Allocate 70% of your initial marketing budget to one or two channels where your ideal customers actively spend time, rather than spreading resources thin across multiple platforms. Canadian startups like Shopify and Wealthsimple achieved early traction by mastering single channels—content marketing and referral programs respectively—before expanding their reach.
Build your marketing foundation on authentic customer conversations, not assumptions. Conduct 20-30 problem-discovery interviews with your target market within your first 90 days, documenting exact phrases customers use to describe their pain points. This language …