Create startup Without a solid idea it’s like building a startup in reverse. But that’s exactly how our startup, Zupyak, unfolded, and it worked.
Our journey began when our co-founder, Chi Cao, was exploring various startup ideas. The platform he built was a blogging platform designed for businesses, with a focus on industry-specific communities for content marketing, like the B2B version of Medium. The platform has organically grown its user base to over 300,000 users globally, with 50,000 articles shared monthly. By watching this rapid growth, we have identified a strong market trend. As paid marketing costs increase, finding new and cheaper ways to win customers through content has become a top priority for startups and small businesses.
Growth only happens if you allow yourself to be tested and tested again
Capturing the attention of your target audience has never been more complicated, nor has it gotten easier. The cost of advertising on Facebook has increased 89% last year. Although it’s a positive thing for us as consumers, the privacy trend is causing paid marketing costs to rise.
The most important advantage over others in your field is your ability to move quickly and adapt.
Marketing is usually the problem you address after you discover the product you want to build. However, for us, it was the opposite. Qi ran the content platform as a side project, and after extensive testing of different marketing efforts, he successfully built a growth loop. Users who posted content also shared it, creating a ripple effect on user growth.
Network effects are tricky, but the key lesson is that you’ll know what works once you test. Keep testing different marketing tactics until you strike gold, and measure your results to see if they are successful or not. For channels like paid advertising, it’s relatively simple — you can track the costs of clicks and customer conversion rates. However, measurement becomes more difficult for other channels, such as community outreach or forums. You can create unique tracking links for each test using tools like Bitly. This allows you to evaluate which messaging or community engagement strategy produces the best results.