Scaleup Media | Warning #8
Your Go-To-Market Is Not “Figure It Out Later”
If this is your first software company, read this carefully.
Most founders treat go-to-market as a future problem.
They say:
“Once the product is ready, we’ll focus on growth.”
By the time the product is ready, it is usually too late.
The Mistake
First-time founders separate product from distribution.
They believe:
“If the product is good enough, customers will come.”
They rarely do.
Distribution is not a phase.
It is a constraint.
Why This Feels Reasonable
Product building feels concrete.
Go-to-market feels vague.
So founders default to what feels controllable.
They build.
Meanwhile, the hardest questions remain unanswered:
Who exactly buys
Where they discover products
Why they switch
How long sales take
What stops them from converting
Ignoring these early creates blind spots that software cannot fix.
What Happens When GTM Is Delayed
When go-to-market is an afterthought:
Features are misaligned with buying behavior
Pricing is disconnected from value
Onboarding confuses users
Sales cycles stall
Marketing feels forced
Founders respond by adding more features.
That never works.
The False Comfort of “We’ll Market It Later”
Later rarely comes.
Because once software is built:
Budgets are depleted
Energy is low
Pressure is high
Decisions feel locked
At that point, go-to-market becomes reactive instead of designed.
What Investors See Immediately
Investors can tell when go-to-market was bolted on.
They hear:
“We’re still testing channels”
“We’re experimenting with pricing”
“We’ll hire sales later”
What they see is execution risk.
Strong products with weak GTM rarely recover.
What Experienced Operators Do Differently
Experienced operators design go-to-market first.
They:
Define the buyer early
Validate distribution paths
Test pricing before polish
Shape the product around selling reality
Software becomes easier to build when distribution is known.
Why Founders Avoid This
Because go-to-market forces commitment.
You must choose:
A specific customer
A specific channel
A specific problem
Avoiding GTM keeps options open.
Open options feel safe.
They are not.
The Warning
If you delay go-to-market thinking you will “figure it out later,” you are pushing the hardest problem to the moment you have the least leverage.
Most founders learn this after launch stalls.
This warning exists to prevent that stall.
The Safer Path
Design distribution before development.
Let go-to-market shape the product instead of hoping the product finds a market.
That order matters more than most founders realize.
Next Warning:
Math Is Not Optional
