Engaging with the Tech Startup Community

𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐢𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐔𝐒 𝐆𝐓𝐌: From recording many episodes of An Operator's Blog on US-India GTM, one clear pattern is emerging from the experiences of many founders: "𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐒, 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝/𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 (𝐞𝐠. 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐣𝐨𝐛, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐘𝐂 𝐞𝐭𝐜.), 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐔𝐒 𝐆𝐓𝐌." Cold outbound tends to work better when done on the back of adequate customer validation, social proofing & ecosystem reputation, all of which take time to build. Rather than depending too much on cold outbound, a better use of time when on the ground in the US is to: 1/ Build 1:1 ecosystem-level relationships with influential/ connected founders, operators, and investors. 2/ As you meet each person, try and get some warm intros. That's your best shot at getting a relevant 30-minute meeting where the other side is leaning in. Meet → Ask for one intro → Meet this new person → Again ask for another intro → Rinse & repeat... 3/ In parallel, execute an ongoing track of building your early reputation in the US (Bay Area?) ecosystem via social media content, engaging in relevant communities, regularly showing up in VC mixers & meetups, and generating value for the people you are meeting. The main objective of the first 6 months of US GTM is to put the foundational elements of a future GTM engine in place. At the heart of it is: (1) 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 + (2) 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 + (3) 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 = (4) 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝.

Subject: Community First, Agencies Later Dear CEO, It's not time to invest in marketing if there hasn't been an organic investment of time in the community surrounding your solution. The mistake most early-stage B2B startups make is seeking quick fixes for rapid growth. Here's what I hear almost always: "𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘵?" I start by understanding their commitment. Is there signals of traction or product market fit? 1. How many hours a week are you dedicating to community engagement? 2. What is holding you back from being a voice in the community? 3. What is the biggest blocker for you right now? These questions open the door to transparent discussions. The response generally is - not enough time. I remind them the core of their GTM strategy should be active Community Engagement. Don't rush into expensive partnerships targeting an uninformed audience. Instead, commit yourself/team at min. 6-9 months for substantial time investment in community building. To guide them through this phase, here's a simple framework: 𝟭. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 Network Mindfully: Connect with industry folks, allies, and even competitors. It becomes your strategic playground. Smart Starts: → Add 5-10 new connections weekly. → Engage with 3-5 thought leaders; don't lurk, add commentary. → Share insights—think quality over quantity. → Repeat weekly, show them your invested. Build your name. 𝟮. 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗢𝗩 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 Address Pain Points: Find the sore spots your customers are dealing with, then post your wisdom and POV, offering tools or frameworks that help. Example: → Your customers are drowning in spreadsheets? Post about how your tool is the lifesaver they've been waiting for. 𝟯. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Slack and Facebook Diplomacy: Join 2-3 Slack channels or Facebook groups where your tribe hangs out. Dive in with purpose. Strategic Hangouts: → Dive into # TechTalkSlack or # StartupInsights on Slack. → Check out “Tech Innovators” on Facebook. → Reddit for Common FAQs 𝟰. 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗼𝘀 Personalized Convos: Send personalized messages to new, tenured, churned customers. It’s less Tinder, more coffee chat. Conversation Starters: → Learn what they love, hate, and forgot about the product. → Use their insights for future talks and features 𝟱. 𝗙𝗹𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝟭-𝟰. Improve the product, enhancing features and strengthening the offering from real-time interactions. -------- Focus on building your brand. Your name starts to become a trusted partner. Tying back to the solution, the product, and the business. Because word of mouth is the driver for b2b growth if product market fit. What other ways are you building a community? Sincerely, 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘔𝘖 #gtmstrategy #b2b #cmos

Consistency in community-led Go-to-Market (GTM) doesn't mean bombarding. After observing countless product communities, here's a revelation: To 10x your community-led GTM efforts, it's sometimes more effective to... focus less on frequency and more on quality. 1. Pre-launch co-creation ↳ Involve your potential community early. Co-create the product, from features to marketing. This builds ownership and excitement. ↳ Example: Figma engaged designers early through access programs, allowing feedback that shaped development, ensuring it met user needs. 2. Gamified onboarding ↳ Replace boring tutorials with engaging, game-like experiences. Points, badges, and rewards make learning about your product fun and rewarding. ↳ Example: Grammarly boosts engagement with "daily goals" and streaks, fostering a habit of good writing practices through a fun, rewarding system. 3. Micro-influencer partnerships ↳ Leverage micro-influencers within your community. Their genuine connection with followers can authentically showcase your product's value. ↳ Example: Ahrefs partners with industry bloggers and micro-influencers for tutorials and reviews, effectively expanding brand awareness and trust within the SEO community. 4. Community-driven knowledge base ↳ Encourage users to build the knowledge base. User-generated content and peer-to-peer support enhance engagement and collective wisdom. ↳ Example: Zapier leverages its community forum for users to exchange automation workflows and solutions, enhancing the platform's value through collective wisdom. This approach doesn't require daily actions but involves strategic, meaningful engagement that fosters a strong, vibrant community around your product. Remember, quality over quantity always wins. ❤️♻️ P.S. How often do you engage with your community? I think we should aim for meaningful interactions 4-5 times a week. __ 📌 If you found this helpful, reshare this to your network and follow me Joseph Abraham for daily Go-to-market insights, frameworks, tools, and tips