Why Startups Get Marketing Wrong

“We’ll hire a marketer later.”

If you’ve ever said this as a founder, you’re not alone. Many early-stage startups postpone marketing until they feel it’s absolutely necessary. The trouble is, by the time it feels urgent, it’s often too late.

Unlike R&D, product, or finance, marketing is frequently seen as optional. Something to deal with after fundraising, after sales hires, or after the product is “ready.” But neglecting marketing comes at a cost: slower growth, lower valuations, and even higher risk of failure.

The Myth: Great Products Sell Themselves

Founders, especially those with technical backgrounds, often believe that if the product is strong enough, adoption will follow naturally. It’s an appealing story. Unfortunately, the data tells a different story.

• According to CB Insights’ 2024 startup post-mortem, one of the most common reasons startups fail is that there is “no market need” for their product (CB Insights Report). That’s a marketing problem, not a product problem.

• A 2024 study from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business found that 55% of B2B startups report using systematic marketing, while 45% do not. The researchers concluded that “systematic marketing is one of the most effective ways for a B2B startup to grow, yet more than half of firms choose not to invest in it” (Penn State News; Study abstract).

In other words, startups that do invest in marketing systematically are more likely to scale faster and achieve stronger valuations. Yet nearly half don’t.

Why Founders Postpone Marketing

1. “Not yet.” Many believe marketing should start after product launch. In reality, pre-launch marketing - positioning, messaging, branding, website building, content, and community-building - is what accelerates adoption.

2. “It’s not worth it early.” The assumption is that marketing spend is wasteful until the product is perfect. But early marketing helps validate demand and feed product development.

3. Comfort zone bias. Founders often come from R&D or product backgrounds. Building feels tangible. Marketing feels less familiar. So they focus on what they know and delay what they don’t.

What Happens When You Wait Too Long

• Fundraising gets harder. Investors look for traction, not just technology. A product without users or signals of demand looks risky.

• Competitors take the lead. Startups that invested early already own the conversation and mindshare.

• First hires are set up to fail. While the marketing foundations aren’t in place, the first marketer is expected to deliver results overnight. It's an impossible task.

What Early Marketing Actually Looks Like

Marketing at Seed and Series A is not about Super Bowl ads or a 20-person team. It’s about building the foundations, and these take time.

Here’s what usually needs to happen before demand generation can even start:

• Positioning and messaging: Who exactly are you for, and how do you stand out?

• Branding: A clear identity that builds trust and recognition.

• Website: A destination that communicates value and converts.

• Revenue operations: Systems for tracking leads, pipeline, and conversions.

• Content and sales enablement: The material that fuels awareness and supports sales.

Only once these pieces are in place can you effectively ignite campaigns, events, and outbound programs. Founders often want results yesterday, but underestimate how long it takes to build the foundations properly.

Practical Takeaways for Founders

1. Start earlier than you think. Marketing should run in parallel with product development, rather than lagging behind it.

2. Don’t scatter the marketing tasks across the team. Marketing is a profession, it's not a hobby. If you can’t hire a full-time marketing lead, hire a fractional or consultant.

3. Track meaningful signals. Look at sign-ups, demo requests, and early customer feedback, the things that show traction to investors.

4. Balance product with marketing. Building is half the job. Creating awareness and demand is the other half.

Final Word

Startups rarely fail because they couldn’t build. They fail because they couldn’t grow. Marketing is the bridge between the two.

So the next time you say “we’ll hire a marketer later,” remember: later may already be too late.