As a first time founder, what are some things I should know?
Hey PH, I’m Kerem, and I recently started building my first startup. Only 2 months in, but it’s already clear: the startup world demands an entirely different set of skills than anything I’ve done before.
I’ve realized I’m pretty decent at building, product, design, backend, but when it comes to marketing, outreach, and getting real traction... I feel way out of league.
I’m trying to make this process as effective as possible and would genuinely appreciate any advice from people who’ve been here before.
What do you wish you knew earlier?
What helped you get over the fear of cold outreach?
Any frameworks, tools, or mindset shifts that made a difference for you?
Any wisdom, big or small, would mean a lot.
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@marcusfreeland That’s a great takeaway Marcus, as someone that's also kind of new to the startup space and navigating this myself, besides experience from your efforts and experimenting, curious to hear what helped guide you in your marketing journey specifically. Was it mentorship, books, feedback loops, or something else that gave you real direction early on?
@dheerajdotexe @marcusfreeland Really appreciate the detailed response, super insightful. I love that you emphasized learning from everyone around you, regardless of seniority. That mindset’s something I’m trying to adopt more. And the idea of testing ideas on side sites is gold, never thought of it like that. Thanks again for sharing all this so openly, it’s genuinely helpful.
@marcusfreeland Thanks for this, Marcus, really needed to hear it. I'm still early in the process and it's easy to get discouraged when things don't move fast. The reminder that marketing is a long game and improves as the product matures really hits home. Curious, was there a specific moment when you realized your messaging finally clicked with your audience, or was it more of a gradual thing over time?
@marcusfreeland That makes a lot of sense, thanks Marcus. Starting to realize how much of it comes down to small tweaks and paying close attention to user behavior. Any inbound marketing resources you’d personally recommend?
@keremcan01 check Hubspot
The biggest thing I wish I had known ~10 years ago was to find some way to take time away. Burn out is so real. Scheduling a "decompress for two hours on a Thursday night" doesn't work if at 2 hours and one minute you're running back to work on something. Now, instead of waiting until the evening to decompress, I do it in the middle of the day - even if it's just sitting outside with the dog and taking a long lunch.
The next thing: go out and meet people that are doing things like you. Go to startup meetups in your area. Work on your elevator pitch, enter pitch competitions, if you can afford to (both financially and time-wise), apply to OnDeck Founders, etc. Once you realize how many people are in your shoes, cold outreach gets easier. If you believe in your product, why shouldn't others?
Marketing can be tough. There's so much to learn; hire people who are better at it than you are. You don't need to boil the ocean - you need to do what you are good at. The best thing you can do is invest in people who can do something that would take you 10x the effort and time. You will save your sanity, and you'll have a better perspective of what works and what doesn't.
If you have employees, trust that you made the right decision. Over-managing will never allow you to focus on what you're building. People make mistakes. Give them enough freedom to do so.
Good luck @keremcan01!
@jeremiah_church_cc Hi Jeremiah, Thanks so much for the detailed response. I’m really glad you mentioned taking time off, tend to feel like I need to go at 100% all the time, but you’re right, that’s not sustainable. Decompressing isn’t slacking, it’s recharging so you can come back stronger. Your points about networking, marketing, and trusting your team were also really insightful. I’ll be keeping them in mind moving forward.
Write like you talk. That helps in emails, tweets, and outreach.
@michael_t_brown Yeah, authenticity really does make a huge difference sometimes.
People are a lot less interested in me or my service than I expected.
It kind of feels like I don’t even exist sometimes :)
And in the middle of that, I find myself trying to build something others need , not necessarily what I want.