# Go To Market

> Guide founders through launch planning and early traction strategies. Use when a founder says "How do I launch this?", "Help me get my first customers", "What's my go-to-market strategy?", "What's my GTM strategy?", "How do I get traction?", "Launch plan for my startup", "first 100 customers", "pre-launch waitlist", or asks about channel selection, launch execution, or early growth tactics.

- Skill: `samuelcastro/go-to-market` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add samuelcastro/go-to-market`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/samuelcastro/go-to-market/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Marketing & Growth
- Author: samuelcastro (https://skillmd.com/u/samuelcastro)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/samuelcastro/go-to-market

---


# Go-to-Market Strategy

Guide founders from validated idea through launch execution to first paying customers.

## Workflow

### 1. Diagnose Stage

Ask: "Where are you in your launch journey?"

| Stage | Signals | Next Step |
|-------|---------|-----------|
| **Pre-product** | Building MVP, no users yet | → Step 2: Pre-Launch |
| **Pre-launch** | Product ready, preparing to launch | → Step 3: Channel Selection |
| **Launching** | About to go live or just launched | → Step 4: Launch Execution |
| **Post-launch** | Live but need more traction | → Step 5: First Customers |
| **Scaling** | Have customers, need growth | → Step 6: Growth Engine |

### 2. Pre-Launch Foundation

Build momentum before you have a product.

**Waitlist Strategy:**

| Tactic | Effort | Expected Results |
|--------|--------|------------------|
| Landing page + email capture | Low | Baseline list |
| "Coming Soon" on Product Hunt | Low | Tech-savvy early adopters |
| Content marketing (blog, Twitter) | Medium | Organic, high-intent signups |
| Referral incentive (early access) | Medium | Viral growth, 2-3x signups |
| Beta application form | Low | Pre-qualified, committed users |

**Waitlist Benchmarks:**
- 100 signups = Enough for beta testing
- 500 signups = Solid launch foundation
- 1,000+ signups = Strong launch momentum

**Pre-Launch Actions:**
1. Build email list with landing page
2. Create "Coming Soon" page on Product Hunt (14 days before)
3. Identify 10-20 beta customers from personal network
4. Draft launch announcement (email, social, PR)
5. Prepare all marketing assets (screenshots, video, GIFs)

### 3. Channel Selection

Choose channels based on your business type.

#### B2C Consumer Apps — Kickstart Tactics

From Lenny Rachitsky's research on 40+ consumer companies:

| Tactic | Description | Best For | Examples |
|--------|-------------|----------|----------|
| **Friends first** | Tap personal network | Any consumer app | Yelp, LinkedIn, Clubhouse |
| **Go where they hang** | Physical presence at target locations | Location-based, social | Tinder (colleges), Uber (transit hubs), Snapchat (malls) |
| **Targeted strangers** | Cold outreach to ideal users | Niche audiences | OpenTable (restaurants), Cameo (influencers) |
| **Influencers** | Partner with creators | Visual/social products | Spotify, Instagram, Airbnb |
| **Viral content** | Create shareable content | Entertainment, tools | Duolingo (TEDx), Calm (website) |
| **Press/PR** | Media coverage | Novel/newsworthy products | Airbnb (cereal story), Robinhood |
| **Physical placement** | Stickers, flyers, presence | Local/consumer | DoorDash, Instacart |
| **Be first on platform** | Early mover advantage | Platform-dependent | YouTube (MySpace embeds) |

**Growth Engine Selection (Consumer):**

| Engine | How It Works | Signs It's Working |
|--------|--------------|-------------------|
| **Virality (WOM)** | Users naturally tell others | Organic referrals, social sharing |
| **Virality (invites)** | Product prompts invites | High invite rate, network effects |
| **Paid acquisition** | Ads drive growth | Positive unit economics (LTV > CAC) |
| **SEO** | Content drives organic traffic | Growing organic search volume |

#### B2B SaaS — GTM Motions

From analysis of 30+ B2B companies:

| Starting Motion | Best For | Examples |
|-----------------|----------|----------|
| **Product-led to engineers** | Dev tools, technical products | GitHub, Segment, Retool |
| **Product-led to founders** | SMB SaaS, horizontal tools | Gusto, Shopify, Slack |
| **Sales-led to founders** | Higher ACV, complex sales | Carta, Zendesk |
| **Sales-led to enterprise** | Enterprise software | Snowflake, Workday |

**Evolution Pattern:** Most B2B companies start product-led or founder-led sales, then add sales-assist as they move upmarket.

**B2B First Customer Tactics:**

| Tactic | Description | Effort |
|--------|-------------|--------|
| **Personal network** | Friends, former colleagues, YC batch | Low |
| **Collison installation** | "Give me your laptop" immediate setup | Medium |
| **Cold outbound** | Targeted emails to ICP | Medium |
| **Community presence** | Forums, Slack groups, Reddit | Medium |
| **Incubator networks** | YC, Techstars, accelerator batches | Low |

### 4. Launch Execution

**Platform Launch Checklist (Product Hunt):**

**2 Weeks Before:**
- [ ] Create "Coming Soon" page on Product Hunt
- [ ] Identify hunter (or self-hunt)
- [ ] Prepare assets: screenshots, GIF, video (< 2 min)
- [ ] Write compelling tagline (< 60 chars)
- [ ] Draft first comment with your story
- [ ] Build supporter list (aim for 50+ people to notify)

**Launch Day:**
- [ ] Launch at 12:01 AM PST (Tuesday-Thursday best)
- [ ] Post first comment immediately
- [ ] Notify email list, supporters, social followers
- [ ] Respond to every comment within 1 hour
- [ ] Share on Twitter, LinkedIn, relevant communities
- [ ] Send personal messages to key supporters

**Launch Benchmarks:**
- Top 10 of day = Newsletter feature
- 300-500 upvotes = Solid launch
- 700+ upvotes = Strong launch
- 1,000+ upvotes = Excellent launch

**Multi-Channel Launch:**

| Channel | Timing | Action |
|---------|--------|--------|
| Product Hunt | Day 1, 12:01 AM PST | Full launch |
| Hacker News | Day 1-2 | "Show HN" post |
| Twitter/X | Day 1 | Thread + ongoing |
| Email list | Day 1, morning | Announcement |
| Reddit | Day 1-3 | Relevant subreddits |
| LinkedIn | Day 1-2 | Post + article |
| Indie Hackers | Day 1-2 | Launch post |

### 5. First 100 Customers

Different playbooks for B2B vs B2C.

#### B2B: First 10-100 Customers

**Week 1-2: Personal Network**
- List every founder, exec, PM you know
- Reach out personally (not mass email)
- Ask: "Can I show you what I'm building?"
- Goal: 5-10 demos

**Week 3-4: Extended Network**
- Ask early users for intros
- Leverage investor networks
- Post in founder communities (YC, On Deck, etc.)
- Goal: 10-20 demos

**Week 5-8: Outbound**
- Build ICP list (LinkedIn Sales Navigator)
- Craft personalized cold emails
- Follow up 3x (most replies come after follow-up)
- Goal: 30-50 demos

**Cold Email Template (B2B):**
```
Subject: 10x [Company]'s [metric] in 10 minutes

Hi [Name],

I have an idea that I can explain in 10 minutes that can get [Company] its next [100 customers / 50% more efficiency / etc.].

I recently used this idea to help [similar company] [achieve result].

Let me know if you want me to share it with you. If not, no worries—just thought you'd find it valuable.

[Your name]
```

**Conversion Benchmarks (B2B):**
- Cold email open rate: 30-50%
- Cold email reply rate: 5-15%
- Demo-to-trial: 30-50%
- Trial-to-paid: 20-40%

#### B2C: First 1,000 Users

**Unscalable Tactics (Do These First):**
- Manually onboard every early user
- Personal thank-you messages
- 1:1 user interviews
- Fix issues immediately

**Scalable Tactics (Add Later):**
- Referral programs
- Content marketing
- Paid acquisition (if unit economics work)
- Influencer partnerships

**B2C Benchmarks:**
- D1 retention: > 40%
- D7 retention: > 20%
- D30 retention: > 10%
- Viral coefficient: > 0.5 (growing), > 1.0 (viral)

### 6. Growth Engine Selection

Use the Racecar Framework (Lenny Rachitsky):

**Kickstarts** — One-time boosts to get moving:
1. Share with friends/colleagues
2. Reach out to targeted strangers
3. Go where your users hang out
4. Enlist influencers
5. Get press coverage
6. Create viral content
7. Physical placement (stickers, flyers)
8. Host events
9. Be first on a new platform

**Growth Engines** — Sustainable, compounding growth:
1. **SEO** — Content drives organic search traffic
2. **Paid ads** — Online, out-of-home, direct mail
3. **Sales** — Outbound, inside sales, field sales
4. **Virality** — WOM, sharing, referrals, invites

**Turbo Boosts** — Periodic accelerants:
- Get PR/media coverage
- Create viral content/campaigns
- Host or sponsor events
- Influencer mentions
- Marketing campaigns
- Release a viral mini-product
- Get featured on platforms

**Lubricants** — Improve efficiency:
- Increase conversion rates
- Increase retention
- Increase brand awareness
- Improve activation/onboarding
- Optimize pricing

### 7. Early Traction Metrics

Track different metrics based on stage.

**Pre-Launch Metrics:**
- Waitlist signups
- Email open/click rates
- Social engagement
- Beta applications

**Launch Metrics:**
- Product Hunt ranking/upvotes
- Website traffic
- Signups/downloads
- Press mentions

**Post-Launch Metrics:**

| Metric | B2C Benchmark | B2B Benchmark |
|--------|---------------|---------------|
| **DAU/MAU** | > 20% = good | N/A |
| **D7 Retention** | > 20% | > 40% |
| **D30 Retention** | > 10% | > 60% |
| **NPS** | > 40 = good | > 30 = good |
| **CAC Payback** | < 12 months | < 18 months |
| **LTV:CAC** | > 3:1 | > 3:1 |

**Traction Signals (Pre-Revenue):**
- Unsolicited inbound inquiries
- Users reaching out unprompted
- Organic word-of-mouth
- Requests for features you planned
- Users comparing you to bigger players

## Decision Checkpoints

### Channel Selection Matrix

Ask: What's your product type?

| Product Type | Primary Channels | Secondary Channels |
|--------------|------------------|-------------------|
| **B2C Consumer** | Virality, influencers, go where they hang | Paid, SEO, PR |
| **B2C Marketplace** | Supply-side first, then demand | SEO, paid, physical |
| **B2B SMB** | Product-led, content, communities | Outbound, partnerships |
| **B2B Enterprise** | Sales-led, events, partnerships | Content, ABM |
| **Dev Tools** | Community, content, product-led | Events, open source |

### Launch Readiness Checklist

- [ ] Product is working and tested
- [ ] Landing page converts (> 10% email capture)
- [ ] Have 50+ people ready to support launch
- [ ] Marketing assets ready (screenshots, video, copy)
- [ ] Know your first 10 customers by name
- [ ] Have a "day 1" script for launch activities
- [ ] Analytics/tracking in place

### Traction Health Check

**Healthy Signs:**
- Week-over-week growth > 5-7%
- Retention improving over time
- Users referring others organically
- Inbound interest increasing
- CAC decreasing as you learn

**Warning Signs:**
- High acquisition, low retention
- All growth from paid (no organic)
- Churn increasing
- CAC increasing over time
- No organic word-of-mouth

## Common GTM Mistakes

See `references/gtm-mistakes.md` for detailed anti-patterns.

**Top 5 Mistakes:**
1. **Launching without a distribution plan** — Building doesn't mean they'll come
2. **Spreading across too many channels** — Focus on 1-2 that work
3. **Premature scaling** — Don't pour fuel on a leaky bucket
4. **Ignoring unit economics** — Growth isn't growth if CAC > LTV
5. **Outsourcing sales too early** — Founders must sell first

## Deliverables

### 1. GTM Strategy One-Pager

Create using `docx` skill:
- Target customer summary (from ICP)
- Primary launch channel + rationale
- First 100 customers playbook
- 90-day milestone targets
- Key metrics to track

### 2. Launch Checklist

Customized for chosen platform(s):
- Product Hunt launch checklist
- Multi-channel launch timeline
- Day-of-launch script

### 3. Channel Prioritization Matrix

Create using `xlsx` skill:
- List of potential channels
- Effort/impact scoring
- Fit with ICP
- Prioritized ranking

### 4. First 90 Days Traction Plan

Week-by-week plan including:
- Pre-launch activities (weeks 1-2)
- Launch execution (week 3-4)
- First customers push (weeks 5-8)
- Growth optimization (weeks 9-12)
- Milestone targets per week

## Reference Files

- `references/channel-examples.md` — 40+ company GTM case studies (B2B and B2C)
- `references/gtm-mistakes.md` — Common anti-patterns and how to avoid them
- `references/launch-templates.md` — Email templates, launch copy, outreach scripts

## Integration with Other Skills

- Use `idea-validation` skill first if problem not validated
- Use `business-model` skill for pricing strategy
- Use `product` skill for PRD and roadmap
- Use `fundraising` skill to pitch traction to investors
- Use `docx` skill for GTM strategy document
- Use `xlsx` skill for channel prioritization spreadsheet

---

*Adapted from [Linas Beliūnas's](https://linas.substack.com/p/onepersonunicorn) **The One-Person Unicorn** founder skill set.*