Not All Word of Mouth Is Growth: What The Cold Start Problem Teaches Us About Scalable Referral Programs
Introduction Customer referrals are often romanticized as the “holy grail” of user acquisition: organic, trustworthy, and cost-effective. But in practice, not all word-of-mouth generates scalable growth. The truth is that most referral flows are either too passive or too transactional, and few become true growth engines. In The Cold Start Problem, Andrew Chen (General Partner […]
MaaS: The Silent Revolution in Startup Marketing (and What I Learned from CMOs in Europe)
Have you heard of Marketing as a Service (MaaS)? If you’re leading a startup in the validation or growth phase, this model might be exactly what you need to gain traction without burning through your runway. Last week, during a conversation with CMOs here in Europe, this topic came up — and what we uncovered […]