Patrick Collins’ Post

I've noticed something interesting in the startup world. A lot of startups, when they're trying to scale, end up spending huge amounts on marketing. But here's the thing—they might not have needed to if they'd invested in marketing earlier on. You see, when you're just starting out, it's easy to overlook marketing and focus on other stuff like making your product or service awesome. But here's the thing—marketing is what helps people notice you in the first place. Imagine your startup as a new kid in school. If you don't speak up and introduce yourself, nobody will know you're there! That's where marketing comes in. It's like your startup's way of saying, "Hey, we're here, and we've got something cool to offer!" By investing in marketing early on, you're laying the groundwork for success. You're telling the world what makes your startup special and why they should care. Plus, when people start noticing you, they're more likely to become customers. Now, here's the kicker: if you don't focus on marketing early on, it can cost you big time later. Imagine trying to make friends halfway through the school year—it's a lot harder than if you'd introduced yourself on the first day, right? The same goes for startups. If you wait too long to start marketing, you'll have to work much harder to get noticed down the road. And that means spending more time and money than if you'd started from the beginning. So, don't underestimate the power of marketing for your startup. It's not just about selling stuff—it's about making connections, building relationships, and setting yourself up for success. So go ahead, shout your startup's name from the rooftops—you never know who might be listening! . . . . #digitalamarketing #startupmarketing #linkedingrowth

Niching down is terrifying. I know this first-hand. I started off as a "marketing consultant for early-stage tech startups". What's wrong with that? 👇 When I went to market with this, I got questions like: * does early-stage mean Series A startups? * do you work with bootstrapped ones? * what type of marketing do you do? * do you do strategy or execution? * can you set up our emails? * can you write blogs? So, what happened? After several projects that didn't feel right. And, referrals that were not a good fit for me... I had a realization: I had fallen into the classic startup trap. I was too afraid to niche down so my messaging lacked clarity. How do I know? Most common reaction was: "Oh that's interesting" or "That's great". These translate to "???" <-- the worst reaction ever. Hate is better than confused because they GET your: + Customers: who, outcome, status quo + Positioning: what, why us And, they just disagree / dislike it 🤷♀️ I got to work running GTM micro-tests on my business. I've gotten specific about my customer segment. I completely revamped my product (i.e. offer). I ran very drastic experiments. And 2 years in, here's my latest positioning: I help... + underestimated pre-PMF tech startup founders (who) + solve the *business*-market-fit puzzle (outcome) + with my done-with-you GTM program (what) + We run go-to-market micro-tests (why us) + without burning cash & time (status quo) Is there room for improvement? ALWAYS. But, is it more specific and clear? You tell me in comments👇 (p.s. you can be brutally honest. It helps me get better) Positioning template: I help {who} to {outcome} with {what}. We {why us} unlike {status quo}. You can mix-up the order and framing but these 5 components are critical. 👉 What's your latest positioning? Share it below if you want LinkedIn to provide feedback, and leave feedback on 1 other comment! 👈

Are you in the early stages of your startup and feeling a bit stuck? Here’s a simple idea that might give you some clarity without spending a ton: If you’re not sure if your product will catch on, why not offer it for free to see if there’s interest? Use Facebook Ads to promote this offer to your target audience. If people aren’t jumping at the chance even when it’s free, it could mean your product needs some tweaking. What You Can Learn: Product Validation: If there’s not much interest, it might mean your product needs adjusting or isn’t solving a real problem for your audience. 💡 Refine Your Approach: But if people are excited and signing up, congrats! You might have something people want. Now, it’s about figuring out how to get the word out better. Why This Works: Low-Risk Testing: It’s a low-cost way to test the waters and get direct feedback. Learn from Customers: You’ll hear firsthand what people like or don’t like about your product. Make It Better: Armed with feedback, you can improve before investing a lot in scaling up. Startups are all about learning and adapting. So, don’t be afraid to adjust based on what you learn from these tests. Share your thoughts or experiences below, I’d love to hear how it’s going for you. #StartupTips #EntrepreneurLife #SmallBusinessAdvice #ProductTesting #MarketingStrategy #StartupSuccess #LinkedInNetworking

You know you have a great idea for a startup. But how do you turn traction into growth? Steve Jones, knew he had to address a common issue in marketing: a lack of diversity in stock media. His idea turned into pocstock, a stock library with a diverse representation of people. While pocstock built up its base of users through its mission of inclusivity, the company also turned to partnership outreach to expand its impact. In fact, Steve secured a major brand partnership by staying active right here on LinkedIn. “If you're a B2B business, you have to be on LinkedIn. If you're a B2B founder, you need to spend X hours daily on LinkedIn, connecting with people, engaging with content, and all of the above. Don't assign it to your admin or any of those corny things because it won't work. No, people see you; they want to hear from you. They don't just want the generic copy-and-paste messages you'll get from an admin. But for LinkedIn, if you want to build a personal and professional brand, you need to show up and put in the work. There are no shortcuts.” His presence on LinkedIn, combined with the richness of the content on the platform, led to pocstock's partnership with Canva earlier this year. Read more of Steve’s story on meeting user needs with an MVP, navigating the weaknesses of AI, and scaling through partnerships in our latest Startups Scaling Smarter post. Read it now on the HubSpot for Startups Resources blog or the Startups Scaling Smarter blog. #startups #ai #diversity

I've worked closely with 12 early-stage startups. Now they do well over $50M+ ARR. Here's what I've learned about GTM: We act like startup marketing is complicated. It isn’t. There are only 5 fundamental marketing questions... (If you master them, you’re ahead of 95% of startups.) 1️⃣ Who do we want to speak to? ➟ Audience: ideal customer profile -> early customer profile ➟ Personas: demographic, psychographic, firmographic ➟ Decision making unit: everyone involved in a B2B purchase 2️⃣ What do we want to say to them? ➟ Positioning: what’s our familiar reference point for prospects? ➟ Messaging: what features, benefits & outcomes to highlight? ➟ Copy: what words do we use to describe our product? 3️⃣ When do we want to say it to them? ➟ Sales funnel: map out our buyer’s journey ➟ Sales qualification: MEDDPICC, BANT, etc. ➟ Understand our buyer’s natural cadence: budget cycles 4️⃣ Where do we want to say it? ➟ Channel selection: email, social content, channel sales, etc. ➟ Types of collateral: static ads, sales decks, video demo… 5️⃣ How do we want them to feel after they hear it? ➟ Buyer psychology ➟ Cognitive biases I'm not saying executing your GTM plan is easy. There's a TON of nuance and it's great to work with experts when you need to level up. But for founders of early-stage startups just starting to build a GTM engine, it’s all about clear focus & execution of the fundamentals. Just start at the top of this list and work your way down. Feel stuck? Reach out and I’ll point you toward help. __ Was this helpful? Please 👍 like and ♻️ repost it to help other

Your startup needs more than just a product (𝗶𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆). You have a great product. A solid business plan. A well-thought-out brand strategy. But you're wondering when to start investing in social media. Most successful startup founders have one thing in common ↳The ability to build a loyal community and turn them into buyers. Now, to the question of the day; When should you invest in social media for your startup? The answer is simple…start now. Or, even better, start 3-6 months before your official launch. Why start early? → Build credibility and trust with your future users. →Take your audience through your building process. → Create anticipation around your launch. → Engage with your audience ahead of time to build a community of loyal followers who are more likely to become your customers or users. So, if you're not investing in social media, you could be missing out on a lot of opportunities. Do you agree? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

A startup needn't solve a complex problem to succeed. Let's dissect Linktree as a shining example: The Problem: Insta only allows one link in a profile bio. The Solution: Linktree offers a single link that aggregates all your links over Instagram. Linktree operates on a tiered subscription model with four plans: Free ($0 monthly), Starter ($5), Pro ($9), and Premium ($24). Their current valuation, you ask? $1.3 billion. So, what worked in their favor? 1. Solving a Specific Pain Point: Linktree created a solution for a particular problem many people had. 2. Freemium Model: The freemium model lets startups provide value early on without asking for anything in return. This builds trust and a bond with users. When users are ready to upgrade, they’ll think of you first because they already like and trust your product. 3. Flywheel Effect - Viral Growth: Linktree’s viral growth was straightforward: when someone used Linktree, all their social media followers saw it. Followers who clicked the Linktree link would see a cool landing page with all the links and realize they could create their own for free. Boom - viral loop achieved. 4. Incentives for User Engagement: There’s nothing more powerful than a cool dashboard that allows you to see how your audience is growing and how your potential clients are interacting. Linktree understood this early and built an analytics suite to track clicks and views. 5. Fast Iteration on User Feedback: I love this, and you should definitely consider it if you're a founder. Linktree had a Slack channel for user feedback and used Productboard to rank feature requests. Features requested more often were given higher priority. This approach allowed them to iterate quickly and effectively.

Following up on my recent post on the distinction between building a product and building a company in the startup world. It's clear that while many founders excel at product development, navigating the complexities of building a sustainable company can present significant challenges as it requires different skill sets. While building a company isn't rocket science, it does require a strategic allocation of resources to propel your product into the hands of your target audience. And one of the most critical resources? Money. Marketing, in particular, emerges as a major hurdle for many early-stage startups. Without sufficient funds to invest in marketing efforts, even the most innovative products can struggle to gain traction in the market. Think about it: you've poured your heart and soul into developing a groundbreaking product that solves a real problem. But without the necessary resources to promote it effectively, how can you expect your target audience to discover and embrace it? This is the harsh reality that many startup founders face. It's not that they lack the vision, passion, or determination to succeed – it's often a matter of financial constraints holding them back from reaching their full potential. With access to adequate resources, startups can invest in marketing initiatives that drive awareness, generate leads, and ultimately, fuel growth. From digital advertising and content marketing to influencer partnerships and PR campaigns, the possibilities are endless when it comes to reaching and engaging your target audience. So, what's the solution? #StartupChallenges #ResourceConstraints #Funding #Marketing #Entrepreneurship

I definitely agree with "1 Ideal Customer Profile" but I think you have to search for where your growth levers are to find that one channel, and after you find it and capitalize on it, you need to find a couple more. Right Matt?

A startup needn't solve a complex problem to succeed. Let's dissect Linktree as a shining example: The Problem: Insta only allows one link in a profile bio. The Solution: Linktree offers a single link that aggregates all your links over Instagram. Linktree operates on a tiered subscription model with four plans: Free ($0 monthly), Starter ($5), Pro ($9), and Premium ($24). Their current valuation, you ask? $1.3 billion. So, what worked in their favor? 1. Solving a Specific Pain Point: Linktree created a solution for a particular problem many people had. 2. Freemium Model: The freemium model lets startups provide value early on without asking for anything in return. This builds trust and a bond with users. When users are ready to upgrade, they’ll think of you first because they already like and trust your product. 3. Flywheel Effect - Viral Growth: Linktree’s viral growth was straightforward: when someone used Linktree, all their social media followers saw it. Followers who clicked the Linktree link would see a cool landing page with all the links and realize they could create their own for free. Boom - viral loop achieved. 4. Incentives for User Engagement: There’s nothing more powerful than a cool dashboard that allows you to see how your audience is growing and how your potential clients are interacting. Linktree understood this early and built an analytics suite to track clicks and views. 5. Fast Iteration on User Feedback: I love this, and you should definitely consider it if you're a founder. Linktree had a Slack channel for user feedback and used Productboard to rank feature requests. Features requested more often were given higher priority. This approach allowed them to iterate quickly and effectively.