Soumitra Sharma’s Post

Calling all startups and scale-ups! Today, I'm diving deep into the details of market fit with Tim Hillison, a 3x Global CMO/VP with experience at Visa, Microsoft, and PayPal. In 2019, he founded Entry Point 1, a business consulting and services firm that connects growth strategies across processes, systems, analytics, and teams., Tune in as Tim and I explore the crucial stages of market fit…from product to problem to platform. Here are some quick definitions to whet your appetite: • Problem Market Fit: Understanding what your customers are truly seeking. • Product Market Fit: Ensuring your product impeccably addresses those needs. • Platform Market Fit: Expanding your capabilities to cater to broader market demands. Here are three key takeaways from our discussion: 1. Understanding the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP): It's crucial for companies to know who they are targeting. This foundational knowledge shapes every aspect of a marketing and sales strategy, ensuring efforts are concentrated on the most promising prospects. 2. Alignment Between Sales and Marketing: Emphasizing the need for a revenue partnership, Tim underlined how critical it is for these teams to work with aligned goals and shared knowledge to drive company growth effectively. 3. The Evolution through Market Fit Stages: From problem market fit to product market fit, to platform market fit, understanding each stage's demands is key to scaling up successfully. Shopify serves as a stellar example of mastering this evolution. Whether you are part of a startup, a scale-up, or just interested in the latest marketing strategies, Tim’s insights are invaluable for anyone looking to boost their go-to-market tactics. You can listen to my conversation with Tim on the following platforms: Website: https://lnkd.in/gBPHvs63 Apple Pod: https://lnkd.in/dZirgNqc Spotify:https://lnkd.in/djyTb_gu... YouTube:https://lnkd.in/ezdE5XQD #ProductMarketFit #BoldMarketing #StrategyCast

Starting with a smaller market is the best approach. 🔥🔥

I'm ecstatic and delighted to announce that I'm starting a new position with GoodDay Software as their Head of Marketing, starting this week. This would be my 5th early-stage startup where I get to build from scratch. Here's why I'm choosing GoodDay 👇 1/ The founders. It's run by industry stalwarts Kyle Hency and Dave Wardell who previously built and sold Chubbies for $100+ million. They're joined by John Gully, who was previously at Shopify. Safe to say, they know what they're doing. 2/ It's a massive problem. Inventory management is broken and it hasn't been fixed since 1998. Countless (solutions) have tried and failed. And as we're all painfully aware, a mismanaged backend can kill a brand. 3/ Customer-led company. Yes, GoodDay is through and through a customer-led company. From day 0, we have been building with and for our Shopify brands facing specific issues. Startups are risky but when you build with customers, your chances of succeeding increase dramatically. And here's a bit about GoodDay (gooddaysoftware.com): We're reinventing the ERP for brands running on Shopify. We help you wrangle your mess of disconnected spreadsheets & software into one unified, reliable retail OS. If you want a demo, DM me or comment on this post. Anyhoo, I'm looking forward to this and hoping this next leg of my career will be awesome. #NewJob #Ecommerce #Shopify #SaaSMarketing

Founders, you're missing out on your biggest multiplier. Scaling feels like an uphill battle. Resources are stretched thin. Growth is slower than you'd like. But there's a game-changer at your fingertips. Leverage. 1. Leverage through technology: - GitHub automated collaboration for millions with code written once. - Canva created features that add exponential value without extra cost. 2. Leverage through capital: - AWS used initial funding to build infrastructure that startups rely on. - Shopify invested in growth to accelerate their trajectory. 3. Leverage through people: - Stripe hires engineers who automate, reducing manual workload. - Slack's small team built a product used by millions without massive expansion. Why does this matter? Because leveraging technology, capital, and talent lets you do more with less. It scales your impact. Cuts your costs. Boosts your growth. So ask yourself: Are you obsessing over leverage? Because if you're not, you're leaving massive growth on the table. #BrainDumps | BrainDump #105

Unlocking Marketplace Growth: The Secret to Boosting Your Conversions Are you struggling to convert visitors into users on your marketplace? You're not alone. Many startups face the same challenge, but the solution might be simpler than you think. Here’s the Secret: Focus on crafting compelling success stories. When your users achieve their goals, they naturally become your biggest advocates, driving more traffic and conversions. Here are three quick tips to start: 1. Identify Key Milestones: Map out the journey your users take from discovery to conversion (ie. Map your Mountain!) and identify friction pouts and other key touchpoints where you can smooth out the journey. 2. Highlight Success Stories: Share testimonials and case studies that showcase real user success. This builds trust and credibility. 3. Optimise the User Experience: Ensure a seamless and intuitive journey through your platform to reduce friction and improve conversions. Want to learn more about boosting your marketplace conversions? Let’s chat! Send me a DM

Here’s how I scaled my business from $0 to $500K ARR in 12 months When I first started, I had: - No investors. - No massive marketing budget. - Just an idea and the drive to make it happen. Here’s what worked: 1. Solving a specific pain point - Instead of chasing after the next "big idea," - I focused on one clear, defined problem that my target audience was struggling with. ↳ Solving that specific problem gave the product immediate value. 2. Launching an MVP quickly - I didn’t wait for perfection. - I launched fast, tested, and iterated. ↳ The feedback from early users shaped the product roadmap. → This helped us pivot and refine before scaling too quickly. 3. Building a loyal customer base organically - I didn’t have the budget for paid ads. ↳ So, I doubled down on building relationships and nurturing early adopters. → Organic growth through word of mouth was our biggest accelerator. 4. Experimenting with pricing models - Pricing was tricky, and I didn’t get it right the first time. - We tested different models and adapted based on customer feedback. ↳ Finding the sweet spot led to consistent monthly revenue growth. 5. Content marketing and community building - We shared valuable content that solved problems for our audience. ↳ Creating a community around the product established trust and loyalty. → Customers became advocates, helping us grow without huge ad spend. The results? In 12 months, we reached $500K ARR. Key takeaway: You don’t need fancy investors or big budgets to scale. - Focus on solving real problems, - Engage with your audience, → And you can grow a successful business from the ground up. Need help scaling your startup? Let’s connect!

Have you ever noticed how the most successful businesses started by solving ONE critical problem? Consider these success stories: • Stripe simplified online payments. • Dropbox mastered file syncing. • Airbnb connected travelers with spare rooms. They all started with laser focus on their “one thing.” Yet, 70% of startups fail due to premature scaling, and 35% fail because they try to solve too many problems, losing market focus. At CentraHub CRM, we live by this principle. Our focus is clear: we empower businesses to streamline sales, automate workflows, and nurture customer relationships—one seamless solution at a time. Instead of building a "do-it-all" platform, CentraHub CRM focuses on eliminating the biggest pain points sales and marketing teams face every day: ✅ Streamlining sales and managing leads ✅ Enhancing customer service with smarter tools ✅ Simplifying eCommerce operations ✅ Automating and optimizing business workflows What’s the one problem that, if solved, would have the biggest impact on your business today? #crm #automation #sales #marketing #customerservice

We're launching BuildWith to provide startups, SMBs and agencies with custom software at a more-manageable cost. We provide our services with a fixed, up-front cost and subscription-based support, making financial planning simpler and more predictable. Plus our commitment to lean and agile-inspired methodologies means we deliver precisely what you need, efficiently and reliably. 🌐 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐬: Whether you’re launching a business or expanding, we can build your custom website or eCommerce store using top platforms like Squarespace and Shopify. Start marketing your business and selling your products online with ease! 🔧 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Need to improve data management, automate a process or launch a new software product? We’ve built consumer and B2B software MVPs/products, high-scale/real-time APIs and internal tooling, and our team is equipped to develop and manage the software that’s essential for your business’s growth. 🎨 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐔𝐈 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧: We’ll collaborate with our design partners to create custom interfaces that meet your specific requirements and truly represent your brand. 📈 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: With extensive experience building and managing engineering teams and tech operations, we also offer tailored consulting services to help you effectively scale your technology and organization. We're proud of our track record working with both startups and larger tech companies like DoorDash, Expedia, Square, and Uber, and we’re eager to bring this expertise to your company. Click below to schedule an initial call if you’re interested in learning how buildWith can help your business! https://lnkd.in/eCBcaJhh #WebDevelopment #AppDevelopment #CustomWebpages #Ecommerce #ManagementConsulting

Brands wasting floods of money on a product no one wants (Steal these 3 market validation methods from top brands) Dropbox - Simple MVP Testing: What Dropbox Did: Before building anything, Dropbox's founder shared a simple explainer video of the product. They gauged interest through email sign-ups. Result: Thousands of sign-ups → proof of market demand. How You Can Apply It: Create a short demo or concept video of your automation service and share it on social media, business forums, and email campaigns. Measure Demand: Sign-ups or interest = validation before you invest in development. Airbnb - Testing with a Small Audience: What Airbnb Did: Airbnb founders tested demand by offering their service at small events, like local conferences. Result: Proof of demand and valuable real-world feedback. How You Can Apply It: Offer your automation services to a niche group (e.g., small businesses in a specific industry). Refine: Use feedback from this trial to optimize your offering. Zappos - Fake It Before You Make It What Zappos Did: Zappos started by listing shoes from local stores without holding inventory. They validated demand by fulfilling real orders manually. Result: They confirmed people would buy shoes online and then scaled up. How You Can Apply It: Set up a simple landing page showcasing your automation services. Offer consultations, and handle leads manually until you understand demand. No Full Investment Needed: Test interest first, build later. Market research doesn’t have to be complex. These simple methods can quickly validate demand before you make heavy investments. P.S. Have you tested demand for your services yet? Let me know how it went!

Why Joshua Budman and I started Noble! To: Kyle Lacy From: Rahul Jain It was awesome meeting you and I’m glad that Adam Goyette introduced us. You asked about why Joshua Budman and I started Noble but then we moved on before I could give the full answer. Here’s why: 1. Personally, this is how I buy. When I buy anything important or expensive, I’ll almost always ask around to find a friend who has it so I can ask them what they think. And the reason that mattered to me is because the last two startups I worked at, I wasn’t their target market so I never used the product. I wanted to build a product that I would use now instead of something I would need later. 2. I saw how other people were buying. I did sales and I saw this happen all the time. People are busy and will ask their friends for recommendations because it’s fast and trustworthy. 3. Finally, the market was changing in 3 interesting ways because of AI: (1) there are more B2B companies than ever and it will only get cheaper to start a new company; (2) the cost of unlimited cold emails and phone calls is approaching $0; and (3) AI-generated fake reviews make it harder than ever to trust traditional social proof. Buyers will need a way to cut through the noise of vendors trying to get their attention, and I think people will do what I do - ask around to their friends. Last thing I’ll say is that Josh and I got lucky when we met marketers like Jason Widup who believed in our idea when all we had was a Figma demo. Jason’s feedback gave us the confidence to pursue it. It’s barely been a year, but I’m really happy that Josh and I committed to getting Noble off the ground. We’ll see how it goes from here!