I'm building an accessibility scanner that finds WCAG 2.2 violations and generates AI code fixes for each one. No overlay widgets, no expensive consultants — just the specific code changes your site needs.
To get my first customers, I've been scanning UK web agency websites and DMing the founders with their specific violation data. Not "hey I built a cool tool" but their actual problems on their actual site.
Here's what 3 days of cold outreach looks like with zero budget:
60+ personalised DMs sent. Every single one includes a scan of the founder's own website — violation count, severity, specific issues like "26 images missing alt text" or "47 elements failing colour contrast."
2 replies. One "not interested." One CEO seemed interested so we will see how that goes.
0 paying customers.
What I've learned so far:
"I found 7 violations on your site, got the report with code fixes, want it?" converts way better than "I built a tool, try it yourself at mysite.com." The first version gives them a reason to reply. The second asks them to do work.
Scanning recognisable brands and publishing the results is the best free marketing I've found. My post scanning 5 major UK brands got 10x the engagement of anything else I've written.
The AI-generated code fix is the real differentiator. Every serious scanner already surfaces violations. Nobody else closes the loop with "here's the exact code change." That's the expensive part of any remediation engagement and that's what people are willing to pay for.
Clutch.co is almost useless for sourcing UK agencies — it recycles the same companies across every city filter. Switching to LinkedIn search for "web design agency founder" filtered by UK was 10x more efficient for finding real people to contact.
Free to try: viascan.dev
If you're doing cold outreach with zero budget I'd love to hear what's working for you.
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