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Growing a startup can be HARD

You feel lost 92% of the time - The highs and lows are brutal.

I wish I'd had a framework when I first started my job.

So I created one.

Here are 30+ growth lessons I wish I'd learned sooner:
1. Focus on storytelling

Humans buy emotions; not the product

Build a story around your product/startup

Sell the story
2. Fail Fast

Marketing campaigns fail and it's okay

It's better to fail early than later

Fail fast and iterate
3. Data is the fuel

You need data to measure the success in marketing

Never depend on assumptions

Measure everything in and out
4. Mix up experiments

Some experiments take time to show results

While some show quickly

Have a mix of both running along
5. Define the outcome before planning

Decide end goal before deciding "how"

Once you have a number in mind plan how to reach that

Most people do the opposite
6. Take Sprints

Work like a lion, not like a cow

Do marketing sprints, achieve the goal

Plan and take sprints
7. No secret sauce

There is no one formula

You need to work hard to create your own formula

All the best!
8. It's always about THEM

People don't care about you

People always care about themself

Make your user the HERO
9. Work on strengths

Everyone has a unique strength

You need to figure out what's yours

Work on your strength rather than working on your weakness
10. Prioritise things

You can not do everything at once

You need to start to prioritize tasks and work accordingly

Know the difference b/w urgent, priority, not so urgent
11. Take Risks

You can never know what will work

Until you try and test

Trust your guts and take calculated risks
12. Consistent efforts

Things will take time

No matter what things will take time

Be consistent with your efforts, results will show up
13. Focus on customers

Optimize for your customers always

Not for your investors, competitors, or yourself

Customers are always the first investors
14. Curiosity >> Skills

Skills can be gained but curiosity can't

Be curious to learn new things

A curious person can learn anything and everything
15. There is no perfect plan

No matter how many plans you make execution matter more

Spend more time executing than planning
16. Get feedback

No one can be perfect

Taking constant feedback is the only way to improve

Be direct on what area you need the feedback
17. Work on your strengths, always!

It's almost always better to double down on your unique strengths.

The world rewards outlier excellence

And not all-around mediocrity.
18. Practical learning > Theoretical Learning

No matter how many books you read- you can only learn by F*cks ups

Internet is full of deep knowledge

But its application is rare.
19. Accept uncertainties

No plan can go as planned

The result is always uncertain

Accept that and take gut decisions
20. Time v/s Results

Marketing takes time

Decide the time in which you want to get results

More time= Organic marketing
Less time= Paid marketing
21. Choose the right platform

Choose according to the target audience who hangs out there

GenZ = TikTok
Millennials = Instagram
CEOs, Founders & VCs = Twitter

Once you choose the platform create the content accordingly
22. Measure right metrics

People often fall for vanity metrics

Measure metrics that add up to the revenue

Focus on the visits to conversion ratio
23. Paid v/s organic

Both are important

Never put all the eggs in one basket

Analyze the stage of the product

If you want to scale go for Paid

But always focus on organic along the side
24. Retention v/s Acquisition

The balance between both is crucial

But if Retention << Acquisition then something needs to be fixed

If Retention is less then focus on

-Customer support
-Product features
-customer feedback
-USP
25. High LTV and Low CAC

If your CAC is high and LTC is low your business can't survive

Know how much a customer's value will be over the course of a lifetime

By that, you can make smarter decisions about what to spend to acquire a customer.
26. Keep learning

You can never know everything

It has been years still find something new to learn every day

Be a student for life
27. Analyze mistakes

Write down all the "WHYs"

If an experiment failed, what were the reasons?

Reflecting on mistakes is the best way to grow
28. Never quit

Marketing efforts compound.

It might be tiring at the start but things get better once you start getting results

Marketing is all about delayed gratification
29. There is no one way

Marketing = Constant experiments

What worked for them might not work for you

Keep all doors open
30. Ask for help

If you get stuck, do not shy away from asking for help

Everyone is figuring out
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