name	startup-go-to-market
description	GTM strategy, channel selection, launch planning, and market entry execution
version	1.0

Startup Go-to-Market

Systematic framework for designing and executing market entry strategies.

Decision Tree: What GTM Analysis?

GTM QUESTION
    │
    ├─► "How do I reach customers?" ───► Channel Strategy
    │                                     └─► Channel selection, sequencing
    │
    ├─► "PLG or Sales-led?" ───────────► Motion Selection
    │                                     └─► GTM motion design
    │
    ├─► "How do I launch?" ────────────► Launch Planning
    │                                     └─► Launch playbook
    │
    ├─► "Who is my ICP?" ──────────────► Segmentation
    │                                     └─► ICP definition, targeting
    │
    ├─► "How do I scale?" ─────────────► Scaling Strategy
    │                                     └─► Growth loops, expansion
    │
    └─► "Full GTM strategy" ───────────► COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS
                                          └─► All dimensions

GTM Motion Types

Motion Taxonomy

Motion	Description	Best For	Examples
Product-Led Growth (PLG)	Product drives acquisition, conversion, expansion	SMB, developers, horizontal	Slack, Figma, Notion
Sales-Led	Reps drive deals through outbound and inbound	Enterprise, complex sales	Salesforce, Workday
Community-Led	Community drives awareness and adoption	Developer tools, open source	Hashicorp, MongoDB
Channel/Partner-Led	Partners drive distribution	Enterprise, geographic expansion	Microsoft, Cisco
Marketing-Led	Marketing drives demand generation	B2C, SMB	HubSpot, Mailchimp

Motion Selection Framework

ACV < $5K + Self-serve possible?
    │
    ├─► YES ──► PLG (primary)
    │              └─► Add Sales-assist for expansion
    │
    └─► NO ───► Is buyer technical?
                    │
                    ├─► YES ──► Developer/Community-Led
                    │              └─► Bottom-up adoption
                    │
                    └─► NO ───► Sales-Led
                                   └─► Inbound + Outbound

Hybrid Motions (2024-2025 Reality)

Hybrid	Components	Examples
PLG + Sales	Self-serve → Sales-assist for enterprise	Slack, Zoom, Figma
Community + PLG	OSS → Hosted → Enterprise	MongoDB, Elastic
Marketing + Sales	Inbound MQLs → Sales conversion	HubSpot
Partner + Sales	Partner referrals → Direct sales	AWS Partners

Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

ICP Components

Component	Questions	Example
Firmographics	Size, industry, geography	50-500 employees, B2B SaaS, US
Technographics	Tech stack, tools	Uses Salesforce, Modern data stack
Behavioral	Buying behavior, adoption patterns	Self-serve evaluation, fast decisions
Pain indicators	Symptoms of the problem	Growing support tickets, churn issues
Success indicators	Signs of good fit	Strong product-market alignment

ICP Template

## Ideal Customer Profile: {{PRODUCT}}

### Company Profile
- **Industry**: {{INDUSTRY}}
- **Size**: {{EMPLOYEE_RANGE}} employees
- **Revenue**: ${{REVENUE_RANGE}}
- **Geography**: {{REGIONS}}
- **Growth Stage**: {{STAGE}}

### Technology Profile
- **Must have**: {{REQUIRED_TECH}}
- **Nice to have**: {{PREFERRED_TECH}}
- **Red flags**: {{AVOID_TECH}}

### Buyer Profile
- **Primary Buyer**: {{TITLE}}
- **Champions**: {{TITLES}}
- **Economic Buyer**: {{TITLE}}
- **Influencers**: {{TITLES}}

### Pain Indicators
- {{PAIN_1}}
- {{PAIN_2}}
- {{PAIN_3}}

### Success Indicators
- {{SUCCESS_1}}
- {{SUCCESS_2}}

ICP Scoring

Factor	Weight	Score (1-10)
Budget available	20%
Problem severity	25%
Technical fit	15%
Decision timeline	15%
Champion identified	15%
Expansion potential	10%
ICP Score	100%

Channel Strategy

Channel Categories

Category	Channels	Best For
Organic	SEO, content, social, community	Long-term, sustainable
Paid	SEM, paid social, display	Fast, scalable, expensive
Outbound	Email, cold calls, LinkedIn	Enterprise, high ACV
Partnerships	Referrals, integrations, resellers	Leverage, distribution
Product	Viral, freemium, PLG	Self-serve, network effects
Events	Conferences, webinars, meetups	Enterprise, brand

Channel Selection Matrix

Channel	CAC	Volume	Time to Impact	Control
SEO/Content	Low	High	6-12 months	High
Paid Search	Medium	Medium	Immediate	High
Paid Social	Medium	High	Immediate	Medium
Outbound Email	Medium	Medium	1-3 months	High
LinkedIn Outbound	High	Low	1-3 months	High
Conferences	High	Low	3-6 months	Medium
Partnerships	Medium	Medium	6-12 months	Low
Product/Viral	Low	High	3-6 months	Medium
Community	Low	Medium	6-12 months	Medium

Channel Sequencing by Stage

Stage	Primary Channels	Why
Pre-PMF	Founder sales, communities, early users	Direct feedback
Early	Content, outbound, founder network	Capital efficient
Growth	Paid, SEO, partnerships	Scale
Scale	All channels optimized	Efficiency

PLG Playbook

PLG Funnel

AWARENESS
    │
    ▼
ACQUISITION (Sign up)
    │
    ▼
ACTIVATION (First value moment)
    │
    ▼
RETENTION (Continued usage)
    │
    ▼
REVENUE (Convert to paid)
    │
    ▼
REFERRAL (Viral spread)

Key PLG Metrics

Stage	Metric	Benchmark
Acquisition	Visitor → Signup	2-10%
Activation	Signup → Activated	30-60%
Retention	Day 1 / Day 7 / Day 30	40% / 20% / 10%
Revenue	Activated → Paid	10-30%
Referral	% users who invite	20-30%

Activation Definition

"Activation" = When user experiences core value

Product Type	Activation Moment
Slack	Sent 2,000 messages
Dropbox	Installed + synced file
Zoom	Completed first meeting
Notion	Created and shared doc
Your product	{{ACTIVATION_MOMENT}}

PLG Pricing Considerations

Element	Recommendation
Free tier	Yes, with usage limits
Trial length	14 days (card optional)
Upgrade triggers	Hit limits, need feature
Pricing page	Transparent, self-serve
Enterprise	"Contact sales" option

Sales-Led Playbook

Sales Motion Design

Element	SMB	Mid-Market	Enterprise
ACV	$1-10K	$10-50K	$50K+
Sales cycle	<30 days	30-90 days	90-270 days
Touch model	Low-touch/inside	Inside/field	Field/strategic
Demo	Self-serve or 15 min	30-60 min	Custom POC
Stakeholders	1-2	3-5	5-10+
Procurement	Credit card	Simple	Complex

Outbound Playbook

Sequence Structure:

Day 1: Email 1 (Pain-focused)
Day 3: LinkedIn connection
Day 5: Email 2 (Value-focused)
Day 8: LinkedIn message
Day 12: Email 3 (Social proof)
Day 16: Email 4 (Break-up)

Targeting:

Element	Specification
Company size	{{RANGE}}
Titles	{{LIST}}
Industries	{{LIST}}
Signals	{{TRIGGERS}}

Sales Stages

Stage	Definition	Exit Criteria
Prospecting	Identifying targets	Meeting booked
Discovery	Understanding needs	Qualified (BANT/MEDDIC)
Demo	Showing solution	Interest confirmed
Evaluation	POC, trial, references	Success criteria met
Proposal	Pricing, terms	Proposal sent
Negotiation	Contract discussion	Agreement on terms
Closed Won	Signed	Revenue booked

Launch Planning

Launch Types

Type	Goal	Timeline
Soft launch	Test, iterate	2-4 weeks
Beta launch	Build waitlist, get feedback	4-8 weeks
ProductHunt launch	Awareness, early adopters	1 day + prep
Full launch	Maximum awareness	1-2 weeks
Feature launch	Existing customer expansion	Ongoing

Launch Playbook Template

## Launch: {{PRODUCT/FEATURE}}

### Objectives
- Primary: {{GOAL}}
- Secondary: {{GOAL}}
- Metrics: {{TARGETS}}

### Timeline
| Week | Activities |
|------|------------|
| -4 | {{PREP}} |
| -2 | {{PREP}} |
| -1 | {{FINAL}} |
| Launch | {{ACTIVITIES}} |
| +1 | {{FOLLOW_UP}} |

### Channels
| Channel | Asset | Owner | Date |
|---------|-------|-------|------|
| ProductHunt | Listing | | |
| Blog | Announcement | | |
| Email | Customer comms | | |
| Social | Posts | | |
| PR | Press release | | |
| Community | Posts | | |

### Assets Needed
- [ ] Landing page
- [ ] Demo video
- [ ] Blog post
- [ ] Social graphics
- [ ] Email templates
- [ ] Press kit
- [ ] Customer quotes

### Success Metrics
| Metric | Target | Actual |
|--------|--------|--------|
| Signups | {{N}} | |
| Traffic | {{N}} | |
| Mentions | {{N}} | |
| Trials | {{N}} | |

ProductHunt Launch Playbook

Before (4 weeks):

Build hunter network
Create assets (logo, screenshots, video)
Write compelling tagline and description
Prepare maker comment
Coordinate with team for day-of support
Schedule for Tuesday-Thursday

Launch Day:

Launch at 12:01 AM PT
Post maker comment immediately
Share on social, email, communities
Respond to ALL comments within hours
Coordinate team upvotes (ethically)
Update throughout the day

After:

Thank supporters
Follow up with interested users
Publish retrospective
Update based on feedback

Growth Loops

Loop Types

Loop	Mechanism	Example
Viral	User invites users	Dropbox referrals
Content	Content → SEO → Users → Content	HubSpot
UGC	Users create content	YouTube, TikTok
Paid	Revenue → Paid ads → Users	Performance marketing
Sales	Revenue → Sales team → Users	Enterprise sales
Partner	Partners drive users → Revenue share	App stores

Viral Loop Design

USER → CREATES/SHARES → CONTENT/INVITE
                             │
                             ▼
                        NEW USER → CREATES/SHARES → ...

Viral Coefficient (K):

K = Invites per user × Conversion rate

Example:
Average invites: 5
Conversion rate: 20%
K = 5 × 0.20 = 1.0 (viral threshold)

Content Loop Design

CONTENT → SEO TRAFFIC → SIGNUPS → PRODUCT USAGE
    ↑                                    │
    │                                    │
    └────── USER-GENERATED DATA ─────────┘

Expansion Strategy

Land and Expand

LAND (Initial)
└─► Single team, single use case, low ACV

ADOPT (Prove)
└─► Usage growth, success metrics, champions

EXPAND (Grow)
└─► More teams, departments, use cases

STRATEGIC (Transform)
└─► Company-wide, multi-year, executive sponsor

Expansion Signals

Signal	Action
High usage	Proactive expansion conversation
New use case request	Cross-sell motion
Team growth	Seat expansion
Hitting limits	Upgrade conversation
Success metrics achieved	Case study + referral ask

Geographic Expansion

Phase	Markets	Approach
1	Home market	Direct
2	Adjacent (language/culture)	Localization
3	New regions	Local presence or partners

Resources

Resource	Purpose
channel-playbooks.md	Detailed channel execution guides
sales-motion-design.md	Sales process design
plg-implementation.md	PLG execution guide

Templates

Template	Purpose
gtm-strategy.md	Full GTM strategy document
launch-playbook.md	Launch planning template
icp-definition.md	ICP documentation

Data

File	Purpose
sources.json	GTM resources and guides

Install Skill

SKILL.md