{"id":362143,"date":"2026-08-01T17:31:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T17:31:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/advertising\/10-rules-of-early-stage-brand-marketing-growth\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T17:31:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T17:31:23","slug":"10-rules-of-early-stage-brand-marketing-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=362143","title":{"rendered":"10 Rules of Early-stage Brand, Marketing, Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"


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This article first appeared in the Marketing Fix newsletter by Karola Karlson (me).\u00a0Subscribe here<\/a>\u00a0for a bi-weekly (Fridays) delivery of hands-on marketing tactics based on 12y of growth roles in 50+ tech companies in the EU, UK, and US.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

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The best marketers don\u2019t excel in one single channel.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not about being a t-shaped marketer, either.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s also not about good taste, as the business media and influencers have been touting for the past six months.<\/p>\n

What makes a good marketer is the ability to learn and adapt.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let me explain.<\/p>\n

Between 2015 and 2026, Meta ads became 5-10x more expensive, and AI killed 90% of organic website traffic from Google.<\/p>\n

But it doesn\u2019t mean that paid social ads or content marketing no longer work.<\/p>\n

Marketers just need to approach these channels differently.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Facebook and Instagram ads now require different ad formats, and higher-quality designs that communicate more, faster.<\/p>\n

Content marketing, when done on a website, still requires a high domain authority and fast loading speeds. Your articles still need to rank in top Google 1-5 spots to be picked up by AI tools and listed in query replies. You just need to track the results differently.<\/p>\n

But the truly efficient content marketing now happens in newsletters and social media posts.<\/p>\n

This necessity to adapt (to new technologies and trends) also applies to early-stage brand, marketing, and growth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The principles are 100% the same in 2026 as they were back in 2015.<\/p>\n

So w\/o further ado, here they are.<\/p>\n

\n

10 principles of brand, marketing, and growth for early-stage companies<\/h2>\n

After helping 50+ European tech startups with early-stage growth, here are the key learnings that I continuously bring to all new projects.<\/p>\n

Brand:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Invest in strong (enough) brand early.<\/li>\n
  2. Understand your ICP (ideal customer profile).<\/li>\n
  3. Create what your ICP wants.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Marketing:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Focus on 2-3 marketing channels.<\/li>\n
    2. Copy what works for other brands.<\/li>\n
    3. Prioritise quality over quantity.<\/li>\n
    4. Multiply your marketing budget 5-10x.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Growth:<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Build growth loops. 1 user \u00bb 1.5-2.5 users.<\/li>\n
      2. Run 2 experiments\/month, minimum.<\/li>\n
      3. Don\u2019t worry about monetisation (just yet).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Bonus:<\/strong>\u00a0Hire top experts & excited beginners.<\/p>\n

        \"\"<\/figure>\n
        \n

        1. Invest in strong (enough) brand early<\/h2>\n

        In my humble opinion, the biggest mistake that early-stage startups make is not investing in a strong brand.<\/p>\n

        This is especially true in Eastern Europe and the Baltics.<\/p>\n

        \u201cIt\u2019s the product that people care about,\u201d the practical mind says.<\/p>\n

        And I do agree. The product\u00a0does<\/em>\u00a0have to be great. However, the same applies to your brand.<\/p>\n

        Why?<\/p>\n

        Imagine meeting a new person. You either like them or not.<\/p>\n

        It\u2019s exactly what happens when you go to a company\u2019s website (or App Store page) for the first time.<\/p>\n

        You either like the brand or you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

        As an early-stage company, you only have one chance to make a good first impression with each potential customer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        People don\u2019t return to brands they didn\u2019t like in the first place. (Either because of a cheap-looking brand or bad product experience.)<\/p>\n

        If I could do one thing differently in early-stage Taxify (now Bolt)\u2026<\/p>\n

        \"taxify<\/figure>\n

        Bolt now has a world-class brand.<\/p>\n

        In hindsight, I wish we\u2019d invested in a high-quality brand that looks trustworthy to people in Western Europe, too.<\/p>\n

        \"bolt<\/figure>\n

        But I can\u2019t help but think that we\u2019d grown much faster in London and Paris, had we\u00a0launched<\/em>\u00a0there w\/ a higher-quality brand.<\/p>\n

        \n

        2. Understand your ICP (ideal customer profile)<\/h2>\n

        In order to build a successful product and brand, you need to understand your target audience.<\/p>\n

        Who is your ICP \u2013 ideal customer profile? Is there a clear understanding about it across the organisation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

        The ICP is focused on your most valuable customers and prospects who are also most likely to buy.<\/p>\n

        When you google customer persona development guides, they often look like personal CVs.<\/p>\n

        This is\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0a sufficient way to define a customer persona.<\/p>\n

        You want to have a deeper understanding of their behavioural patterns, lifestyle, everyday struggles and needs, touchpoint marketing channels, etc.<\/p>\n

        Below is 1\/10 of the ideal customer persona mapping sheet I use on early-stage brands.<\/p>\n

        \"icp<\/figure>\n
        \n

        3. Create what your ICP really wants<\/h2>\n

        This is true for both your product features and marketing assets.<\/p>\n

        The not-so-nice truth about working w\/ early-stage companies is watching many of them creating a product that nobody wants or needs.<\/p>\n

        On the marketing side, once you know your ICPs (ideal customer personas), you can develop value propositions that:<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. \u2026 are actually useful and relevant to them.<\/li>\n
        2. \u2026 you can truly deliver on.<\/li>\n
        3. \u2026 differentiate you from the competition.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Both your product and marketing should solve your ICP\u2019s pain points.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          And by pain points I mean a pain so great they\u2019re willing to break the status quo and give your product a go.<\/p>\n

          For example, Wise knows their ICP\u2019s main goal is to save money on transfers.<\/p>\n

          They\u2019ve added a comparison of major banks right on their home page.<\/p>\n

          \"wise<\/figure>\n
          \n

          4. Focus on 2-3 marketing channels<\/h2>\n

          \u2026 instead of doing 10+ channels badly.<\/p>\n

          I often have to negotiate w\/ CEOs who\u2019ve read some LinkedIn post about a new marketing channel X and think we need to try it.<\/p>\n

          \u201cBut why do you think it\u2019s more efficient than our current channels that deliver positive ROAS?\u201d<\/p>\n

          Silence.<\/p>\n

          Especially in early stage, when the founding team members\u2019 time is your most valuable asset, it\u2019s practical to focus on fewer marketing channels.<\/p>\n

          Choose 2-3 marketing channels that reach the maximum number of your ICPs.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          In B2C, it could mean organic social media, and paid social (Meta) ads. Or an OOH marketing campaign. Or PR stunts. Or Reddit. Or building a content system that helps your product get referred by AI tools.<\/p>\n

          In B2B, LinkedIn (organic + paid), content marketing optimised for AI agents, and marketing-supported sales outreach work well. Partnerships and affiliate programmes also, when executed well, return a high ROI.<\/p>\n

          As a performance marketer who loves to experiment w\/ ad designs, I usually start from paid social (Meta + LinkedIn) to launch user acquisition fast. Later, I add a few additional channels, depending on the ICP and product.<\/p>\n

          \n

          5. Copy what works for other brands<\/h2>\n

          There\u2019s no such thing as innovation or uniqueness in contemporary marketing. It\u2019s all tried and tested tactics and channels.<\/p>\n

          What matters is\u00a0how<\/em>\u00a0you approach each channel.<\/p>\n

          Research what\u2019s working for other brands.<\/p>\n

          Don\u2019t copy your competitors, but other brands who target your ICPs.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          The easiest way is to check their website, social media channels, and paid ad libraries (Meta and LinkedIn).<\/p>\n

          See where they invest most.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Is it content, creators, partnerships, paid ads, organic social, live events, webinars, etc.? Is their sales team active on LinkedIn?<\/p>\n

          For example, a quick scroll through Clay\u2019s LinkedIn ad examples<\/a> tells me that they run lots of webinars w\/ partners and creators, and publish in-depth industry reports.<\/p>\n

          \"\"<\/figure>\n
          \n

          6. Prioritise quality over quantity<\/h2>\n

          \u201cThis marketing channel doesn\u2019t work for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

          Sounds familiar?<\/p>\n

          Sometimes, it\u2019s fair to scrap a marketing channel (or experiment) and admit defeat.<\/p>\n

          More often, marketers say \u201cit\u2019s not working\u201d after testing a channel for 72 hours.<\/p>\n

          Don\u2019t scrap a marketing channel because of your own scrappy work.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Give it at least 30 days of hard work.<\/p>\n

          Another problem I often see during marketing audits is the low quality of marketing assets.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          I\u2019ve seen dozens of company blogs that have 50+ articles. But none of them is actually good\u2026 Nor ranks on the 1st page of Google search results.<\/p>\n

          By \u201cactually good\u201d I mean the best article that exists on the given subject.<\/p>\n

          For example, when compiling my\u00a0free library of 95 marketing audit questions<\/a>, I didn\u2019t leave it at 15. I went all the way, creating the most extensive resource on the subject.<\/p>\n

          \"\"<\/figure>\n

          It\u2019s the #1 search result for the Google query of \u201cmarketing audit questions.\u201d And the first resource quoted in the AI summary.<\/p>\n

          (I tested in an incognito window to remove search bias. Do it whenever checking your own keyword rankings.)<\/p>\n

          \"google<\/figure>\n

          Quality work pays off.<\/p>\n

          One thing that\u2019s changed between 2015 and 2026 is the level of quality people expect from brands.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Nobody needs more low-quality slop. There\u2019s already too much in the world.<\/p>\n

          On the other hand, it\u2019s so easy to feel like you have to do\u00a0something<\/em>. Because, like other human beings, you encounter 100x more cool stuff daily than you used to five years ago.<\/p>\n

          Don\u2019t fall into the good marketing anxiety trap.<\/p>\n

          Instead of despairing \u201cthere\u2019s so much good stuff out there, how can I even compete?\u201d take a step back from the noise.<\/p>\n

          Zone out. Book a 4-hour slot to think. And come up w\/ something that\u2019s valuable to your ICP that\u00a0you<\/em>\u00a0can deliver.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          That something probably isn\u2019t something you can create in 10 minutes w\/ an AI tool. If it is, it already exists.<\/p>\n

          It\u2019s the slow, focused, demanding work that translates into high-quality marketing assets and campaigns.<\/p>\n

          I\u2019m not saying \u201coriginal\u201d on purpose. I don\u2019t believe that in 2026, originality matters as much as quality and craft.<\/p>\n

          Spend more time on creating quality marketing assets (articles, landing pages, ad creatives, PR stunts, newsletters, etc.) rather than launching semi-good ones.<\/p>\n

          Read more: Dismantling the AI Marketing Mammoth<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n

          7. Multiply your marketing budget 5-10x<\/h2>\n

          Hot take, I know.<\/p>\n

          Isn\u2019t an early-stage startup supposed to be\u2026 FRUGAL?<\/p>\n

          Well, yeah.<\/p>\n

          But the thing it needs to be frugal about is not money. It\u2019s\u00a0time<\/em>.<\/p>\n

          Each month that your company fails to grow exponentially, you\u2019re burning your funding on team salaries, office rent, software licenses, etc.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          I\u2019ve seen so many startups die slowly while playing it safe.<\/p>\n

          And so have you.<\/p>\n

          The whole point of having an investment (vs bootstrapping) is to grow fast.<\/p>\n

          Early-stage companies are like ice cream. : p<\/p>\n

          You either go all in or watch it melt through your fingers and stain the floor (your reputation).<\/p>\n

          \"melting<\/figure>\n

          Would you rather work w\/ a second-time founder (or founding marketer) who\u2026<\/p>\n

          a) Made bold early bets which didn\u2019t work out, and failed in 12-24 months.<\/p>\n

          b) Kept the company barely functioning for 10 years, then folded.<\/p>\n

          I know which one I\u2019d prefer.<\/p>\n

          A lot of the time, the best moat for tech companies is being the first to take the market.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Chances are that you\u2019re underspending on marketing and expansion.<\/p>\n

          Here\u2019s how I think about early-stage growth investment:<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Spend cautiously until you\u2019ve found your product market fit, positive marketing ROAS, and functioning growth loops.<\/li>\n
          2. Once you\u2019re growing organically (word of mouth, referrals = people love your product), 5-10x your marketing budget and expand to new markets\u00a0fast<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            For example, here\u2019s Klarna\u2019s expansion timeline.<\/p>\n

            \"\"<\/figure>\n

            Note when profitability arrives.\u00a0Source<\/a><\/p>\n

            \n

            8. Build growth loops. 1 user \u00bb 1.5-2.5 users<\/h2>\n

            All successful tech companies have a growth loop built into their product.<\/p>\n

            A growth loop means that every new user you bring into your product will invite others.<\/strong><\/p>\n

            It also means that if you spend \u20ac50 to bring in a new active user via paid ads, the CAC (customer acquisition cost) gets diluted once they bring other people into your product.<\/p>\n

            \"referrals<\/figure>\n

            The most obvious growth loop is referrals. But there are\u00a0many<\/em>\u00a0more.<\/p>\n

            Here\u2019s an\u00a0excellent article by Maja Voje<\/a>\u00a0on growth loops, including many examples.<\/p>\n

            \n

            9. Run 2 experiments\/month, minimum<\/h2>\n

            The best way to find things that work in the early stage is to experiment.<\/p>\n

            This applies to both marketing and product bets.<\/p>\n

            Rule #1 of experimentation: do it regularly and consistently.<\/strong><\/p>\n

            In the past months, working on Roleo\u2019s marketing and growth, I\u2019ve run at least one Meta ads experiment every week.<\/p>\n

            There are weeks when the new ad creatives perform worse than the previous ones.<\/p>\n

            And then there are weeks when I discover a new creative that brings 2x as many new users at a 50% lower CAC.<\/p>\n

            \"Roleo<\/figure>\n

            In just three months, I tested over fifty different Meta ad designs<\/a>. <\/p>\n

            Rule #2 of experimentation: prioritise the \u201chighs.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

            Often, low-effort ideas get prioritised over high-effort and high-impact.<\/p>\n

            Stay alert to this trap.<\/p>\n

            Also, give priority to high-confidence ideas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

            You have a solid understanding of your ICPs and their pain points. Trust your gut feeling. When in doubt, validate any new idea by talking to your users (and non-users).<\/p>\n

            My take on user interviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n

            You want to talk to people who use and love your product.<\/p>\n

            But more importantly, you should talk to your ICPs who are\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0using your product to understand what you need to build and improve.<\/p>\n

            \n

            10. Don\u2019t worry about monetisation (just yet)<\/h2>\n

            Another controversial view, I\u2019m aware.<\/p>\n

            \u201cIf people aren\u2019t willing to pay for our product, there\u2019s no product-market fit,\u201d you might argue.<\/p>\n

            Yes, I agree to some extent.<\/p>\n

            But I\u2019ve seen too many early-stage startups limit their early-stage growth with a bad monetisation model.<\/p>\n

            By \u201cbad\u201d I mean a pricing model that stops new customers from trying the product and stalls both supply and demand.<\/p>\n

            In the early stage, use your funding to grow, not to make back 0.1% of your potential future earnings.<\/strong><\/p>\n

            In order to monetise a market, you first need to take it.<\/p>\n

            For example, when entering a new market, Bolt burned millions on rider discounts and driver bonuses before reversing the profitability chart.<\/p>\n

            \"bolt<\/figure>\n

            If you think about fast-growth AI companies in 2026, they subsidise computing power, tokens, and software features.<\/p>\n

            Or they give consumers free agentic products that, in the background, cost them millions of \u20ac$\u00a3 in computing bills.<\/p>\n

            These companies\u00a0will<\/em>\u00a0become profitable in 2 or 5 or 10 years.<\/p>\n

            But first, they focus on fast growth and taking the market. To build the moat that makes it nearly impossible for any new players to enter.<\/p>\n

            Next steps<\/h2>\n

            Scroll back to the numbered list of 10 early-stage company marketing rules.<\/p>\n

            Take 10 minutes to reflect on them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Which ones do you already check?<\/li>\n
            2. Are there any that might help you grow faster?<\/li>\n
            3. Do you have the right team to implement them?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              If you feel like talking to a marketing and growth expert, I\u2019m open to 1-2 new consulting projects. Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n