--- description: Are you looking for the right time to start marketing a startup? If so, this article will show when you should start, and the best ways to... title: When is the Best Time to Start Marketing a Startup image: https://www.leanlabs.com/hubfs/E43CA5ACB954DEFE7CA5EAAA0FEA3B22FAA9863437B501FF2Epimgpsh_fullsize_distr.jpg --- [Blog](https://www.leanlabs.com/blog)/ [Growth Marketing](https://www.leanlabs.com/blog/topic/growth-marketing) # When is the Best Time to Start Marketing a Startup 3 min read time ![When is the Best Time to Start Marketing a Startup](https://www.leanlabs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/E43CA5ACB954DEFE7CA5EAAA0FEA3B22FAA9863437B501FF2Epimgpsh_fullsize_distr.jpg?width=765&height=430&name=E43CA5ACB954DEFE7CA5EAAA0FEA3B22FAA9863437B501FF2Epimgpsh_fullsize_distr.jpg) There are two fundamental truths that exist when you begin [marketing a startup.](//www.lean-labs.com/lean-startup-steps) The first is that simply having a great product is not enough to succeed. You need marketing. The second is that no amount of marketing will be able to hide a terrible product. In the [Lean Startup methodology](//www.lean-labs.com/lean), you should start marketing your product when you have a minimum viable product (MVP). However, this doesn’t mean you pull out all the stops and invest in scaling. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. VIDEO TRAINING ## Get the Growth Playbook. Learn to plan, budget, and accelerate growth with our exclusive video series. You’ll discover: * ![Frame 1984077367](https://www.leanlabs.com/hubfs/LL%20v5/Images/Icons/Frame%201984077367.svg)The 5 phases of profitable growth * ![Frame 1984077367](https://www.leanlabs.com/hubfs/LL%20v5/Images/Icons/Frame%201984077367.svg)12 core assets all high-growth companies have * ![Frame 1984077367](https://www.leanlabs.com/hubfs/LL%20v5/Images/Icons/Frame%201984077367.svg)Difference between mediocre marketing and meteoric campaigns ![Playbook \(2\)](https://www.leanlabs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/LL%20v5/Images/Playbook%20(2%29.png?width=1567&height=1593&name=Playbook%20(2%29.png) ### Thanks for submitting the form! A successful startup first needs a great product. Then, it needs to find product/market fit. Once that is achieved, great marketing is the lifeblood that determines if a business sinks or swims. But you have to start with the great product. ## When is it too early to start marketing a startup? When I refer to marketing, you need to understand I’m not talking about buying a stream of traffic to test an MVP. Nor is it referring to buying a domain and creating a “coming soon,” landing page. When I refer to marketing, I’m talking about actual marketing campaigns. This is when you hire a marketing agency, do public relations, and truly start scaling your marketing to increase customer acquisition at scale. As a general rule, if your product isn’t ready for primetime, you want to keep your marketing on the scale of MVP validation. You need the real users, real customers, to prove whether or not the public will buy your product. But this is much different than pushing your product into the national spotlight. [ ![ai insider cta](https://www.leanlabs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/LL%20v5/Images/ai%20insider%20cta.png?width=2480&height=1092&name=ai%20insider%20cta.png) ](https://www.leanlabs.com/solutions/ai/communities/insiders/overview) [ ![AI Insiders Community mobile](https://www.leanlabs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/LL%20v5/Images/AI%20Insiders%20Community%20mobile.png?width=680&height=1508&name=AI%20Insiders%20Community%20mobile.png) ](https://www.leanlabs.com/solutions/ai/communities/insiders/overview) Marketing too soon can kill your company before it even starts. If major news outlets pick you up, but your product has a horrible user experience or is full of bugs, the press will be anything but pleasant. ### The Warning Signs It’s Too Early to Start Marketing You’re generating leads, but you are not closing sales. Generating leads isn't enough. If your product isn't closing sales, you don’t want to scale that problem. You need to find out why your leads aren’t closing. If their expectations aren’t being met, maybe it’s time you retool your message, or possibly even pivot. People stall in the buying process. Analytics is your friend. If something is holding people back from finishing the buying process, fix it immediately. You don’t want to be featured in a major publication if your buying process is flawed. It could be a bug frustrating people until they quit. It could also be the process itself. You may need to revisit the buying process and make it easier for people to complete. Either way, you need to fix this before you take your company into primetime. Prospective customers simply aren't engaging. You might think that you have a great product, but if your chosen consumer base doesn’t care about it, you have a bigger problem than marketing. If your target persona isn't interested in your product, stop wasting money on it. Pivot or abandon that idea for one that will actually work. Do more research and find what they are interested in, and build your product around that before spending all your capital on pushing a product nobody wants. ### The Risks of Marketing Too Early You will burn through capital too fast. To really scale, you need to be generating revenue as you burn through capital. It’s the only way to extend your runway as your company picks up speed. If you burn without generating enough revenue, you’ll run out of runway before you can take off. FREE GROWTH TOOL: AI GROWTH GRADER ## Identify your growth roadblocks Get 3 FREE AI-Powered reports that reveal what’s costing you leads, conversions, and revenue. Then, get expert insights for how to fix it. * **Marketing maturity score:** Find out where your strategy is weak (and how to fix it). * **Website copy critique:** Pinpoint the weak points in your messaging (and what to say instead). * **Landing page audit:** See what's blocking conversions on your landing pages (and how to solve it). **Get your growth score now – FREE!** ![Frame 1984077310 \(1\)](https://www.leanlabs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/LL%20v5/Images/Frame%201984077310%20(1%29.png?width=660&height=543&name=Frame%201984077310%20(1%29.png) You can do irreparable harm to your brand. By showcasing a poor product, you can harm your brand. In 2013, [Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com/) reported, 8 out of 10 businesses fail within the first 18 months. This year, [StatisticBrain](http://www.statisticbrain.com/startup-failure-by-industry/) found, across 11 industries, 36% fail in their second year. To beat the odds, you must have a quality product before the public gets wind of it. Anything but a positive experience means a nightmare for getting much needed PR exposure in the future. ### When is the right time to start marketing a startup? When you are able to measure, learn, iterate, and repeat the process smoothly with your MVP, you’re probably ready to start marketing your product. Your product, at this stage, should have a smooth user experience, and thoroughly tested. It should have passed the MVP tests, and have a solid grasp on a product-market fit. If you have proof people are willing to pay for your product or service, and you can deliver a good experience to those customers, you’re ready to start marketing. [ ![july-16-cta (1)](https://www.leanlabs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/LL%20v5/Images/july-16-cta%20(1).png?width=2146&height=1250&name=july-16-cta%20(1).png) ](https://www.leanlabs.com/growth-workshops) [ ![july-16-mobile](https://www.leanlabs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/LL%20v5/Images/july-16-mobile.png?width=804&height=2282&name=july-16-mobile.png) ](https://www.leanlabs.com/growth-workshops) ## Latest, related and recommended posts [ ![What is closed-loop marketing? Definition, process, and examples](https://www.leanlabs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2022%20blog%20featured%20images/26%20(2)%20(1).png?width=500&height=500&name=26%20(2)%20(1).png) Growth Marketing What is closed-loop marketing? Definition, process, and examples Read more ](https://www.leanlabs.com/blog/what-is-closed-loop-marketing) [ ![Loop marketing vs. inbound marketing: what changed and what didn't](https://www.leanlabs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2022%20blog%20featured%20images/37%20(4)%20(1).png?width=500&height=500&name=37%20(4)%20(1).png) Growth Marketing Loop marketing vs. inbound marketing: what changed and what didn't Read more ](https://www.leanlabs.com/blog/loop-marketing-vs-inbound-marketing) [ ![How to implement loop marketing: the 90-day roadmap](https://www.leanlabs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2022%20blog%20featured%20images/32%20(1)%20(1).png?width=500&height=500&name=32%20(1)%20(1).png) Growth Marketing How to implement loop marketing: the 90-day roadmap Read more ](https://www.leanlabs.com/blog/how-to-implement-loop-marketing-90-day-roadmap) [![About Lean Labs](https://www.leanlabs.com/hubfs/LL%20V4.1/logos/LL%20Logo%20Dark.svg)](https://www.leanlabs.com) Lean Labs builds growth machines that take 7-figure startups to 8\. → [**See How!**](https://www.leanlabs.com/approach/why-lean-labs) Share [ ![Share on facebook](https://www.leanlabs.com/hubfs/LL%20v5/Images/Icons/Facebook.svg) ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.leanlabs.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-best-time-start-marketing-a-startup%3Futm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial%26utm%5Fsource%3Dfacebook) [ ![Share on linkedin](https://www.leanlabs.com/hubfs/LL%20v5/Images/Icons/LinkedIn.svg) ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.leanlabs.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-best-time-start-marketing-a-startup%3Futm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial%26utm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin) [ ![Share on reddit](https://www.leanlabs.com/hubfs/LL%20v5/Images/Icons/reddit.svg) ](https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.leanlabs.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-best-time-start-marketing-a-startup%3Futm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial%26utm%5Fsource%3Dreddit) [ Grade my site![chevron-right](https://www.leanlabs.com/hubfs/LL%20v5/Images/Icons/chevron-right.svg) ](https://cta-service-cms2.hubspot.com/web-interactives/public/v1/track/click?encryptedPayload=AVxigLLUGeyXuIFe4n%2B1E42IAXAWWgWgkkHKyylkCaC53TFA5LXNKHbY1ByeZ7mNZ9WHFS1WfZ1VrTarTazLKDbOc%2Btc%2Bg%2BBT11oQTrJhYOQyf5sCqDNGXudXVDytcA7Jb2UdS%2FC5xT4BZA6pMCL%2BHU0XpBYZ%2B0d78FOiUQsXv09XXmngTg%3D&portalId=275827) ![grader laptop](https://www.leanlabs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/LL%20v5/Images/grader%20laptop.png?width=552&height=454&name=grader%20laptop.png) ### AI Website Grader Uncover what’s working, pinpoint areas that need improvement, and get trained AI's recommendations on how to turn your website into your brand’s #1 salesperson. 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Copilot ](https://copilot.microsoft.com/) Ask AI ```json { "@graph": [ { "@id": "https://www.leanlabs.com#organization", "url": "https://www.leanlabs.com", "logo": { "url": "https://www.leanlabs.com/favicon.ico", "@type": "ImageObject", "width": 60, "height": 60 }, "name": "Lean Labs", "@type": "Organization", "sameAs": [ "https://www.entities.org/entity/lean-labs", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/lean-labs", "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/lean-labs-eed8", "https://twitter.com/leanlabs", "https://www.youtube.com/@LeanLabs1", "https://www.facebook.com/LeanLabs", "https://ecosystem.hubspot.com/marketplace/solutions/lean-labs", "https://clutch.co/profile/lean-labs", "https://www.g2.com/products/lean-labs/reviews", "https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_fl/P23000000218", "https://www.agencyspotter.com/lean-labs" ], "slogan": "We help companies on HubSpot Drive Growth", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "postalCode": "34638", "addressRegion": "FL", "streetAddress": "16703 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Discover the warning signs that it's too early, the risks of premature marketing, and how to know when your MVP is ready for real marketing campaigns.", "dateModified": "2022-12-14T20:54:18.066Z", "datePublished": "2015-04-01T15:09:00.000Z", "articleSection": "Growth Marketing", "potentialAction": { "@type": "ReadAction", "target": "https://www.leanlabs.com/blog/when-best-time-start-marketing-a-startup" }, "mainEntityOfPage": { "@id": "https://www.leanlabs.com/blog/when-best-time-start-marketing-a-startup" }, "isAccessibleForFree": true } ], "@context": "https://schema.org" } { "@type": "BlogPosting", "@context": "https://schema.org", "articleBody": "In the Lean Startup methodology, you should start marketing your product when you have a minimum viable product (MVP). However, this doesn’t mean you pull out all the stops and invest in scaling. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. A successful startup first needs a great product. Then, it needs to find product/market fit. Once that is achieved, great marketing is the lifeblood that determines if a business sinks or swims. But you have to start with the great product. When is it too early to start marketing a startup? When I refer to marketing, you need to understand I’m not talking about buying a stream of traffic to test an MVP. Nor is it referring to buying a domain and creating a “coming soon,” landing page. When I refer to marketing, I’m talking about actual marketing campaigns. This is when you hire a marketing agency, do public relations, and truly start scaling your marketing to increase customer acquisition at scale. As a general rule, if your product isn’t ready for primetime, you want to keep your marketing on the scale of MVP validation. You need the real users, real customers, to prove whether or not the public will buy your product. But this is much different than pushing your product into the national spotlight. Marketing too soon can kill your company before it even starts. If major news outlets pick you up, but your product has a horrible user experience or is full of bugs, the press will be anything but pleasant. The Warning Signs It’s Too Early to Start Marketing You’re generating leads, but you are not closing sales. Generating leads isn't enough. If your product isn't closing sales, you don’t want to scale that problem. You need to find out why your leads aren’t closing. If their expectations aren’t being met, maybe it’s time you retool your message, or possibly even pivot. People stall in the buying process. Analytics is your friend. If something is holding people back from finishing the buying process, fix it immediately. You don’t want to be featured in a major publication if your buying process is flawed. It could be a bug frustrating people until they quit. It could also be the process itself. You may need to revisit the buying process and make it easier for people to complete. Either way, you need to fix this before you take your company into primetime. Prospective customers simply aren't engaging. You might think that you have a great product, but if your chosen consumer base doesn’t care about it, you have a bigger problem than marketing. If your target persona isn't interested in your product, stop wasting money on it. Pivot or abandon that idea for one that will actually work. Do more research and find what they are interested in, and build your product around that before spending all your capital on pushing a product nobody wants. The Risks of Marketing Too Early You will burn through capital too fast. To really scale, you need to be generating revenue as you burn through capital. It’s the only way to extend your runway as your company picks up speed. If you burn without generating enough revenue, you’ll run out of runway before you can take off. You can do irreparable harm to your brand. By showcasing a poor product, you can harm your brand. In 2013, Bloomberg reported, 8 out of 10 businesses fail within the first 18 months. This year, StatisticBrain found, across 11 industries, 36% fail in their second year. To beat the odds, you must have a quality product before the public gets wind of it. Anything but a positive experience means a nightmare for getting much needed PR exposure in the future. When is the right time to start marketing a startup? When you are able to measure, learn, iterate, and repeat the process smoothly with your MVP, you’re probably ready to start marketing your product. Your product, at this stage, should have a smooth user experience, and thoroughly tested. It should have passed the MVP tests, and have a solid grasp on a product-market fit. If you have proof people are willing to pay for your product or service, and you can deliver a good experience to those customers, you’re ready to start marketing. 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