Marketing
for startups

Evidence first, scale later

Marketing for startups is different from marketing for an established business. A dentist knows patients will come; the question is how many and at what cost. A startup often does not know yet who the customer is, which problem matters most to them or whether they will pay. Spending a seed round on a polished brand and a big launch before answering those questions is the most common way early marketing money disappears.

So early marketing works like a series of experiments. Each experiment has a hypothesis ("operations managers at mid-sized logistics companies will book a demo for automated dock scheduling"), a page that tests it, a small budget, a time limit and a decision rule written before it starts. I set these up and report the results plainly, including when the answer is no.

Landing pages as test instruments

A test page is not a mini-website. It has one audience, one promise, one proof point and one call to action. I build landing pages from 10 days, hand-coded and fast, with tracking in place so every visitor's action is recorded. Two or three versions with different promises, sent the same kind of traffic, tell you more than a month of debates.

The call to action should match the commitment you need to see. A waitlist email is cheap to give. A pre-order, a refundable deposit or a booked demo with a decision-maker is a much stronger signal. If you take pre-orders, be clear about delivery dates and refunds; the FTC has rules on mail and online order delays.

Picking channels

Early on, pick one or two channels that match how your buyers already look for solutions. If people search for the problem, Google search tests intent fast. If the product is visual or the audience is defined by interests, Meta tests messages cheaply. If the buyer is a specific job title, LinkedIn can work, which I deliver with a trusted partner. Founder-led content on LinkedIn, X or YouTube costs time rather than money and builds credibility investors notice too. The 90-day marketing plan explains how to sequence it.

Measurement that survives scrutiny

From the first ad, set up GA4 and Tag Manager with events that reflect real intent, UTM conventions everyone follows and a simple dashboard. Investors ask about acquisition cost and payback. Clean early data makes those answers credible and stops arguments inside the team.

Privacy and rules from the start

Collect only the data you need, write an honest privacy policy and handle consent properly; California's privacy law and other state laws may apply once you grow. Marketing emails need CAN-SPAM basics, and texts need written consent under the TCPA. Avoid claims you cannot support, especially about AI capabilities, health or money. When in doubt, ask your attorney.

I work remotely with founders across the US, from San Francisco to Boston and Austin. We meet on Zoom in your morning; everything I set up is registered to your company, so the next hire inherits a clean account.