Asia Orangio (@AsiaOrangio), CEO of Demand Maven, joins me as we dive into the world of customer discovery and (go-to) market strategies. We'll discuss real-life examples, like a Gantt chart tool maker who grew their business through customer feedback. This episode is a practical guide on balancing passion with profit and tackling early-stage marketing and growth challenges.

And if you kinda suck at surveys, this one is for you.

In our conversation, Asia and I unravel the importance of customer interviews and debunk the myth that customers aren't willing to share their thoughts. We also explore key decisions in scaling a business, from expanding your audience to smart hiring choices. Whether you're just starting or already on your entrepreneurial journey, this episode offers valuable insights into maintaining a consistent customer base and steering your business's marketing strategy.

Asia on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AsiaOrangio
Asia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asiaorangio/

00:00:00 Early Stage Marketing and Growth Challenges
00:12:37 Overcoming Inhibition to Conduct Customer Interviews
00:18:21 Considering Go-to Market and Freemium Strategies
00:30:17 Navigating Audience Expansion and Maintaining Consistency
00:36:24 Hiring and Building a Team
00:46:19 First Hire Selection and Fractional Hires

This episode is sponsored by Acquire.com

The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/asia-orangio-crafting-a-growth-blueprint-for-emerging-startups/

The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/286-asia-orangio-crafting-a-growth-blueprint-for-emerging-startups

The video: https://youtu.be/tQaf64794lw

You'll find my weekly article on my blog: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com

Podcast: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/podcast

Newsletter: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/newsletter

My book Zero to Sold: https://zerotosold.com/

My book The Embedded Entrepreneur: https://embeddedentrepreneur.com/

My course Find Your Following: https://findyourfollowing.com

Here are a few tools I use. Using my affiliate links will support my work at no additional cost to you.
- Notion (which I use to organize, write, coordinate, and archive my podcast + newsletter): https://affiliate.notion.so/465mv1536drx
- Riverside.fm (that's what I recorded this episode with): https://riverside.fm/?via=arvid
- TweetHunter (for speedy scheduling and writing Tweets): http://tweethunter.io/?via=arvid
- HypeFury (for massive Twitter analytics and scheduling): https://hypefury.com/?via=arvid60
- AudioPen (for taking voice notes and getting amazing summaries): https://audiopen.ai/?aff=PXErZ
- Descript (for word-based video editing, subtitles, and clips): https://www.descript.com/?lmref=3cf39Q
- ConvertKit (for email lists, newsletters, even finding sponsors): https://convertkit.com?lmref=bN9CZw

(00:00) - Early Stage Marketing and Growth Challenges
(12:37) - Overcoming Inhibition to Conduct Customer Interviews
(18:21) - Considering Go-to Market and Freemium Strategies
(30:17) - Navigating Audience Expansion and Maintaining Consistency
(36:24) - Hiring and Building a Team
(46:19) - First Hire Selection and Fractional Hires

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