Founders looking for early customers do not have to chase viral attention, according to a panel of startup operators and investors speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt last week. Elia Wallen, founder and CEO of travel startup Engine, Gamma founder and CEO Grant Lee, and Crystal Huang, a general partner at Google Ventures, shared advice on attracting and keeping customers. Their remarks pushed back on the idea that social media fame is the surest route to early growth.
Lee said social media can seem like a cure-all, especially as young AI companies such as Cluely and Instinct build large audiences through their founders' online personalities. But he argued that founders have to be deliberate and strategic about marketing. Gamma, which sells AI-powered presentation software, grew rapidly through an ambassador program that used influencers to promote the brand, a strategy the company adopted before influencer marketing became a proven tactic for smaller companies, and it eventually reached a multi-billion dollar valuation.
Lee cautioned that giving creators a platform and asking them to promote a brand does not by itself produce sales. Companies whose products serve multiple segments or use cases, he said, need creators who can speak to each of those audiences, whether consultants or the people who build decks for a chief marketing officer. He added that founders often treat creator marketing as something to set up and leave alone, when they would be better served spending substantial time with creators so those creators understand how to explain the product's value, since spending alone will fall flat otherwise.
Wallen described a different path at Engine, which manages lodging and travel bookings for midsize businesses. The company reached $150 million in bookings through bootstrapping before raising outside funding and had no visible social media strategy. Instead, Engine relied on traditional sales work, including events and phone outreach. Wallen said plenty of people still answer the phone, and that companies which dismiss the approach as outdated are missing a large offline client base.
Wallen also recalled a tactic from Engine's early days: the company hired a magician named David to perform tricks for prospective clients at events and draw them to its booth. The example underscored the panel's broader point that personal engagement can work as well as, or better than, social media tactics.
Huang focused on what happens after a customer arrives. She said companies can learn a great deal by examining usage data, including whether activity is recurring or increasing and whether customers refer friends, and by looking at early usage and retention information for signs of super fans who want to work for, promote or be associated with the brand. Companies need ways to create evangelists who are genuinely passionate about the product, she said.
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