Building an affiliate program for an AI startup - what would you do differently?

Hey everyone! I’m currently working on an AI startup called Siyaqi, and we’re preparing for launch. We’re planning our affiliate program, and I’d love to hear from people who have actually built or managed successful affiliate programs. Our idea is to reward early affiliates more generously than those who join later. We’re considering giving our first 100 active affiliates 100% commission for their first 6 months, then gradually reducing the rate for each subsequent group until we reach our standard commission rate. The goal is to attract people who genuinely believe in the product and give them a strong incentive to help us grow from day one. However, we’re still figuring out the best way to structure the program. I’d love your thoughts on a few things: \*\*Commission structure:\*\* Is offering 100% commission to early affiliates a smart strategy, or could it attract people who sign up but never actually promote the product? Consider the commission when we have paid user through the affiliate’s link \*\*Recurring vs. one-time commissions:\*\* Which model tends to work better for SaaS and AI products? \*\*Finding the first affiliates:\*\* Where would you look for the first 100 serious affiliates before launch? \*\*Keeping affiliates active:\*\* What incentives have you found effective beyond commission rates? \*\*Common mistakes:\*\* If you were starting an affiliate program from scratch today, what would you do differently? I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who’ve built affiliate programs from zero rather than just joined established ones. Appreciate any advice!