The 3 Marketing Mistakes I See Founders Make All the Time

Published 2024-04-07 · Updated 2026-05-23 · 7 min read · Startup Growth Strategies · By Sahin Boydas

I’m sharing the real marketing playbook we used to turn a profit. I’ll be honest about the mistakes that cost us a lot and the lessons that helped us make millions.

I've been investing in AI companies since before it was cool. the 3 marketing mistakes i see founders make all the time is the thing that separates winners from losers.

I’m sharing the real marketing playbook we used to turn a profit. I’ll be honest about the mistakes that cost us a lot and the lessons that helped us make millions.

The Counterintuitive Truth

Here's what surprised me most about the 3 marketing mistakes i see founders make all the time: the best practitioners do less, not more.

When I was building MovieLaLa, we tried to do everything at once. We had the best technology, the smartest team, and we still almost failed because we spread ourselves too thin.

The lesson I took from that experience, and from watching hundreds of other companies, is that most founders overthink this and underspend on execution. It sounds simple. It's incredibly hard to execute.

What I've Learned From 149 Companies

After investing in 200+ startups and running two companies to successful exits, I've developed a pretty clear picture of what works with the 3 marketing mistakes i see founders make all the time.

The biggest misconception is that you need to your team matters more than your technology. That's backwards. The companies that win are the ones that you need to move fast and break things.

I remember sitting with the Anthropic team early on and discussing how they thought about the 3 marketing mistakes i see founders make all the time. Their approach was counterintuitive but brilliant.

Real Talk: What Actually Matters

I'm going to cut through the noise and tell you what actually matters when it comes to the 3 marketing mistakes i see founders make all the time.

First, execution speed beats perfection. Every time. I've never seen a company fail because they moved too fast on the 3 marketing mistakes i see founders make all the time. I've seen plenty fail because they moved too slow.

Second, measure everything. If you can't measure it, you can't improve it. Set up tracking from day one, even if it's basic.

Third, talk to your users. This sounds obvious but you'd be amazed how many founders build their the 3 marketing mistakes i see founders make all the time strategy in a vacuum. Get out of the building. Talk to real people.

This connects to broader themes around growth hacking, referral programs, viral loops that I've been thinking about a lot lately.

What's Next

The world of the 3 marketing mistakes i see founders make all the time is moving fast. What worked last year might not work next year. That's both the challenge and the opportunity.

My advice: stay curious, stay humble, and stay close to the people who are actually doing the work. Read less thought leadership and do more experiments. Talk to fewer consultants and more practitioners.

And if you're a founder building in this space, remember that the best time to get the 3 marketing mistakes i see founders make all the time right is before you need to. Don't wait for a crisis to force your hand.

I'll keep sharing what I learn. This stuff matters too much to keep to myself.

Frequently Asked Questions

What experience informs this perspective?

This perspective comes from over a decade of building companies in Silicon Valley, two successful exits (RemoteTeam to Gusto, MovieLaLa to Gfycat), and investing in 200+ startups including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Scale AI. I write about what I've lived.

Do all experts agree with this view?

No, and that's fine. The best ideas in business are often contrarian. I share my perspective based on my experience and data, but I encourage you to seek out opposing viewpoints and form your own conclusions.

What's the most common pushback you get on this?

People often push back by citing exceptions or edge cases. And they're usually right that exceptions exist. But building a strategy around exceptions rather than patterns is a losing game for most founders.

How has this view evolved over time?

My thinking on most topics has changed significantly over the years. Early in my career, I held many conventional views that experience proved wrong. I try to update my beliefs when the evidence changes.

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