Why the focus on 0 to 1 marketing for tech startups?

If you look closely at the ‘early-stage marketing’ resources out there, you’ll notice that there is a significant gap in information specifically focused on the 0 to 1 stage i.e. before you achieve product-market fit. There is a glamorization of startups after they’ve ‘made it’ where the stories of these startups at the ‘early-stage’ blends everything from ideation to $1-10M ARR.

In 2022, I had 100+ coffee chats with founders on their 0 to 1 journey and others working with them. I was truly inspired to hear what these individuals are building or supporting in ParentTech, Future of Work, FinTech, HealthTech, ClimateTech and beyond, passionately solving customer and world problems using tech.

Here are 3 main learnings from these conversations especially with tech founders on their 0 to 1 journey:

• First, founders shared that the journey from 0 to 1 is difficult, overwhelming, and lonely. The risk and fear of running out of business before hitting product-market fit is real. And it is higher for underestimated founders who don't have a pre-existing network of individuals to support, advise, and fund them.

• Second, at the 0 to 1 stage, the teams are small (under 10 people, usually just ~2 co-founders) and we are looking at founder-led marketing i.e. they are running marketing, along with the rest of the business. Founders shared that they teach themselves everything from consuming loads of content, 'try different things to see what sticks,' and are often struggling to keep up with how much could be done to grow their business.

• Finally, marketing support and content at this stage is very limited, and often adds to the overwhelm with more shiny objects to chase. One founder shared: “Does everyone have a 5-person marketing team? How else do they get everything done?” 😓 Agencies are costly and don’t get the 0 to 1 stage. Investors are focused on ‘growth at all costs’. The best help founding teams received came from trust-worthy operators who ‘have been there, done that’. They were able to access these individuals through platforms like GrowthMentor (highly recommended!), direct outreach on LinkedIn, or introductions that came from investors / accelerators.

What marketing resources are already out there for tech founders?

When I looked through the resources they had used to ‘teach themselves’ marketing, I was shocked. There are some really great resources for building at the 0 to 1 stage. However, majority of the ‘early-stage’ marketing content is designed for startups that have at least 1-2 full-time marketers i.e. its marketing content for marketers.

In fact, much of the content considers Series A funded startups as early-stage. I have seen countless mentions of 7-person marketing teams referred to as ‘small’ or ‘lean’. While in comparison to many companies this is small, the realities of startups at the 0 to 1 stage when a founding team member is leading marketing is completely different. I know because I’ve been a solo marketer twice, once at a 2-person startup and another time at a Bootstrapped 5-person startup i.e. tiny.

Based on these learnings, and my 14+ years of end-to-end experience acquiring, retaining and monetizing customers for self-serve subscription startups (b2b and b2c), I officially launched Doing Good Well in November 2022.

I am on a mission to help values-driven underestimated founders get unstuck on their 0 to 1 journey. 

• What do I mean by values-driven? Kind humans building useful tech 😉

• And, underestimated? Individuals who have incredible potential but have been historically underestimated including female, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, & immigrants.

I specialize in self-serve B2B and B2C SaaS / subscription tech products.

What does Doing Good Well do exactly?

Since early-stage tech founders just need a little help getting unstuck and on the right path to growth, I offer:

• Marketing sprints focused on launch (1-week) or post traction (6-week) - each helping founders get clarity and move closer to product-market fit. Explore the sprints here.

• Fractional VP of marketing (not CMO) engagements to partner closely with the founder to launch and grow the startup to product-market fit.

Since I started Doing Good Well less than a year ago, I have had the pleasure of working with female founders building women-focused solutions such as Topknot and Farloe. More on both of these engagements is forthcoming!

I am committed to supporting values-driven underestimated tech founders outside of Doing Good Well with:

• Founder-led marketing club - An invite-only community for founders running marketing for their tech startup on the 0 to 1 journey.

• Free mentoring - I was accepted as a mentor on GrowthMentor (only 10 of 300 are). I'm doing free 30-min sessions every week.

• Angel investing - I am writing small checks to value-aligned tech startups.

Referrals are welcome for all of the above! I also welcome your feedback and ideas as I continue to iterate how to best support values-driven SaaS startups on the 0 to 1 journey. You can reach me at sgovani @ doinggoodwell.co.

Until then, let’s connect on LinkedIn and subscribe to the newsletter.