The myth of linear startup marketing (and why chaos is the point)
Product marketing for startups sometimes feels like running an entire GTM strategy with nothing but Notion, instincts, and a suspicious amount of rage.
No fixed cadence.
No 12-step guru-approved growth machine.
Just:
- vibes
- Google Calendar
- and someone asking, “how are we tracking success?” (idk babe, emotionally?)
The fantasy vs. the reality
Everyone thinks startup marketing should be linear:
Define ICP → refine positioning → messaging → go-to-market → launch.
But if you’ve ever worked in an early-stage team, you know better. The product changes every three days. The sales deck gets rewritten mid-call. The founder pivots the narrative in a Friday sync. And somehow, you’re still expected to “be consistent across channels.”
🫠 Ok.
Frameworks don’t save you
Open LinkedIn and you’ll see someone proclaiming:
“If your messaging doesn’t follow this framework, your agency is stealing from you.”
Bestie… my brain doesn’t follow a framework.
This job is 80% reacting, 15% translating chaos, and 5% rewriting a 9-paragraph value prop into one sentence that makes sense to actual humans.
Meanwhile, the Dunning–Kruger effect in early-stage marketing is real:
- Read one thread on “growth loops”? Suddenly a GTM advisor.
- Watch one Alex Hormozi video? “Let’s launch a content engine.”
Meanwhile, the real work is deciding: do we ship this messy-but-true version now, or wait for something “perfect” that will never exist? (Spoiler: it’s always ship.)
And honestly, I hope you look back in a few months and cringe at your old messaging. That’s how you know you’ve made progress.
