Founders

Landing your first customers is one of the hardest jobs in startup life, and keeping them is harder still. At TechCrunch Disrupt, two founders and a venture investor made the case that you don’t need a viral moment to do either. Quick Facts The Social Media Temptation Some young AI companies, including Cluely and Instinct, have built large audiences partly through their founders’ bold online personas. That makes social media look like a shortcut to early customers. The panelists agreed it can work, but only with a clear plan. Gamma’s Creator Playbook Gamma, an AI-powered presentation tool, grew fast by running an influencer program it calls its Ambassadors program, or “Gambassadors.” The company started the strategy before creator marketing became a common startup tactic, and it later reached a multi-billion-dollar valuation. Lee said the program only works when creators match the audience. If your product serves several segments, such as consultants or marketers building decks for executives, you need different creators for each group. He also warned against treating influencer marketing as a “set it and forget it” tactic. If creators can’t explain what your product does and why it matters, spending more money won’t fix the message. Engine’s Old-School Approach Elia Wallen took the opposite route. His company, Engine, manages lodging and travel bookings for midsize businesses, and it bootstrapped its way to $150 million in bookings before taking any outside funding. It had no visible social media strategy. Instead, the team went to events and picked up the phone. Wallen said many founders who didn’t grow up with cold calling assume it’s outdated, but it still works, and many companies ignore a big offline client base because they don’t know how to do it well. His summary: “The phone still works.” The Magician Trick Engine also used a memorable booth tactic in its scrappy early days: it hired a magician named David to perform for prospects at events and steer them toward the Engine booth. The lesson isn’t to hire a magician. It’s that personal, in-person engagement can match or beat the latest social media tricks. Retention: Read the Usage Data Winning a customer is only half the job. Crystal Huang, who has worked with many startups, said founders should study how customers use the product after signing up. Key questions include: She said the goal is to create evangelists who are truly passionate about the product, and early usage and retention data can reveal who they are. What Founders Can Take Away What to Watch Next Expect more founders to mix creator marketing with traditional outreach, and more investors to push startups toward retention metrics over raw buzz. Source: TechCrunch