Taking something from nothing is 1,000 times harder than growing another 20% on something already converting at decent volumes.
In the former, we have to discover the GCT (Goals, Content, Targeting) that works, an arduous, painful, expensive effort.
In the latter, we can apply known optimization techniques, as we already have a working signal to amplify.
To participate in a startup that doesn’t have clear market demand is to be a founder, so you better not be paid like a contractor or be expected to deliver results as if it was already a successful business.
Trying to grow just one startup is super, super hard. So trying to grow more than one is an exercise in near futility.
I’d rather work on 20 healthy companies grow than to tackle just one startup that hasn’t found their GCT (goals, content, targeting), which we also call “strategy”.
This is a warning to all entrepreneurs and agencies.