Step-by-step guide to get your first 100 paying customers

I'm a founder who also mentors other founders to build financially strong startup plans and have had my share of frustrations nailing down critical parts of startups' strategy, my own as well as those I mentor. The go-to-market strategy is probably one of the most misunderstood and wasted parts of any pitch that I have seen.But the problem is that unless you're deeply embedded in the traditional Silicon Valley ecosystem, it's hard, almost impossible, to figure out the core elements of a rigorous, data-driven go-to-market strategy that you can manage as a solo founder AND ensure it meets the objective rigor test.I found Maja Voje's Go To Market Strategist (GTMS) book after a great deal of fruitless searching and dissatisfaction with many of the other books in this category - many were good but incomplete, or complete but fairly superficial, worse, complete, deep and totally not practical for a solo founder without a lot of funding or a big team.GTMS is probably the single best book I have come across in this genre. It starts from the basics and walks you through every critical aspect of your startup's GTM strategy. I did every single exercise laid out in the book and after a chapter or so, became quite familiar with the flow and logic of the book.Maja lays it out in a few key modules - first explaining the what's, the why's and the how's of each building block. The references and bibliography in particular I found to be excellent. She also includes very practical step-by-step instructions for every part of your GTM strategy. There are also workarounds in case your well is running dry on some aspect of the GTM strategy - e.g. you don't have data, or your position isn't particularly unique for positioning.It was intense, took me about a week of very hard work, but for the first time, I actually had a complete GTM strategy in a spreadsheet - something I've not been able to accomplish with any other book I have tested this way so far on this topic.Because the logic is so step-by-step, it's very easy for you as a founder to revisit prior answers and steps and refine them as you learn more and iterate on key elements.The biggest pluses of this book:- Very action oriented, no fluff, no nonsense - only includes what you need to get the job done as quickly and effectively as you can- Highly data-driven - I love this!- Friendly, accessible explanation of even difficult concepts - doesn't scare the non marketing savvy founder awayThere's a heavy tilt towards Saas and tech businesses but I didn't find that to detract from the value or the relevance of the framework, the content or the exercises.In short, this book is absolutely packed with value and I think it easily achieves the author's self-declared "One Metric That Matters" - the number of insights per page. I used different colored highlights on my Kindle copy and this is probably the one book that is almost completely covered in highlights!If you're an early stage solo founder especially one who's not easily able to access traditional startup resources available to the best tech startups in the valley, this is your ticket to developing a terrific and actionable GTM strategy with the means you have at hand right now - and then have it grow with you in detail, precision and sophistication.

-- Shubha K. Chakravarthy

In just under 60 days, our SaaS welcomed over 600 free users and 30 paid subscribers. According to Userpilot, “[f]or many [SaaS] companies, the ideal freemium conversion rate is around 2-5%.”Maja Voje and her insightful book, "Go-To Market Strategist," were instrumental in refining our Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and Go-To Market (GTM) strategy.Based on the Beachhead strategy, we decided to focus our product, Flou, a SaaS solution for legal and music contract management, on music entrepreneurs (managers, lawyers, labels and publishers).Our traction channel is our music business community and online educational platform called Seed Academy. We used our community (email + IG + YouTube) to drive traffic to our new software.Thank you, Maja, for sharing your expertise!

-- Alexiomar

Navigating the long and often chaotic road to product-market fit is no small feat, yet Maja excels in laying out a clear, step-by-step strategy to conquer it. The book is packed with frameworks and exercises that are not only easy to apply but also incredibly powerful for any founder or GTM Marketer.Having explored a multitude of business books over the years, I find 'Go-To-Market Strategist' to be a rare find. It uniquely ties together all the essential elements coherently.I can't recommend this book enough – it's a must-read for those seeking practical, impactful guidance in the business world!

-- Juan Cruz Giusto

This is an incredible book, and very well written! I’ve been in the marketing field for a long time and this is definitely one of the best books I’ve read on go to market strategy and finding a market fit.If you are into growth marketing, you need this book!

-- Robert Rupp

Maja did an incredible job, creating a very clear guide with excellent cases that take into account what we need today as leaders in growth, marketing, technology, and product. In a world like the present one, where thousands of startups and business models die every second, this is a must-read to be able to create a comprehensive go-to-market strategy and start reaching the Product-Market Fit (PMF)

-- Marce Catano

Maja very clearly has done her homework. As a GTM leader for a burgeoning AI company, the value I received from this book can't be measured.From conceptual understandings of the differences between ICP and ECP, to the viewpoints of competition and strategies of differentiation, Maja nails the step by step framework of getting your product to market.

-- Cole

This is one of the very rare business books in which I highlighted passages in the very first chapter. Most business books today are overblown and ramble on and on for the first 100 pages without giving you any useful insights.This book is different. From the first chapter you will get insights that you will be able to immediately apply to your business and the intensity of insights will not wither until the very end. Highly recommended.

-- Kindle Customer

Maja is an awsome person with amazing experience and thinking. Her experience and knowledge is already valuable and with this book you will get perfect insight on how to rock your product, find a product market fit and plan great GO-TO market strategy. Awsome!!!

-- Jaka

Times have changed, and so have the strategies required to become successful with new products and services. I feel like Maja has been on the cutting edge of such changes and is well-positioned to share everything that only someone who has rolled up her sleeves would be able to do. This book is an MBA in itself that can save you uncountable hours and money on your next GTM phase.

-- Pedrocli

La méthodologie s'applique pour n'importe quel type de business model : réseau social, marketplace, Saas, etc.Le livre décris tout les concepts business important à connaitre pour un entrepreneur pré-product market fit.De plus il y a des exemples concrets et récents qui étayent les concepts et conseils.Je recommande chaudement.

-- Parfait

I'm a founder who also mentors other founders to build financially strong startup plans and have had my share of frustrations nailing down critical parts of startups' strategy, my own as well as those I mentor. The go-to-market strategy is probably one of the most misunderstood and wasted parts of any pitch that I have seen.But the problem is that unless you're deeply embedded in the traditional Silicon Valley ecosystem, it's hard, almost impossible, to figure out the core elements of a rigorous, data-driven go-to-market strategy that you can manage as a solo founder AND ensure it meets the objective rigor test.I found Maja Voje's Go To Market Strategist (GTMS) book after a great deal of fruitless searching and dissatisfaction with many of the other books in this category - many were good but incomplete, or complete but fairly superficial, worse, complete, deep and totally not practical for a solo founder without a lot of funding or a big team.GTMS is probably the single best book I have come across in this genre. It starts from the basics and walks you through every critical aspect of your startup's GTM strategy. I did every single exercise laid out in the book and after a chapter or so, became quite familiar with the flow and logic of the book.Maja lays it out in a few key modules - first explaining the what's, the why's and the how's of each building block. The references and bibliography in particular I found to be excellent. She also includes very practical step-by-step instructions for every part of your GTM strategy. There are also workarounds in case your well is running dry on some aspect of the GTM strategy - e.g. you don't have data, or your position isn't particularly unique for positioning.It was intense, took me about a week of very hard work, but for the first time, I actually had a complete GTM strategy in a spreadsheet - something I've not been able to accomplish with any other book I have tested this way so far on this topic.Because the logic is so step-by-step, it's very easy for you as a founder to revisit prior answers and steps and refine them as you learn more and iterate on key elements.The biggest pluses of this book:- Very action oriented, no fluff, no nonsense - only includes what you need to get the job done as quickly and effectively as you can- Highly data-driven - I love this!- Friendly, accessible explanation of even difficult concepts - doesn't scare the non marketing savvy founder awayThere's a heavy tilt towards Saas and tech businesses but I didn't find that to detract from the value or the relevance of the framework, the content or the exercises.In short, this book is absolutely packed with value and I think it easily achieves the author's self-declared "One Metric That Matters" - the number of insights per page. I used different colored highlights on my Kindle copy and this is probably the one book that is almost completely covered in highlights!If you're an early stage solo founder especially one who's not easily able to access traditional startup resources available to the best tech startups in the valley, this is your ticket to developing a terrific and actionable GTM strategy with the means you have at hand right now - and then have it grow with you in detail, precision and sophistication.

-- Shubha K. Chakravarthy

In just under 60 days, our SaaS welcomed over 600 free users and 30 paid subscribers. According to Userpilot, “[f]or many [SaaS] companies, the ideal freemium conversion rate is around 2-5%.”Maja Voje and her insightful book, "Go-To Market Strategist," were instrumental in refining our Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and Go-To Market (GTM) strategy.Based on the Beachhead strategy, we decided to focus our product, Flou, a SaaS solution for legal and music contract management, on music entrepreneurs (managers, lawyers, labels and publishers).Our traction channel is our music business community and online educational platform called Seed Academy. We used our community (email + IG + YouTube) to drive traffic to our new software.Thank you, Maja, for sharing your expertise!

-- Alexiomar

Navigating the long and often chaotic road to product-market fit is no small feat, yet Maja excels in laying out a clear, step-by-step strategy to conquer it. The book is packed with frameworks and exercises that are not only easy to apply but also incredibly powerful for any founder or GTM Marketer.Having explored a multitude of business books over the years, I find 'Go-To-Market Strategist' to be a rare find. It uniquely ties together all the essential elements coherently.I can't recommend this book enough – it's a must-read for those seeking practical, impactful guidance in the business world!

-- Juan Cruz Giusto

This is an incredible book, and very well written! I’ve been in the marketing field for a long time and this is definitely one of the best books I’ve read on go to market strategy and finding a market fit.If you are into growth marketing, you need this book!

-- Robert Rupp

Maja did an incredible job, creating a very clear guide with excellent cases that take into account what we need today as leaders in growth, marketing, technology, and product. In a world like the present one, where thousands of startups and business models die every second, this is a must-read to be able to create a comprehensive go-to-market strategy and start reaching the Product-Market Fit (PMF)

-- Marce Catano

Maja very clearly has done her homework. As a GTM leader for a burgeoning AI company, the value I received from this book can't be measured.From conceptual understandings of the differences between ICP and ECP, to the viewpoints of competition and strategies of differentiation, Maja nails the step by step framework of getting your product to market.

-- Cole

This is one of the very rare business books in which I highlighted passages in the very first chapter. Most business books today are overblown and ramble on and on for the first 100 pages without giving you any useful insights.This book is different. From the first chapter you will get insights that you will be able to immediately apply to your business and the intensity of insights will not wither until the very end. Highly recommended.

-- Kindle Customer

Maja is an awsome person with amazing experience and thinking. Her experience and knowledge is already valuable and with this book you will get perfect insight on how to rock your product, find a product market fit and plan great GO-TO market strategy. Awsome!!!

-- Jaka

Times have changed, and so have the strategies required to become successful with new products and services. I feel like Maja has been on the cutting edge of such changes and is well-positioned to share everything that only someone who has rolled up her sleeves would be able to do. This book is an MBA in itself that can save you uncountable hours and money on your next GTM phase.

-- Pedrocli

La méthodologie s'applique pour n'importe quel type de business model : réseau social, marketplace, Saas, etc.Le livre décris tout les concepts business important à connaitre pour un entrepreneur pré-product market fit.De plus il y a des exemples concrets et récents qui étayent les concepts et conseils.Je recommande chaudement.

-- Parfait