Distribution is a challenge even for the best among us, but in your case you seem to be hitting a snag earlier.

People complaining about a problem is a sign that (a) they are familiar enough with it to describe it to a non-expert (you), and (b) this usually indicates they have workarounds in place to surmount the issue, however difficult or non user-friendly they might be.

So any product you build must not only solve the core problem but usually require less skill than their existing workaround and make switching as easy as possible. You aren't competing against the problem. You're competing against the existing workaround.

My heuristics is that the first 100 users are almost always a distribution problem. If you do not have 100 users using your product extensively, and you see a retention drop there is no way you can conclude anything else.

The reason why I take this approach is that - I have had personal experience building tools that didn't go anywhere, and same tools built by people with some online following gaining good traction. It could simply be a case of anecdotal experience, but distribution has always been harder for the tools I have built.

I've been thinking a lot on authority. Someone doing the exact same output but with different credentials.

It means the world, you see taste makers based on their legacy and previous actions.

Never in time have there been a thinner line between average and genius.