Essay · 30 min read

Startup Handbook

Julian Shapiro · julian.com Free Intermediate

Julian Shapiro's handbook makes the growth marketer's case for a narrow ICP: going broad invites a competitor to pick off your best customers by serving a narrower slice better than you do. It is written for founders also thinking about acquisition channels, so it connects customer definition directly to where and how you will find them. A quick, dense read with none of the usual marketing fluff.

  • Be an incredible fit for a small group before trying to be an adequate fit for everyone.
  • A broad target invites a narrower competitor to out execute you on that specific segment.
  • Expand to adjacent personas only after you are already sticky with the first one.
Open on julian.com ↗

It answers 2 questions

  1. What is an ideal customer profile and how do I define mine?
  2. How specific should my target customer be when I'm just starting?

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