
If your conversion rate is 50% or more: You’re doing better than most. Keep optimizing.
If it’s under 20%, Something’s off. Either your follow-up sucks, your product’s unclear, or both.
If it’s under 5%: Stop everything. You’ve got a messaging, positioning, or audience mismatch.
What actually drives waitlist conversion?
A waitlist is only as good as what happens after someone signs up. Let’s look at what separates high-converting waitlists from dead ones.
1. Speed matters. The longer you make people wait, the colder they get.
If users get access within a month, avg. conversion is ~50%.
If you keep them hanging for over 90 days, conversion drops below 20% - even worse.
What to do: If you can’t onboard right away, have a clear engagement plan. Keep them excited until they’re in.
2. Don’t ghost your waitlist. Talk to them. A lot.
Most brands collect emails and go silent. Then, months later, they send one “We’re live!” email and act surprised when nobody shows up.
What to do instead:
Send regular updates (progress, sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes).
Personalize it. Use names. Mention why they signed up.
Show waitlist position (“You’re #154 – get early access by inviting 2 friends”).
Example: Superhuman
Superhuman didn’t just make you wait. They handpicked users, interviewed them, and gave each one a white-glove onboarding. It worked.
Use exclusivity, but don’t overdo it.
People want what they can’t easily have. If everyone can join anytime, why bother?
What to do:
Make the experience feel earned.
Highlight limited spots, invite-only access, or beta perks.
Show social proof (“5,000+ already signed up”).
Example: Clubhouse
Clubhouse exploded because access felt like a secret club. People didn’t want to miss out – and the waitlist created buzz that fed itself.
Give people something to do while they wait.
Waiting should feel active. If people can move up the queue by sharing, engaging, or referring, they will.
What to do:
Let users earn earlier access by inviting others.
Offer perks for engagement, not just signups.
Avoid over-relying on discounts – they cheapen your brand.
Example: Dropbox
Their referral-driven waitlist was legendary. Free storage for invites turned users into marketers – and helped Dropbox scale to millions.
Segment your waitlist. Not all leads are equal.
Some folks are just curious. Others are ready to pay. Treat them differently.
What to do:
Use data enrichment tools (like Clearbit) to learn more about your users.
Track engagement to spot high-intent leads.
Prioritize hot leads with early access or VIP treatment.
In the end, your waitlist is more than just a list. It’s your first chance to build trust, spark interest, and convert early believers into loyal users.
Done well, it’s a growth engine that fuels momentum before you even launch. Done poorly, it’s a graveyard of missed opportunity — a long list of people who almost cared.
So don’t just collect emails. Nurture them. Segment them. Give them a reason to stay excited. Give them a reason to share. And most importantly, give them something worth waiting for.
Because a great product deserves a great first impression — and your waitlist is exactly that.
We’ve also built multiple guides and frameworks that can be helpful to you in your startup journey:
Excel Template: Early Stage Startup Financial Model For Fundraising.
Startup Legal Document Pack
Building Cap Table As A Founder: Template to Download.
How to write your monthly investor update (Email Template).
SaaS Financial Model Template: Early Stage Startup Financial Model For Fundraising.
Investor CRM Template – The Ultimate Fundraising Tracker
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📃 QUICK DIVES
1. How B2B SaaS Founders Can Use Reddit to Drive Leads: A Step-by-Step Guide.
If you’re a B2B SaaS founder and not leveraging Reddit, you’re leaving leads on the table.
I recently came across reddit marketing guide by Adam Shaw so thought to share with you some key points and my opinion with you. He shared - “Reddit is the #2 source of leads, right after LinkedIn. It’s where people are actively asking for help and exploring new solutions—unlike LinkedIn, which is more about storytelling and sharing success.
And here’s the kicker: 50% of my leads come from just answering questions on Reddit for less than an hour a day.”
Here’s how you can do it
Step 1: Turn Your Profile into a Landing Page
Your Reddit profile is like a mini landing page. It’s the first place curious users will go after reading your comments or posts. Make sure it’s optimized to convert.
How to set it up:
Choose a username that’s tied to your brand or product.
Write an actionable profile name (e.g., “Helping SaaS Founders Scale”).
Add a CTA to your profile banner (e.g., “Download our Free SaaS Marketing Guide”).
Include your one-line product pitch and CTA in the bio (e.g., “We help SaaS founders grow faster. Subscribe to our newsletter below!”).
Add links to key resources like:
Lead magnets
Newsletter sign-ups
Product demo
Step 2: Find Subreddits Where Your Audience Hangs Out
Reddit is vast, but your audience is likely concentrated in a handful of niche subreddits.
How to find them:
Use Reddit’s search bar to look for your product keywords (e.g., “SaaS,” “startup growth,” etc.).
Use Google to search for “your keywords + Reddit” (pro tip: Google is better at finding Reddit threads than Reddit itself).
Pick subreddits with active, engaged members in your niche.
Pro tip: Use tools like Gummy Search to automate finding relevant subreddits and posts.
Step 3: Prepare a Lead Magnet
Redditors hate being sold to. They love value-first approaches.
That’s where a lead magnet comes in. It’s a way to engage your audience without coming across as too salesy.'
Examples of great lead magnets:
In-depth guides tailored to specific problems.
Free trials of your product.
Newsletters with actionable advice (my favorite).
Make it easy for people to commit. For example, I use a newsletter landing page to capture leads. By the time they get there, I’ve already built trust through helpful comments.
Step 4: Start by Commenting, Not Posting
Engage first, post later.
Why? Comments are more personal and allow you to connect directly with people asking for help. You’ll also learn what your audience needs.
How to comment like a pro:
Answer recent posts (24-48 hours old) for better visibility.
Avoid crowded posts (0-10 comments is the sweet spot).
Add value. Most comments are generic—stand out by being actionable, specific, and helpful.
Step 5: Be the Best Commenter
The secret to success on Reddit? Write better comments than everyone else.
Here’s how:
Be highly relevant—answer only what’s asked.
Be specific—don’t just say, “Try this.” Explain how to try it.
Go in-depth—assume the person has zero knowledge.
Stay friendly—ignore trolls.
Make your comment stand out visually, too:
Use white space for readability.
Add bullet points to organize your thoughts.
Be longer than most comments (Reddit loves thoughtful responses).
Step 6: Post to Curate Conversations
Once you’ve spent a few weeks commenting, you’ll notice patterns in what your audience talks about. That’s when you start posting.
But don’t make the mistake of being self-serving. Redditors can smell that a mile away.
Here’s what works:
Don’t post a blog or self-promotional content. Instead, ask questions that spark engagement.
Let the audience share their thoughts and experiences in the comments.
Use their responses to build conversations and authority naturally.
Reddit can be a goldmine for B2B SaaS founders if used the right way. Focus on engagement first, provide value, and let the leads come to you.
2. Product Stickiness Framework: Triggers, Constraints, and Rituals.
Many founders believe that a great app idea is enough to make it successful. But it’s not. What truly matters is the stickiness of your product.
Start thinking about your product in terms of where triggers, constraints, and user rituals exist within it.
The rise of AI means that more user experiences within the best products will be trigger-based, rather than static. And wide open experiences will be less desirable than opinionated, constrained ones.
I love this framework from Greg Isenberg. It’s the new strategy for thinking about how to keep users engaged with your product.
Trigger action with prompts
Ignite FOMO with constraints
Keep 'em coming back with rituals
THIS WEEK’S NEWS RECAP
🗞️ Major News In Tech, VC, & Startup Funding
Construct Capital, a Washington, D.C.-based early-stage VC firm focused on manufacturing, transportation, and defense tech, raised a $300M third fund.
ARC Prize Foundation revised the cost estimate of OpenAI’s o3 “high” model from $3,000 to around $30,000 per task on the ARC-AGI benchmark, citing higher-than-expected compute usage.
Amazon has reportedly submitted a last-minute bid to acquire TikTok, though sources say the offer isn’t being taken seriously by those involved in ongoing deal talks.
Google DeepMind published a 145-page paper forecasting the arrival of AGI by 2030 and outlining potential “severe harm,” including existential risks if safeguards aren't implemented.
A new paper from the AI Disclosures Project alleges that OpenAI’s GPT-4o shows strong recognition of paywalled O’Reilly Media books, despite O’Reilly having no licensing agreement with OpenAI.
ChatGPT has reached 20 million paying subscribers, up 4.5 million since the end of 2024, according to The Information.
TikTok is shutting down its photo-sharing app, TikTok Notes, on May 8, after limited testing in Canada, Australia, and Vietnam.
Joelle Pineau, VP of AI Research at Meta and overseer of FAIR (Facebook AI Research), announced she’s leaving the company in May after over two years in the role.
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