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5 Comments

Most Early-Stage Startups Don’t Need Marketing — They Need Feedback

Most founders think the next step after launching is marketing.
More traffic. More users. More growth hacks.

But for most early-stage startups, that mindset is wrong.

If you have zero users, or fewer than 100, your biggest problem isn’t scale.
It’s understanding.

Amplift was built for this early stage.Instead of pushing traffic, it helps founders learn from the market. You drop in your product link, and Amplift:

· creates a clear go-to-market plan
· helps test it across channels
· shows what people respond to
· turns results into useful feedback

It’s not about hacking growth.
It’s about figuring out what actually works.

For many founders, this is the first time marketing feels helpful instead of confusing.

Here's how to use it:
1.Click the link below and log in.
2.Enter your product’s website URL.
3.Get a complete marketing plan (just like one created by a marketing partner).
4.Choose to execute the plan or modify it.
5.Monitor the results in the dashboard and see how many people start visiting your website.

🔗 https://amplift.ai/?utm_source=indiehackers&utm_campaign=post_dec

You can use it for free now by logging in.

If you feel stuck, it’s probably not because you’re bad at marketing.
You might just be trying to grow before you’ve learned enough.

Feedback comes first.
Growth comes later.

Curious how other founders here think about early-stage growth.

posted to Icon for group Startups
Startups
on January 21, 2026
  1. 1

    That's so thoughtful and timely. I’m currently at this exact crossroads with my new saaS product Rankory. After a year of building in the AI SEO space, I'm forcing myself to stay in the 'feedback trenches' rather than jumping into marketing.

  2. 1

    100% agree.

    At this stage, distribution is really just a way to earn feedback, not scale. Every sharp critique reveals where the product breaks, what it’s actually good for, and who it’s not for. Marketing too early just hides those signals.

  3. 1

    Feedback Is important for founders in fine tuning their product or service. I just revamped my own website Startupily based on client feedback and created new AI tools for business owners.

  4. 1

    Sounds like a really interesting product! And i totally agree. Feedback from your ideal customer is always ideal as a first step towards validation.

  5. 1

    Great insight here! Too many founders jump straight into marketing before really understanding their users. Feedback first, growth later. That’s the mindset that builds products people actually love.

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