The Teleport Test

There are two kinds of founders: Product Founders and Marketing Founders.

Both perspectives are obviously critical, and the best founders embody both.

But you have to get the sequencing right. In general, it’s better to nail the product first, then market it.

Marketing Founders face a special challenge: They are susceptible to over-invest in marketing in early days, because they are good at it and it feels good.

When I talk to these founders, I offer them the TELEPORT TEST.

Here’s how it works:

Imagine you have a teleportation device. You can reach out into the world, grab an ideal customer, and teleport them right here into this room with you. Here’s the test: Will your product click with this customer? Can you confidently activate, monetize, and retain them?

Now, here’s the prescription: Until you can consistently pass the test, DON’T INVEST IN MARKETING. If you do, you’ll find yourself with the classic leaky bucket, adding more water (customers) only to find that the level (revenue or retention) never rises.

For a Marketing Founder, this is really hard advice to hear.

Marketing Founders are good at marketing, and marketing gets attention, and attention creates dopamine. It’s a powerful cycle. (I feel it every time I make a post here!)

BUT but but! I can see that your hackles are rising.

🙋‍♂️ “But you also tell me to test with customers. How can I find customers to test with if I don’t talk publicly about my company?”

Alright, you got me. You’ll need to use outreach (a form of marketing) to recruit customers for testing. But these efforts should be small and focused, and you should stop after you filled your next panel.

🙋‍♂️ “Distribution is the key risk for my business. I know I can build the product, but reaching customers is the hard part.”

Cool. Run some experiments until you’re confident. But remember, marketing doesn’t solve customer problems — product does.

🙋‍♂️ “What about branding?”

In rare cases where you can’t launch for a year+, then it MIGHT be sensible to invest in building your brand so there’s familiarity, trust, and credibility when you do launch. But for most startups, branding is a later thing.

🙋‍♂️ “What about press?”

Good point. If there’s an external news event (like a fundraise) you can use to your advantage, go for it. But the key words are “to your advantage” — try to delay until you can use the attention for acquisition (after you pass the Teleport Test), hiring, or fundraising.

🙋‍♂️ “But marketing is free JZ, I just post on social. It’s organic!”

No, it’s not. Every calorie spent on marketing takes energy away from getting the product right.

Ultimately, building new products is all about solving important problems for people you care about. Until you’re confident you can do it consistently, I think you owe it to yourself (and your customers) to stay focused.

Use the Teleport Test. Build first, market later.