Founder-Led Marketing Club

In just one page I feel so seen. I’m reading Sharon Gillenwater’s book, Scaling with Soul: how I built and sold a $25M tech company without being an a**hole The book is real - stories, feels, and facts. It is a refreshing read about Sharon’s rare journey from 0 to $25m exit. I highly recommend it! There are two things on this one page that spoke to me deeply: 1) I, too, am incredibly hard on myself. I, too, faced a false accusation that I vehemently (and successfully) defended. I’m now very selective about whom I work with - partners or customers - because I know the impact humans around me have on me. I’m now laser focused on what I know I’m good at: helping entrepreneurs design their go-to-market to get their first 100 Happy Paying Customers. This is my way of curating a day-to-day that doesn’t leave room for others to bring me down. 2) On a more practical note, I’m 100% the same way with preparation. I’ve always been a planner. I enjoy it. Preparation, for talks or customer meetings or even travel, calms me down. It helps me enjoy the experience and be in the moment. It eases my anxiety. It works for me. It’s a ton of work. But it makes sense for me. But, to balance this, it helps when I put myself in familiar situations. This is another reason niching down to the earliest stages of a business, is a great fit for me. How are you curating a life that allows you to play in your zone of genius and happiness? Because you deserve it, too. Happy Sunday!

I literally had goosebumps… as Sharon shared how she grew her business to a $25M sale during a session for the Founder-Led Marketing Club last month… She claimed she knows nothing about go-to-market. Spoiler: she does. 𝗠𝘆 5 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 - 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘃𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗻:    1️⃣ Everything takes longer than it appears from headlines. 3-4 years in they got their first big deal. Salesforce $50k. 6 years in they finally got their pricing right.  8 years in they hired their first FTE (sales person). That year they also hit $1M ARR. 2️⃣ You can win without splashy marketing campaigns but not without understanding your market and customers. They never found a 'scalable' marketing channel. They always designed to meet customers where they are. For e.g. they had to do a 'double sell' - first to convince customers about the category, then to buy their product. 3️⃣ You can win without VCs believing in you but as Linda Mutricy 🐦⬛ so eloquently put it: “I am starting to internalize that bootstrapping is all about the skill of seeing potential in others (employees, partners, clients) and yourself”. We live in a time of immense misguided advice for founders that assumes a singular VC backed path as the only path to success. This is far from the truth - large majority of startups are not VC backed (90%+ I think?). Sharon’s story is one of hope and inspiration for founders like her - women, parent, bootstrapped, and seeking an exit for a life changing amount. 4️⃣ You don’t need "top" talent. Sharon causally said, “Bootstrappers don’t recruit, they develop talent”. She creatively hired young talent who didn’t even realize how smart they are and invested in them. They went on to take leadership roles at the company. Some are still with the company today after the sale! 5️⃣ Splashy products that don’t get used mean nothing. As Sharon said in her parting words to the founders: build something real that is valuable to customers. --- ✨ Sharon is a must follow on here and TikTok @sharonkgillenwater (beware of her imposters!) 👉 Stories like Sharon's reinforce my belief that the sole focus of every founder at the 0-$1M stage should be on replicable Happy Paying Customers. This is the hill I’ll die on. What about you? P.S. Sharon and I are meeting to chat about potentially partnering. What should we work on together on? Serious question! P.P.S. Founder have spoken: they want more inspiring founders like Sharon who can speak to what they did in the trenches at the 0-1 stage leading to their success. Any suggestions? Women / POC / LGBTQ+ / immigrant preferred.

I was incredibly terrified last month. I am very intentional in every decision. But, this one time I did something instantly. I'm talking about the bootcamp I launched. It went from concept to live in ~1 month. We're wrapping up week 3 already! Already the founders have: + developed a draft go-to-market plan + discovered blockers and opportunities + dove into their customer segmentation Every single founder has got a brand new outlook on their customers. After several iterations, one founder had their aha moment: "I feel stupid I hadn't thought of this customer segment before." I don't think it's stupid at all. This is DEEPLY difficult work. But, when we figure it out, it always sounds so obvious. Another founder gushed: "The bootcamp is so great. I love it. It is really awesome...the example you gave about the segmentation you put together was so great and helpful." And, one sent me the pictured feedback. My favorite part: she's using existing data and has a whole new outlook on her customers. Whether they started with 0 or some Happy Paying Customers, all of them have *clarity* and *confidence* on the direction to micro-test now. I am so proud of every single one of the bootcamp founders. And, I am overjoyed that I get to hang out with them 2x a week. Plus, we chat in the Founder-Led Marketing Club Slack, too! What's next? + We're taking a quick pause for Labor Day: Founders have picked a priority customer segment. Now, they'll be researching and reflecting about them. + When we return we'll design micro-tests: To find and engage this segment where they are. And, convert them into Happy Paying Customers.

"People don't care about you and your product" That's how Justyna Ciecierska-Göçeryan started her brilliant session for the Founder-Led Marketing Club. Harsh but true LOL The "building your early content engine" session covered: 1️⃣ - Marketing Waiting Room™ by Justi CG - what is it?! (I think its the best way to conceptualize what the goal of your content should be) 2️⃣ - Told us about early stage vs. growth stage startups * spoiler: it is a going to take time and a ton of work to build up your content engine. * Oh and it'll be super hard until you've got your go-to-market fundamentals down i.e. segmentation, understanding their journey, and nailing messaging. (yes, this is why I am always advising founders to focus on GTM basics first. no marketing works without it. Justi referred a client to me who was too early to work with her!) 3️⃣ - Step-by-step on how to create your first content plan from scratch ✨ my favorite part is how she taught founders to uncover content topics based on the *symptoms* of the buying trigger ✨ (and yes, again, back to GTM fundamentals: you have to know your customers and their buying triggers for content to work for you) 👉 What are your hot tips for founders on how to get started with content? If you are a founder on your 0-1 journey, this is the resource you need to get started with your content (or improve it!). Want the recording and accompanying template? Comment here / DM me if we're connected!

I said, "let's do a feelings check: how are you *feeling* now?" Entrepreneurship is freaking hard. The emotional and mental work it needs is completely underrated, and often hidden. When Linda Mutricy pitched me the idea for the Founder Go-to-Market Bootcamp, she emphasized the importance of doing mindset work. That's why our first session focused on 3 main things: 1 - Curating a safe space for every founder 2 - Sharing our feelings (what makes marketing / sales SO hard?!) 3 - Committing to the process (only way to get past the overwhelm!) And, ya'll, the founders got REAL. We spoke about: + jealousy + lies on social + beautiful landing pages + headlines about $$ raised + struggling with prioritizing + overload of ideas and to-dos + all the feels about doing sales So, how did we close the session then? Claps and celebration (pictured)! And, I know we're headed in the right direction because Cody Z Anderson, CEP eloquently shared his priorities after the session: + creating clarity on priorities and staying focused on the next most important thing + asking myself “what value can I bring to the world today?” + where are my most valuable/important customers today and how can I meet them where they are?! Linda messaged me after to say: "Great session!! I think you finally convinced me, I need to figure out my replicable Happy Paying Customer." YES. CLARITY. VALUE. CUSTOMERS. FOCUS. HECK YES. 👏 LETS GO!!! 👉 I'd love to hear from other entrepreneurs: how do you *feel* about GTM / marketing / sales for your business? p.s. ignore the ugly slide I created half asleep the night before fueled by adrenaline lol p.p.s. if you're a founder on your 0-1 journey and running your own marketing/sales, DM me to learn how you can join in on the vibes inside the Founder-Led Marketing Club!

95% of your market is NOT ready to buy right now... Even the 5% of buyers currently exploring solutions for their problem, need to *like* and *trust* you before they'll consider YOUR solution. This means, you need a way to catch, retain, and convert your dream customers' attention with a content engine. But, how do you do that as the founder running your own marketing at your early-stage startup on your 0 to 1 journey while also running the rest of your business? 1️⃣ First, (in)validate your go-to-market hypotheses to get on the path to getting your first 100 Happy Paying Customers. That's what we do inside of the Founder-Led Marketing Club. We pick a clear customer segment. And, get to know their customer journey. 2️⃣ Then, you can build a Marketing Waiting Room™ to take them from dispersed attention to retained attention by meeting them on their current journey. + What does this mean? + How do you do it? + Where do you begin? + What content to use? + Which channels? That's exactly what Justyna Ciecierska-Göçeryan is going to be teaching members of the Founder-Led Marketing Club this Thu, Aug 15 at 11 AM CT during: "The Marketing Waiting Room™ - Build your high-performing early content engine" 👉 I've got 5 guest passes for founders running their own marketing/sales for their startups. Comment below / DM me to claim yours! Or, tag your founder BFF figuring out content. 👉 What questions should I ask Justi about building content engines at early-stage startups?

None of us *know* what is going to work when we launch our business. Founders who 'figure it out' ask really good questions to... (a) specialists who are incredibly talented at their trade AND understand the bigger picture. That's what Justyna Ciecierska-Göçeryan brings with her content expertise and knowing when/how to apply it. Don't be fooled. This is a RARE combination. Her Marketing Waiting Room™ by Justi CG is one of the most clear content strategy methodologies I've ever used. In her session for the Founder-Led Marketing Club (FLMC) she is going to break down how founders (with limited time and money) can build their early content engine. When: Aug 15 @ 11 AM CT (b) founders who *transparently* share their journey from 0-to-1 to exit. Sharon Gillenwater is one of the rare bootstrappped founders who had a $25M all-cash deal. She has revealed details about her exit from her early days as a service business turned productized solution (tech + service blended). In her session for FLMC she is going to answer questions from members (and guest founders who join!) about her 0 to 1 journey that eventually led to her $25M exit. When: Aug 29 @ 11 AM CT It is bring a friend to Founder-Led Marketing Club month so snag 1 of 10 guest passes. Want a pass? Comment below with a question for the session you'd like to attend. Note: Please make sure we are connected so I can DM you! P.S. Marketers and founders: welcome questions from you even if you can't join.

Ashley Chang's bootstrapped startup, Sundays, hit $350K ARR in 14 months. How did she get here? 👇 Ashley has been a member of Founder-Led Marketing Club (FLMC) since December 2023 when they had less than 10 Happy Paying Customers. By March 2024, ~3 months later, they had already hit $100K ARR. In a member-only FLMC session with other founders, Ashley shared her journey, marketing routine, and lessons learnt. One of my favorite takeaways was Ashley's use of 'micro-goals'. For example: 💡 When she got started: "My first goal was, can I get 20 people to enthusiastically talk with me about this problem." 🚀 When she had a solution: "My next goal was to get 1 person who does not know us to buy from us." 📈 When they had early traction: "Hit $100K ARR". 💰 And just like that, one micro-test at a time, they recently surpassed $350K ARR. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 14 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀? Get the full scope in today's 0 to 1 Marketing newsletter with direct quotes from Ashley's FLMC member-only session. More on how to access it below! 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘆'𝘀 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: 1. Discovering an idea worth pursuing 2. Marketing-first approach to validating her idea 3. User research interviews for direct sales 4. Micro-testing to 10 Happy Paying Customers 5. A manageable marketing routine that works 6. Micro-testing new ideas 7. Making time for marketing as a founder 𝗧𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘆'𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: click “Subscribe to newsletter” link under my name above(you can immediately can read it directly from there!) Have questions for Ashley/me? Comment below. Onto Happy Paying Customers! p.s. Interested in joining the Founder-Led Marketing Club and GTM micro-testing for your startup on the journey to $350K? 3 options are described at the bottom of the newsletter. DM me for information!

We recently hit $350k in ARR (as a bootstrapped company) We would not have gotten here without marketing (and Founder-Led Marketing Club). Here’s our marketing routine 👇 Monthly… → I set marketing goals for the month. I usually divide into 3 areas (1) executing on what’s working (2) micro-experiment in an new area (3) information gathering about areas I want to experiment in the future. Today that’s 1 - LinkedIn, 2 - Ambassador program & newsletter, 3 - partnerships Weekly… → I schedule marketing time in my calendar with specific goals (e.g. draft 5 series email welcome newsletter). I also schedule time to write new posts. Marketing is almost always important but not urgent. If I don’t schedule it, it doesn’t get done. Daily… → Since LinkedIn is our main platform right now, and it operates on East Coast time, that means I’m up early. I edit a draft post and spend ~30 minutes reading and commenting (usually from bed 🙃). I'd love to hear what's working for you! Comment below. -- Sundays is an executive assistant service for working parents. We help parents get focused time back at work and quality time with family.