Starting a New Venture: What Comes After Building Your Product?
Launching a new venture is no small feat. As an entrepreneur, you need a lot of courage, dedication, and patience to face the daily challenges that come with turning an idea into a product. But let’s be honest—just building a product isn’t enough to guarantee success. The old saying, “If you build it, they will come,” doesn’t hold true anymore.
So, You’ve Built Your Product—Now What?
Getting your product off the ground is hard work, but the next challenge is even tougher: finding people who want to use it, and then continuing to grow that user base. This is often where teams struggle, pouring money into user acquisition without seeing sustainable results. Pretty soon, it becomes clear that burning through cash isn’t the answer, and the hunt begins for someone who can help drive growth without breaking the bank—a growth hacker.
But here’s the catch: finding a great growth hacker can be even harder than running a startup. (This article from growhack.com might offer some insights.)
What’s the Alternative?
Have you considered outsourcing? You can apply that same concept here. If your team doesn’t have the time or resources to find the perfect growth hacker, you can always hire a growth hacking agency instead.
Not only do these agencies handle the growth aspect, but they can also help you fix any weak spots in your product that might be hurting your chances of success.
Why Hire a Growth Hacking Agency?
Let’s look at some key benefits of bringing in a growth hacking agency:
1. They Become the Backbone of Your Startup
Struggling with how to create a great drip campaign? Not sure how to set up a referral system in your product? Losing too many website visitors before they convert?
A growth hacking agency can help with all of these challenges. Their teams are made up of both technical and marketing experts who know how to work together to deliver the best results.
Here are some examples of how combining technical and marketing skills can generate big wins:
- Airbnb famously hacked growth by leveraging Craigslist.
- You can use APIs like Mailchimp’s to automatically add new subscribers from your blog and send them welcome emails.
- Building web scrapers can help you gather data that fuels data-driven marketing strategies.
2. They Have Experience, Which Saves You Time
Not every marketing channel will be effective for your product. Depending on your niche, some platforms will work better than others. For example, an online security product for professionals will likely perform better on LinkedIn than on Facebook.
Growth hacking agencies have worked with a wide range of clients, so they know which channels work best for different types of products. This means you won’t waste time and resources experimenting with strategies that might not pay off.
3. You Get a Whole Team, Not Just One Person
Hiring an individual growth hacker can be tough and time-consuming. It’s hard to figure out exactly what skills you need, and many startups don’t have the experience to know where to start. All they know is, “We need a growth hacker.”
Here are some challenges with hiring just one person:
- It’s difficult to find someone with all the right skills (coding, marketing, design).
- Even if you do, they can’t handle everything alone—external help will still be needed.
- Juggling too many roles can reduce productivity and effectiveness.
In contrast, a growth hacking agency gives you a full package: programmers, designers, and marketers, all working together to make sure your product grows efficiently. By working with a full team, you speed up the implementation of growth strategies, allowing your core team to stay focused on building the product.
How Do You Find the Right Growth Hacking Agency?
Hiring an agency isn’t easy either. Here are a few important questions to ask when considering a growth hacking agency:
- What will the agency handle? Which parts of your funnel will they focus on?
- What’s their experience with your tech stack? Have they worked with similar tools and platforms before?
- What results have they achieved for previous clients? (Always ask for references or testimonials.)
- How much of your team’s time will they need? Will you need to heavily support the growth team, or can they work independently?
- What’s the strength of each team member? Are they specialists in their field?
- How many clients do they work with at once? Will they be fully dedicated to your project, or will they be balancing multiple clients?
If you’re satisfied with the answers, you’ve likely found a good fit. Make sure the agency understands your product and goals, and that you’re both clear on which KPIs to prioritize.
