Marc Bitanga

On paper, I’ve done some pretty cool things in startups with companies you might have heard of. At home, I’m just Dad.

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

You don't want to get stuck building a successful business that you hate operating.

It happens more than you think.

A useful filter?

Ask yourself - Is this something you'd be happy doing everyday in the trenches for the next 10 years?

It narrows down things real quick.

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

I’m working on a keynote for a tech CEO group called The 5 Conversations Every CEO Should Have with their Head of Marketing.

What conversations should they have? (Wrong answers only 😆)

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

I added a comment to @Codie_Sanchez post, where I agreed that early stage companies shouldn't touch paid ads.

Nuance can be challenging on platforms like Twitter so let me explain. Here are 3 reasons NOT to adopt paid media too early in your company's journey.

1/ Paid ads can be a crutch when early stage businesses adopt it too early.

Meaning some startups don't diversify their marketing beyond just paid media. Resulting in them being 100% dependant on a single channel.

I wouldn't advise any company to be dependant on a single channel. Otherwise you're opening yourself up to strategic risk if that channel goes sideways (e.g. algo changes, CAC increases, etc.)

Google or Meta at any point in time can suspend your paid media account. I've seen it happen and the business impact can be fatal.

2/ I especially wouldn't recommend paid ads if the unit economics don't make sense.

3/ Unless you spend billions like Coca-Cola, paid ads don't have a halo effect on your brand (e.g. brand building)

One you stop paid ads. So does the business results.

[Codie Sanchez @Codie_Sanchez]

I'll die on this hill...

There is absolutely no reason you should touch paid ads until you're doing $5 to $10 million in revenue.

Learn how to create demand organically through content, partnerships, and outreach first. That's enough to take you to that 5-10M mark. Then once that engine is running, layer ads on top.

If you do it the other way around you risk getting eaten up by rising ad costs before your margins can absorb it.

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

Wow. Sorry you and your family experienced this. It must have been terrifying.

Not by masked men, but when I drove through parts of Mexico I just drove straight through any makeshift checkpoints. Never even considered stopping, for this very reason.

From then on I stuck as close as possible to tourist areas.

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

@kyleplacy Doing the lord’s work. One email at a time.

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

You know the most unsexy moat in business?

Operational complexity. Solving difficult, highly complex problems.

Think back-end operations, finance, compliance, etc.

Problems that 99% of entrepreneurs think is too hard to solve or too hard to scale. Or just seem too...boring.

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

Founders: Here’s something so obvious that it seems too simple to say out loud.

Stop pursuing broke customers.

The fastest way to a wildly successful business?

Solve big problems for people and companies with big budgets.

Aiming small doesn’t make marketing, selling or servicing any easier.

It’s almost always the opposite.

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

As an advisor and entrepreneur, there is one ridiculously simple rule that many overlook.

Don’t build a business to solve a problem that’s obvious to you.

Build a business that’s solves a problem that’s obvious to the customer.

Sometimes we tend to over complicate business. When all we need to do is solve a problem so painful, people will throw money at you if you have a better solution.

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

@Codie_Sanchez I’ve worked with too many businesses that grew with paid ads too early. Doubled and tripled down on it. But didn’t develop any other growth channels, nor diversify.

When they hit a blip with paid media, it was just a steady downward spiral from there.

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

What would you want to see or learn about from someone building in public?

What info or insights would actually be useful for you without turning it into a kardashian reality show?

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

A question I ask myself when I’m stuck:

Am I playing to win?

Or playing not to lose?

It snaps me out of times when I hit a dead spot.

And reminds me which mindset is WAY more fulfilling.

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

I need these in my life.

✅ Bucketlist

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

@olegzanx That’s an interesting stat. Makes sense though when you think about it.

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

Currently advising a seed stage AI startup on their GTM strategy. We’ve been assessing ideal markets to pursue.

Currently at a crossroads and deciding whether to:

Be THE big fish in a small(er) pond. Boring and largely ignored industry.

vs.

Be a tiny fish in a massive pond with competitors around every corner.

Be the No. 1 solution in your industry? Or be the 100th solution?

Guess which one I’m recommending?

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

@jasonfried Interesting experiment.

How were your registration rates compared to events that didn’t require up-front payment?

It’s not an apples to apples comparison because attendance is the goal, but just curious whether higher attendance will offset any dips in registration.

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

Last Sunday I got a 66% open rate on my newsletter essay “Counterfeit Authority”.

Don’t miss this Sunday’s edition of Squeeze the Funnel.

We’ll be covering how the traditional marketing funnel has been useless and what a more actionable B2B funnel looks like.

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

@gregorykennedy Or “purpose-built”…

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

Always keep your CEO up to date and in the know.

Once a marketing leader loses the confidence of their CEO, it’s almost certain that they’ll be eventually replaced or pushed out.

The VP/CMO to CEO relationship is one that continually needs to be nurtured.

[Marc Bitanga @marcbitanga]

@MediaKing Same probably goes for entrepreneurship.