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Don’t be a fat, lazy marketer.
@craignbaldwin
getsqrl.com
Craig Baldwin, CMO Sqrl
#startupcincy
Why you should or shouldn’t trust me.
@craignbaldwin
Accountant —> Bartender —> Marketer —> Brandery
• Raised ~600K in December 2013• Driven over 200K uniques to homepage + blog in 2014.• I’ve had 3 hole-in-ones
Who has an idea?
@craignbaldwin
This is really hard.
@craignbaldwin
Is startup marketing different than regular marketing?
@craignbaldwin
Yes. Startups have less time, money, and resources. That’s okay because regular marketers are sometimes lazy marketers.
$PG spent $9.7B just on advertising in 2013Market Cap = ~$210B
$FB spent $997MM on all marketing & sales in 2013Market Cap = ~$192B
$GOOG spent $7.2B on all marketing & sales in 2013Market Cap = ~$394B
“A startup is a company designed to grow fast… the only essential thing is growth. Everything else we associate with startups
follows from growth.”
-Paul Graham (Y-Combinator)
@craignbaldwin
The Path to Venture Backing• Show you’ll eventually operate in a market worth $600MM• Your goal is to be 1 of 2 leaders in that market. Operating in an
emerging marketing helps.• Show one distribution channel you can repeat on a model that
makes sense. Most companies have goal of 3:1 LTV to CPA• Come to the table with traction, proving you’re the team and
the product to get the job done.• Product can be very early (pre or post MVP), the biggest thing
to prove is demand via users, dollars, or engagement.
A. Paid Products = Paid penetration into niche marketB. Consumer / Free Products = Engaged user penetration into niche
market
@craignbaldwin
What have you done w/ your idea?
@craignbaldwin
Where to Begin?• Sell the narrative, then sell your product.
• Worry about your next customer or distribution channel before you worry about 100,000 of anything.
• A good book on proving concept: Running Lean
• Early metrics should focus around penetration & engagement of a very small niche market.
• Money can be misleading and a crutch for early growth.
@craignbaldwin
Understand what’s important to you.
@craignbaldwin
Consumer (Free) Ecommerce / SMB / Marketplace Enterprise
Value of Distribution Value of Proposition
Our Goal as Marketers is Traction.
“…basically quantitative evidence of customer demand. So if you’re in enterprise software, [initial traction] may be two of three early customers who are paying a bit; if you’re in
consumer software the bar might be as high as hundreds of thousands of users. It’s the [U.S.]
Supreme Court definition of porn… You’ll know it when you see it.”
-Naval Ravikant (Angellist) @craignbaldwin
Paths to Traction…
Viral MarketingPublic Relations
Unconventional PRSearch Engine Marketing
Social & Display AdsOffline Ads
Search Engine OptimizationContent Marketing
Email Marketing
Engineering as MarketingTargeting Blogs
Business DevelopmentSales
Affiliate ProgramsExisting Platforms
Trade ShowsOffline Events
Speaking EngagementsCommunity Building
-Traction (Book)@craignbaldwin
Hacking vs. Hustling
@craignbaldwin
Hacking = Pattern recognition and the ability to expose inflection points.
Hustling = Working incredibly hard to get data in the door.
How inspirational and innovative are you?
@craignbaldwin
Beats - Founded 2006, 64% of premium headphone market in 2012, sold to Apple in 2014 for $3B
Richard Sherman
Bose - Founded 1964, recently sued Beats.
Rory McIlroy
Profile & Learn• Fill a spreadsheet with list of 50-100 perfect users / customers in one
concentrated market.
• Your product may be new, but your market certainly isn’t.
@craignbaldwin
• Learn from others’ mistakes, and replicate their success.
• Add likes, dislikes, habits, etc. Profile these individuals and look for intersection points.
What have you validated in the market without a developer?
@craignbaldwin
Fat Launch
@craignbaldwin
Skinny Launch
• Little to no certainty of effectiveness of message before launch
• Mass media approach• “Hit & Hope” - just assume buyers will react to your
marketing
• Tested & refined message with micro campaigns pre-launch
• Leverage industry relationships, publications, & channels• Properly greased the wheels with CTAs to optimize
conversions and referrals.• You work harder than anyone else in the game.
Skinny Launch
@craignbaldwin
Skinny Marketers are #s Junkies
@craignbaldwin
• Accurate data about all activity in your funnel will lead to the inflection points.
• When you find the inflection points, hit the gas until the tank is empty
• Analytics are paramount to iteration and thus improvement
A Framework for Success
-Growth Hackers@craignbaldwin
Did it work?
@craignbaldwin
• Did you find one profitable channel which you can easily replicate?
• How good is your mini-brand? (To leave the niche market into larger ones)
• Do people love your product? What’s engagement like?
• Do you have the right team of people to take things to the next level?
Skinny Launch Secret Weapon
*Optimize launch, cause you’ll only get one shot.
@craignbaldwin
Other Killer Distribution Networks
Hacker NewsReddit
Designer NewsGrowth Hackers
Inbound.OrgBuffer Daily
Contribute Somewhere
@craignbaldwin
@craignbaldwin
What makes YOU the person?
@craignbaldwin
Resources I love
500 Startups Podcast
Ok Dork - Noah Kagan
Running Lean
Venture Deals
Growth Hackers
Radio Lab Podcast
Traction (Book)
Predictable Revenue
