All activity
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Lucy Heskins
left a comment
Hi there and welcome to the weird and wonderful world of The Adventures of Startup Marketing Club (perks include burnout and tears).
I have created a series of web comics sharing the lessons I learned whilst working in-house at a startup.
Episode 1: Things I wish I knew before joining a startup
This edition is a tongue in cheek attempt to share the main lessons I learned - understanding...
![The Adventures of Startup Marketing Club](https://ph-files.imgix.net/35a40225-437f-4bd3-898c-db92a428ce5d.png?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
The Adventures of Startup Marketing Club
Navigating the messy journey of startups... in comic form
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
The Adventures of Startup Marketing Club (perks include burnout and tears) tells the story of working in a startup, validating a product, and building out the marketing function.
...It's part real-life, part sarcasm in web comic form!
![The Adventures of Startup Marketing Club](https://ph-files.imgix.net/35a40225-437f-4bd3-898c-db92a428ce5d.png?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
The Adventures of Startup Marketing Club
Navigating the messy journey of startups... in comic form
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Lucy Heskins
left a comment
I loved being part of the founding team because it was my chance to "do it right". Plus, I loved being part of the origin story... :)
Why do you work at a startup?
Daria
Join the discussion
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Lucy Heskins
left a comment
Great question. Here's my take from working in a startup:
Fall in love with the product, not the team.
> It's easy to get swept up in the founders' story, but they may not be around the whole time as you scale.
Let your customers tell you what category you’re in.
> You can't tell people you're game-changing or innovative... unless you customers tell you.
You don’t need to act on...
What have you learned the most from failure?
Aaron O'Leary
Join the discussion
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Lucy Heskins
left a comment
Oh, great question.
Advice: Go where the research takes you. Don't try to fit your perception of a problem onto a market's actual problem.
Why? As founders our bias can over ride decisions on days it gets a little tough.
If you could give only 1 advice to yourself at the beginning of your startup, what would it be?
Sveta Bay
Join the discussion
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Lucy Heskins
left a comment
Loved reading this, Hana.
These are the things nobody ever talks about
Taylor Majewski
Read
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Lucy Heskins
left a comment
I use To-Doist, Notion, Google Shared Docs. Works a treat! I've never come across Freedom, but I realise I need it!
What are the Best Productivity App in 2022?
Maggie Joseph
Join the discussion
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Lucy Heskins
left a comment
Hey Adam! I was in a similar predicament a while ago. I like the concept of freemium because it opens up the funnel and you can record a ton of data, but I found that when digging into who our audience truly was, the market was much smaller and the numbers wouldn't stack up. In this case, usage-based seemed to work better - it still allowed the user to check out the premium features, but we...
Pricing with a Freemium Model. Thoughts?
Adam Andrascik
Join the discussion
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Lucy Heskins
started a discussion
What's the one thing you hate most about marketing advice aimed at early-stage startups?
Don't hold back: I'd love to hear what you think.
Is it people sharing a ton of theory but absolutely no way to apply it?
Is it when others tell you to only focus on performance marketing?
Please share! (and when you do, let me know if you're a founder or a marketer!)
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Lucy Heskins
left a comment
Hey Cem, I echo Alex's advice. When working in an early-stage startup, we focused on both marketing and product development at the same time. Marketing didn't really exist at this point, we spent a lot of our time on interviewing potential customers to work out what our message-market fit would be... way before product-market fit. We also mapped out their experience to understand their...
What do you spend the most on as an early stage SaaS startup?
Cem Bulut
Join the discussion
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Lucy Heskins
left a comment
Sounds like an awesome idea, Jenny.
I worked on a product for HR teams. My go-to was LinkedIn, whereby I asked people to recommend HR professionals who were prolific in trying new products out. In each case, I asked for their advice - not feedback. I also asked them to take part in helping me create lead magnets, it helped boost their reputation and for me, validate what language they'd use...
How did you grow/find your first group of users to a MVP product you just launched?
Jenny Kim
Join the discussion
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Lucy Heskins
left a comment
I wrote a series of post on the problem with startup marketing that was picked up by TechCrunch. (A few months of organic traffic). The client came from reading the article, signing up to a startup marketing project I offered. I learned customers from this source speak a different way to startup founders that come in from, say, social media. I also learned that if you stick "growth" in front of...
How did you acquire your first paid customer and what did you learn from it?
Sharath Kuruganty
Join the discussion
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Lucy Heskins
left a comment
NICE! @louisslices, your guests always reference the most useful resources, this makes it really easy to locate them in such a great collection.
One suggestion, is there a way to tag who's podcast it was featured on? Sometimes I ask myself 'what was that resource that [Mark Ritson] mentioned again?'
No BS Marketing Resources
620+ resources shared by 160+ no BS marketers
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Lucy Heskins
left a comment
Forget the Funnel makes me a better marketer. Full stop.
The insight I've learned from being a member of this community has had a tremendous impact on my personal development, the startup I work for, and the founders I speak with.
Why I'm recommending being a member:
> They share info on stuff that *actually works*.
> The lessons are filled with practical advice, not out-of-reach...
Forget The Funnel Memberships
Where SaaS leaders create scalable, customer-led growth
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Lucy Heskins
left a comment
This book totally changed the way I think about positioning, but also how we positioned our product.
We've moved from operating in an industry where we were one of the crowd to a new space where all of a sudden people just get it (and love it). April's advice totally works!
![Obviously Awesome](https://ph-files.imgix.net/73a8b905-8d22-4144-86df-4727e7894ca1.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Obviously Awesome
How to nail product positioning
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Lucy Heskins
left a comment
Careercake was created to talk about the things that happen at work that either people are worried about asking or secretly struggling with.
The platform hosts our content which looks at everything from how to come out at work to how to manage a new team (when you were down the pub with them only last week).
We would love your feedback. We're an all female start up based in Cardiff UK and...
![Careercake](https://ph-files.imgix.net/0851f6f8-30b0-49e9-904f-22c50b75dec9.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Careercake
Watch awesome careers content anytime, anywhere.
![Lucy Heskins](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/1322489/original.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
We create awesome careers content aimed at tackling the subjects no one else talks about. Like how to talk to your boss, get heard in a meeting full of loud people or deal with anxiety. We only take requests, all topics are from our live community.
![Careercake](https://ph-files.imgix.net/0851f6f8-30b0-49e9-904f-22c50b75dec9.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=48&h=48&fit=crop)
Careercake
Watch awesome careers content anytime, anywhere.