How founders should think about early-stage marketing

Startups are movements. The way you get people excited about the product you're building is very close to how you get people to support your cause during a political or non-profit campaign.

But why so many founders fail to create a movement?

The answer is that most of them are excited about the solution, not the problem. They fail to dig deep down into the pain point to find the real reason why the problem is worth solving. They are busy implementing new features at the request of their early users – which rarely helps to solve a problem.

Jason Fried illustrates this point sharply:

Your app should take sides say software should always be as flexible as possible.

We think that’s bullshit. The best software has a vision. The best software takes sides. When someone uses software, they’re not just looking for features, they’re looking for an approach. They’re looking for a vision. Decide what your vision is and run with it.

Christopher Lochhead also pointed out, if you speak more articulately about the problem than anyone else, people will assume you have the solution.

When you're building something from 0 to 1, nobody cares about your features because they are mediocre at best at this level. You are not competing with features; you compete for attention. And the best strategy to get attention is to excite people with your vision. The founders, we are often astounded by, have mastered this beyond genius.

Elon Musk doesn't sell electric vehicles; he sells a future where we're traveling to and from work in a self-driven car while drinking champagne and breathing clean, fossil-free air.

Hope this mental model will help you figure out your own movement!