GTM Yourself
Fractional Execs, Small-Business Owners, Solopreneurs: Think like a Startup Founder and develop a personal Go-to-Market strategy for the Product of You.
Optionality Editor’s note: I met guest author Alex Shartsis while working with him at an early-stage startup, where I was a fractional executive. Alex and I had much in common: We lived in the same part of the Bay Area, had obsessed cyclists in our families, we both exited our startups, and we were both advising startups on their Go-to-Market strategies.
Some of you who are not in tech or startups may not know what I’m referring to by “Go-to-Market,” or “GTM” for short. Your GTM is a detailed plan for launching a product or service, encompassing everything from identifying the target audience to defining the sales and marketing approach, tools, content and campaigns required to hit your targets. In Startup Land a GTM strategy is table-stakes for funding and growth, though very hard to pull off well.
Alex became, and still is, a go-to-market sparring partner. He’s constantly testing and innovating on techniques and technologies that help move the needle toward clients’ company growth. He even experiments on his own projects. In this piece, he shares the best of his own learnings that have impacted his clients’ and his own practice for the better.
Hard work sometimes pays off. But not always.
Working smart helps. But it’s not a guarantee either.
The truth is you need to work hard and smart. And even then, outcomes aren't promised.
That’s why I treat my personal go-to-market (GTM) like I would a startup’s, asking myself what I would ask any startup I’m working with:
Do I have product–market fit?
What channels are working?
Which aren’t?
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Treat Yourself Like a Startup
Startups experiment and iterate; some have resources, some don’t. In building your own practice, treat your service like it’s a startup (because it is!) and you’ll find something that works faster than if you just do the same thing that kinda works over and over–or things that don’t work at all hoping that maybe one day they will.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
What is the pain I am solving? If you’ve never had to think about this because, say, you are a lawyer or a doctor and were always clear on who you were serving, good for you. But most people setting out on their own need to figure this out. Do clients need messaging, or ad copy? Do they need leads or traction further down the funnel, when they are making the decision to buy? Be specific. And don’t be afraid to lean into what people actually want rather than what you want to sell them.
Are you enough to offer this product? I don’t mean to trigger impostor syndrome. What I mean to ask: Do you have everything you need to solve your customer’s pain?
For example, if you are a great copywriter, but people want video ads, do you need to partner with a video producer to sell a complete solution? Every market is different–some might be fine hiring two freelancers. Others might prefer a one-stop-shop. Partnering up with freelancers, or building a budget into your proposals to hire or buy what you need, isn’t being greedy–it’s solving the problem, and can lead to a better experience for your clients.
What channels work for your product? I tried a podcast. Some people loved it: 82, to be exact. So I killed it (well, it’s still out there and anyone can still listen to it). On the other hand, I’ve had such great results from cold outbound email, I started a company to make that even easier for other people–Skyp. We send amazing, hand-written emails by the thousands that get delivered, opened and responded to. (Except swap “hand” with “AI”).
Find the one channel that works for you. Are you posting to LinkedIn regularly? Or X? BlueSky? Insta? Social can be great for some businesses, but it’s important to do it right. Be consistent and authentic. Target your audience–be thoughtful about what they want to read. And don’t hate the player (or customer), hate the game (or platform), and double down on platforms and processes that work. Whatever your channel, remember: Your hook is everything. Spend time on it. Experiment with it. Figure out what works on it.
Change your mindset: You are not a worker; you are The Product. This was a gamechanger for me. Test things, be honest about results, and shut down what doesn’t work—even if it feels exciting at first.
Defer to good old-fashioned networking. It’s easy to get excited about running channel experiments, but most of your customers will come from wherever they’ve been coming from–your network. So yes, run experiments, but not as your sole new business channel.
Email Newsletters are Having a Moment–for a Reason
Email is a great outlet for connecting with past and future clients, and your network more broadly. You don’t need everyone on your list to read every missive; you just need to be consistent and talk about something your clients or target audience cares about. Again–give people what they want. Of course, if you want to write about whatever you want to write about, feel free to do so, just don’t expect the same business results.
I’ve given this advice often and received my share of eye-rolls. But consider this: You’re reading a newsletter right now. Need I say more?
Have Fun, but Don’t Procrastinate
Experiments can be fun, but they can also be a form of procrastination. It’s easier to spin up a landing page and wait to see how it performs than to ask a prospect if they’ll pay you. It’s safer to continually tweak your offer than to send the follow-up email that might actually close the deal.
I looked in bolt.new (my preferred vibecoding tool) and saw that I’d redone a pricing page three times. Really? Was that the best use of my time?
It is helpful to put some structure around your activities. For example: 8a-10a, follow up; 10a-12p finish and send proposal; 12p-1p lunch + walk; 1p-4p experiment with vibecoding. While it’s great to work on your own schedule, having some structure with real outcomes attached is helpful.
You probably already know when you're experimenting versus avoiding. Just be aware of it. And know when it’s time to move on from experimentation to action by following up and asking for the sale or next step — just one follow up is fine.
Getting a Full-Time Job Isn’t Giving Up on the Startup of You
We often tell ourselves we’re freelancing because we don’t want to work full-time—and oftentimes it’s true. Sometimes, it’s less than true. Sometimes the best GTM strategy is to pivot entirely, to stop putting your resources into a GTM that isn’t working, for now, and do something different Sometimes “different” means taking a full-time job.
Your GTM shouldn’t involve any other data than what you deduce from your experiments, and what feels right for you. Getting a great job as an alternative strategy is not “giving up.” You do you: Everyone else is taken.
Alex Shartsis an early-stage GTM leader turned founder who built a practice advising founders. Alex has led GTM at startups like Drawbridge (acquired by LinkedIn) and TripIt (acquired by Concur), started a venture-backed company–and then ran corp dev at Opendoor. You can catch Alex’s newsletter, Seed to Sequoia, and check out his new app for automating outbound email campaigns, Skyp.
In case you missed our June webinar, free to all members, we had a brilliant discussion that dug into the complexities of caregiving, from future proofing our homes and environment, to managing our careers before, during, and after caregiving. See the recording here.
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