Startup growth and go-to-market terms

Product-market fit, go-to-market, CAC and LTV, positioning and finding early adopters. 29 terms, each with what it means, why it matters and what to do about it.

Beachhead market

A beachhead market is a small, specific first market a startup aims to dominate before expanding to neighbouring markets.

Beta testers

Beta testers are early users who try a product before its full release, report bugs and give feedback in exchange for early access.

Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping is building a company without outside investment, funding growth from savings and the revenue the business earns.

Case study

A case study is a detailed story of how a customer used a product to solve a problem, with the situation, the solution and the results.

Churn rate

Churn rate is the share of customers who stop using or paying for a product in a period, such as a month. Lower is better.

Cold start problem

The cold start problem is when a product needs many users to be valuable but cannot attract users until it is valuable, as with marketplaces.

Customer acquisition cost (CAC)

Customer acquisition cost, CAC, is the average amount spent on sales and marketing to win one new customer in a given period.

Customer development

Customer development is a method for startups to find a repeatable business by testing assumptions with customers step by step, before scaling.

Customer discovery

Customer discovery is talking to potential customers to learn their problems and test whether your idea solves something they care about.

Customer lifetime value (LTV)

Customer lifetime value, LTV, estimates the total revenue or profit a customer brings over their whole relationship with a business.

Early adopters

Early adopters are the first customers to try a new product, accepting rough edges because the problem matters to them and they like new things.

Founder-led sales

Founder-led sales is when a startup’s founders sell the product themselves in the early days, before hiring a sales team.

Go-to-market strategy (GTM)

A go-to-market strategy is the plan for bringing a product to customers: who it is for, how it is positioned, priced, marketed and sold.

Growth hacking

Growth hacking is fast, experiment-driven marketing that looks for cheap, scalable ways to grow, often using product, data and creativity.

Jobs to be done (JTBD)

Jobs to be done is a way to understand demand: customers "hire" a product to make progress in a situation, not because of who they are.

Marketing channels

Marketing channels are the routes a business uses to reach customers, such as search, social, email, communities, creators, ads and sales.

Minimum viable product (MVP)

A minimum viable product, MVP, is the simplest version of a product that lets you test your core idea with real users and learn quickly.

Positioning

Positioning defines what a product is, who it is for and why it is the best choice for them compared with the alternatives they consider.

Pre-launch

Pre-launch is the period before a product is publicly available, used to build an audience, collect sign-ups and validate demand.

Product-led growth (PLG)

Product-led growth is a strategy where the product itself drives acquisition and expansion, usually through free trials, freemium and sharing.

Product-market fit

Product-market fit is when a product clearly satisfies a real market need: customers want it, use it, keep using it and tell others.

Referral marketing

Referral marketing rewards existing customers for bringing in new ones, for example with credits or discounts for both sides.

Testimonial

A testimonial is a short statement from a real customer about their experience with a product, shown to build trust with prospects.

Total addressable market (TAM)

Total addressable market, TAM, is the total revenue opportunity for a product if it won every possible customer. SAM and SOM narrow it down.

Unique selling proposition (USP)

A unique selling proposition, USP, is the specific benefit that sets a product apart from competitors and gives customers a reason to choose it.

Value proposition

A value proposition is a clear statement of the benefit a product delivers, for whom, and why it is better than the alternatives.

Viral coefficient

The viral coefficient, or K-factor, is how many new users each user brings in on average. Above 1, a product grows on its own.

Viral loop

A viral loop is a cycle where using a product brings in new users, who use it and bring in more, such as invites or shared content.

Waitlist

A waitlist collects sign-ups from people interested in a product before it is available, to gauge demand and launch to an audience.