Go to market

Go-to-Market Strategy

Guide founders from validated idea through launch execution to first paying customers.

Workflow

1. Diagnose Stage

Ask: "Where are you in your launch journey?"

Stage	Signals	Next Step
Pre-product	Building MVP, no users yet	→ Step 2: Pre-Launch
Pre-launch	Product ready, preparing to launch	→ Step 3: Channel Selection
Launching	About to go live or just launched	→ Step 4: Launch Execution
Post-launch	Live but need more traction	→ Step 5: First Customers
Scaling	Have customers, need growth	→ Step 6: Growth Engine

2. Pre-Launch Foundation

Build momentum before you have a product.

Waitlist Strategy:

Tactic	Effort	Expected Results
Landing page + email capture	Low	Baseline list
"Coming Soon" on Product Hunt	Low	Tech-savvy early adopters
Content marketing (blog, Twitter)	Medium	Organic, high-intent signups
Referral incentive (early access)	Medium	Viral growth, 2-3x signups
Beta application form	Low	Pre-qualified, committed users

Waitlist Benchmarks:

• 100 signups = Enough for beta testing
• 500 signups = Solid launch foundation
• 1,000+ signups = Strong launch momentum

Pre-Launch Actions:

1. Build email list with landing page
2. Create "Coming Soon" page on Product Hunt (14 days before)
3. Identify 10-20 beta customers from personal network
4. Draft launch announcement (email, social, PR)
5. Prepare all marketing assets (screenshots, video, GIFs)

3. Channel Selection

Choose channels based on your business type.

B2C Consumer Apps — Kickstart Tactics

From Lenny Rachitsky's research on 40+ consumer companies:

Tactic	Description	Best For	Examples
Friends first	Tap personal network	Any consumer app	Yelp, LinkedIn, Clubhouse
Go where they hang	Physical presence at target locations	Location-based, social	Tinder (colleges), Uber (transit hubs), Snapchat (malls)
Targeted strangers	Cold outreach to ideal users	Niche audiences	OpenTable (restaurants), Cameo (influencers)
Influencers	Partner with creators	Visual/social products	Spotify, Instagram, Airbnb
Viral content	Create shareable content	Entertainment, tools	Duolingo (TEDx), Calm (website)
Press/PR	Media coverage	Novel/newsworthy products	Airbnb (cereal story), Robinhood
Physical placement	Stickers, flyers, presence	Local/consumer	DoorDash, Instacart
Be first on platform	Early mover advantage	Platform-dependent	YouTube (MySpace embeds)

Growth Engine Selection (Consumer):

Engine	How It Works	Signs It's Working
Virality (WOM)	Users naturally tell others	Organic referrals, social sharing
Virality (invites)	Product prompts invites	High invite rate, network effects
Paid acquisition	Ads drive growth	Positive unit economics (LTV > CAC)
SEO	Content drives organic traffic	Growing organic search volume

B2B SaaS — GTM Motions

From analysis of 30+ B2B companies:

Starting Motion	Best For	Examples
Product-led to engineers	Dev tools, technical products	GitHub, Segment, Retool
Product-led to founders	SMB SaaS, horizontal tools	Gusto, Shopify, Slack
Sales-led to founders	Higher ACV, complex sales	Carta, Zendesk
Sales-led to enterprise	Enterprise software	Snowflake, Workday

Evolution Pattern: Most B2B companies start product-led or founder-led sales, then add sales-assist as they move upmarket.

B2B First Customer Tactics:

Tactic	Description	Effort
Personal network	Friends, former colleagues, YC batch	Low
Collison installation	"Give me your laptop" immediate setup	Medium
Cold outbound	Targeted emails to ICP	Medium
Community presence	Forums, Slack groups, Reddit	Medium
Incubator networks	YC, Techstars, accelerator batches	Low

4. Launch Execution

Platform Launch Checklist (Product Hunt):

2 Weeks Before:

• Create "Coming Soon" page on Product Hunt
• Identify hunter (or self-hunt)
• Prepare assets: screenshots, GIF, video (< 2 min)
• Write compelling tagline (< 60 chars)
• Draft first comment with your story
• Build supporter list (aim for 50+ people to notify)

Launch Day:

• Launch at 12:01 AM PST (Tuesday-Thursday best)
• Post first comment immediately
• Notify email list, supporters, social followers
• Respond to every comment within 1 hour
• Share on Twitter, LinkedIn, relevant communities
• Send personal messages to key supporters

Launch Benchmarks:

• Top 10 of day = Newsletter feature
• 300-500 upvotes = Solid launch
• 700+ upvotes = Strong launch
• 1,000+ upvotes = Excellent launch

Multi-Channel Launch:

Channel	Timing	Action
Product Hunt	Day 1, 12:01 AM PST	Full launch
Hacker News	Day 1-2	"Show HN" post
Twitter/X	Day 1	Thread + ongoing
Email list	Day 1, morning	Announcement
Reddit	Day 1-3	Relevant subreddits
LinkedIn	Day 1-2	Post + article
Indie Hackers	Day 1-2	Launch post

5. First 100 Customers

Different playbooks for B2B vs B2C.

B2B: First 10-100 Customers

Week 1-2: Personal Network

• List every founder, exec, PM you know
• Reach out personally (not mass email)
• Ask: "Can I show you what I'm building?"
• Goal: 5-10 demos

Week 3-4: Extended Network

• Ask early users for intros
• Leverage investor networks
• Post in founder communities (YC, On Deck, etc.)
• Goal: 10-20 demos

Week 5-8: Outbound

• Build ICP list (LinkedIn Sales Navigator)
• Craft personalized cold emails
• Follow up 3x (most replies come after follow-up)
• Goal: 30-50 demos

Cold Email Template (B2B):

Subject: 10x [Company]'s [metric] in 10 minutes

Hi [Name],

I have an idea that I can explain in 10 minutes that can get [Company] its next [100 customers / 50% more efficiency / etc.].

I recently used this idea to help [similar company] [achieve result].

Let me know if you want me to share it with you. If not, no worries—just thought you'd find it valuable.

[Your name]

Conversion Benchmarks (B2B):

• Cold email open rate: 30-50%
• Cold email reply rate: 5-15%
• Demo-to-trial: 30-50%
• Trial-to-paid: 20-40%

B2C: First 1,000 Users

Unscalable Tactics (Do These First):

• Manually onboard every early user
• Personal thank-you messages
• 1:1 user interviews
• Fix issues immediately

Scalable Tactics (Add Later):

• Referral programs
• Content marketing
• Paid acquisition (if unit economics work)
• Influencer partnerships

B2C Benchmarks:

• D1 retention: > 40%
• D7 retention: > 20%
• D30 retention: > 10%
• Viral coefficient: > 0.5 (growing), > 1.0 (viral)

6. Growth Engine Selection

Use the Racecar Framework (Lenny Rachitsky):

Kickstarts — One-time boosts to get moving:

1. Share with friends/colleagues
2. Reach out to targeted strangers
3. Go where your users hang out
4. Enlist influencers
5. Get press coverage
6. Create viral content
7. Physical placement (stickers, flyers)
8. Host events
9. Be first on a new platform

Growth Engines — Sustainable, compounding growth:

1. SEO — Content drives organic search traffic
2. Paid ads — Online, out-of-home, direct mail
3. Sales — Outbound, inside sales, field sales
4. Virality — WOM, sharing, referrals, invites

Turbo Boosts — Periodic accelerants:

• Get PR/media coverage
• Create viral content/campaigns
• Host or sponsor events
• Influencer mentions
• Marketing campaigns
• Release a viral mini-product
• Get featured on platforms

Lubricants — Improve efficiency:

• Increase conversion rates
• Increase retention
• Increase brand awareness
• Improve activation/onboarding
• Optimize pricing

7. Early Traction Metrics

Track different metrics based on stage.

Pre-Launch Metrics:

• Waitlist signups
• Email open/click rates
• Social engagement
• Beta applications

Launch Metrics:

• Product Hunt ranking/upvotes
• Website traffic
• Signups/downloads
• Press mentions

Post-Launch Metrics:

Metric	B2C Benchmark	B2B Benchmark
DAU/MAU	> 20% = good	N/A
D7 Retention	> 20%	> 40%
D30 Retention	> 10%	> 60%
NPS	> 40 = good	> 30 = good
CAC Payback	< 12 months	< 18 months
LTV:CAC	> 3:1	> 3:1

Traction Signals (Pre-Revenue):

• Unsolicited inbound inquiries
• Users reaching out unprompted
• Organic word-of-mouth
• Requests for features you planned
• Users comparing you to bigger players

Decision Checkpoints

Channel Selection Matrix

Ask: What's your product type?

Product Type	Primary Channels	Secondary Channels
B2C Consumer	Virality, influencers, go where they hang	Paid, SEO, PR
B2C Marketplace	Supply-side first, then demand	SEO, paid, physical
B2B SMB	Product-led, content, communities	Outbound, partnerships
B2B Enterprise	Sales-led, events, partnerships	Content, ABM
Dev Tools	Community, content, product-led	Events, open source

Launch Readiness Checklist

• Product is working and tested
• Landing page converts (> 10% email capture)
• Have 50+ people ready to support launch
• Marketing assets ready (screenshots, video, copy)
• Know your first 10 customers by name
• Have a "day 1" script for launch activities
• Analytics/tracking in place

Traction Health Check

Healthy Signs:

• Week-over-week growth > 5-7%
• Retention improving over time
• Users referring others organically
• Inbound interest increasing
• CAC decreasing as you learn

Warning Signs:

• High acquisition, low retention
• All growth from paid (no organic)
• Churn increasing
• CAC increasing over time
• No organic word-of-mouth

Common GTM Mistakes

See references/gtm-mistakes.md for detailed anti-patterns.

Top 5 Mistakes:

1. Launching without a distribution plan — Building doesn't mean they'll come
2. Spreading across too many channels — Focus on 1-2 that work
3. Premature scaling — Don't pour fuel on a leaky bucket
4. Ignoring unit economics — Growth isn't growth if CAC > LTV
5. Outsourcing sales too early — Founders must sell first

Deliverables

1. GTM Strategy One-Pager

Create using docx skill:

• Target customer summary (from ICP)
• Primary launch channel + rationale
• First 100 customers playbook
• 90-day milestone targets
• Key metrics to track

2. Launch Checklist

Customized for chosen platform(s):

• Product Hunt launch checklist
• Multi-channel launch timeline
• Day-of-launch script

3. Channel Prioritization Matrix

Create using xlsx skill:

• List of potential channels
• Effort/impact scoring
• Fit with ICP
• Prioritized ranking

4. First 90 Days Traction Plan

Week-by-week plan including:

• Pre-launch activities (weeks 1-2)
• Launch execution (week 3-4)
• First customers push (weeks 5-8)
• Growth optimization (weeks 9-12)
• Milestone targets per week

Reference Files

• references/channel-examples.md — 40+ company GTM case studies (B2B and B2C)
• references/gtm-mistakes.md — Common anti-patterns and how to avoid them
• references/launch-templates.md — Email templates, launch copy, outreach scripts

Integration with Other Skills

• Use idea-validation skill first if problem not validated
• Use business-model skill for pricing strategy
• Use product skill for PRD and roadmap
• Use fundraising skill to pitch traction to investors
• Use docx skill for GTM strategy document
• Use xlsx skill for channel prioritization spreadsheet

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Adapted from Linas Beliūnas's The One-Person Unicorn founder skill set.