Most founders think they have a distribution problem.
They don’t.
They have a customer clarity problem.
What looks like a marketing issue is usually a breakdown in how the company defines, sells to, and supports the customer.
That is a huge piece of it. Investors get excited for those unicorn companies, but we can’t all be that! At the very least we can’t all start there :) Define and you will get better results.
That's not just a startup founder problem, that is most of our problems. I think blind-spots make this a bigger problem. Totally why a biz needs a Katie in their corner to help them identify these issues. Great article!
Invert the challenge. The MVP gets you in the room. Don't sell it. Stay in deep discovery mode and understanding the most pressing issue before building the actual product - Stay in deep discovery mode. Find "the most pressing issue" - the one(s) that make people bang the table to get solved, where you can smell the fear.. find that 🤓
Without a shared, operational definition, every effort to reach “users” becomes guesswork.
Yes, I’ve seen this a lot with startups. They define the customer way too broadly, then wonder why the message does not convert.
When you try to be for everyone, you usually end up being for no one.
Startups frequently want to define customers as broadly as possible because they know investors want the biggest TAM possible, right, Daniel?
Ironically, it's only through guardrails & focus that you can unlock real value...
That is a huge piece of it. Investors get excited for those unicorn companies, but we can’t all be that! At the very least we can’t all start there :) Define and you will get better results.
That's not just a startup founder problem, that is most of our problems. I think blind-spots make this a bigger problem. Totally why a biz needs a Katie in their corner to help them identify these issues. Great article!
Acquiring new customers is half the problem. Keeping them is the other half of it… Both topics are equally important!
Great piece & illustrations, Katie.
Such a crucial point that hits home.
And everyone thinks someone else is making this mistake, but never them...
Invert the challenge. The MVP gets you in the room. Don't sell it. Stay in deep discovery mode and understanding the most pressing issue before building the actual product - Stay in deep discovery mode. Find "the most pressing issue" - the one(s) that make people bang the table to get solved, where you can smell the fear.. find that 🤓