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Grow & market

Should I even be running paid ads at this stage?

Only if you already have retention and a clear sense of what a customer is worth; otherwise you're paying to fill a leaky bucket. Most early startups can't profitably acquire on Meta or Google and should exhaust founder-led and organic channels first. Paid is an amplifier for something that already works, not a substitute for it.

Go deeper

2 resources, 2 link-checked.

📄 Article
✓ Link checked Free Beginner

A blunt, practical guide from Demand Curve's founder on which paid and organic channels fit which business, and why most startups can't profitably buy ads early on.

Startup Handbook: Customer Acquisition Channels

From julian.com by Julian Shapiro Long-form guide

  • Most companies cannot profitably acquire on Meta/Google without high margins or strong referrals.
  • Match the channel to your product's format, targeting, audience, and device.
  • Great creative and a promise-keeping landing page beat obsessive targeting.
Open julian.com →
📄 Article
✓ Link checked Free Intermediate

The definitive explanation of why every marketing channel decays over time, from an a16z general partner who wrote 650+ essays on growth.

The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs

From andrewchen.com by Andrew Chen ~8 min read

  • Over time, all marketing channels drift toward terrible click-through rates.
  • Banner CTR fell ~1500x from 1994 to 2011 as novelty and arbitrage disappeared.
  • Win by refreshing creative and finding the next under-priced channel early.
Open andrewchen.com →

Terms in this answer

Retention

People also ask

How do I know if my paid ads are actually profitable? 2 → What makes a paid ad actually convert? 2 → How do I pick which paid channel to start with? 2 → How much budget do I need to test a paid channel properly? 2 → How do Indian D2C brands keep paid acquisition sustainable as CACs rise? 2 → How do I calculate my target CAC before I've made a single sale? 3 →

Also in D2C

The same ground, over in Run paid ads, our D2C track.

What actually makes an ad creative convert in 2025? 4 → How is Google Ads different from Meta ads for my D2C brand? 3 →

Also in D2C

The same ground, over in Grow organically & retain, our D2C track.

How do I build a referral program that people actually use, not one that just sits unused in my Shopify admin? 4 → Should I be on Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and Pinterest, or just pick one? Where do I actually put my limited time? 4 →

Also in How Founders Use AI

How founders actually use AI for this, over in Ads & Performance Marketing.

How do founders use AI to generate and test ad creatives at scale? 18 → Why use AI for audience research, copy variants, and campaign analysis? 19 →

Also in GTM

The same ground, over in Let the product sell, our GTM track.

What does product-led growth actually mean, and how is it different from just having a free trial? 6 → Everyone says find your aha moment. What is it actually, and how do I find ours? 5 →

Also in GTM

The same ground, over in Keep and grow the customers you win, our GTM track.

When should I hire my first customer success person? 5 → What is net revenue retention and why does every investor keep asking me for it? 5 →
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