Introduction

Transitioning a business from an idea to a company that is securing its first customers is an exciting stage, but it comes with its fair share of challenges.

From market timing to building that ideal customer profile (ICP), creating and implementing a go-to-market (GTM) strategy can be especially difficult for first-time founders.

You may need to experiment and even shift priorities to turn a struggling strategy into a huge success.

Take, for example, Staple AI. This helpful data processing platform allows any company the ability to process more than 10K transactions daily across hundreds of different languages.

But when Staple AI got started, it was focused on serving other startups and small businesses. However, this became more difficult amid the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing a pivot that focused on larger enterprises even though the company was working with limited resources.

Ultimately, the experimentation and shift in strategy paid off. After dozens of “no” responses from investors, Staple AI secured $4M in pre-series A funding in the spring of 2024. This funding helped prove that the company’s experimentation and GTM strategy were successful, helping scale from those first early clients to the wide range of large enterprise clients Staple has today.

Ben Stein, CEO and founder of Staple, sat down with HubSpot for Startups to discuss how other founders can overcome the challenges of developing GTM strategies to capture their first customer and beyond.

The Interview

HSFS: In the early stages, how did you balance the need for a broad reach with the necessity of focusing on a niche target audience? What was your approach to defining your ICP?

Ben Stein (BS): One of the biggest challenges for any early-stage startup is resisting the urge to say “yes” to every opportunity that comes your way. The need for revenue can create a strong temptation to accommodate all potential customers, even if they aren’t the right fit. We certainly were guilty of this, but eventually, we built the discipline to focus when we realized that spreading too thin can dilute your value proposition, slow product development, and create operational inefficiencies.

At Staple, we initially explored various customer segments, as learning from diverse use cases was essential. However, we quickly realized that not every deal aligned with our product’s core strengths. To stay focused, we developed a clear ICP based on predefined criteria.

We adopted a qualify-fast approach, where we assessed prospects against predefined criteria early in the sales cycle. If a potential customer required excessive customization or their needs didn’t match our roadmap, we respectfully declined or redirected them to alternative solutions. This discipline allowed us to concentrate on enterprises that truly benefited from our technology, leading to stronger retention and more efficient scaling.

While focus is critical, early-stage startups should still explore adjacent opportunities strategically—but only if they inform product improvements or open doors to long-term growth. The key is finding the balance between learning from the market and staying true to your vision.

HSFS: Building a solid GTM foundation requires experimentation. How did you prioritize and test different marketing channels or tactics, and what results did you see from your early tests?

BS: In the early stages of Staple, we knew that finding the right go-to-market (GTM) strategy required structured experimentation. Rather than betting everything on a single channel, we committed to a weekly cadence of at least five experiments—testing different marketing channels, messaging, and outreach tactics.

Each experiment was evaluated based on reach, engagement, and ROI, allowing us to double down on what worked and quickly discard what didn’t. We tested cold outreach, LinkedIn ads, SEO-driven content, partnerships, and industry webinars, among others. Some channels, like paid ads, provided immediate visibility but weren’t sustainable from a capital-efficiency perspective, while partnerships and thought leadership content had a slower but more compounding effect.

A key lesson was that creativity and disciplined tracking mattered more than large budgets. Capital efficiency was critical, so we optimized for high-impact, low-cost channels. For example, repurposing customer success stories into LinkedIn posts and webinars proved to be a cost-effective way to build credibility and inbound interest.

This rapid testing approach not only helped us refine our messaging but also ensured we weren’t locked into inefficient channels. By staying agile and data-driven, we identified scalable GTM strategies that aligned with both customer acquisition and long-term sustainability.

HSFS: How did you identify your ideal customer early on, and what steps did you take to ensure you were reaching them effectively?

BS: One part experimentation, one part persistence, one part luck. Initially, Staple focused on startup and SMB customers, and we saw some significant early traction in that segment. We experimented relentlessly with different techniques and approaches and tried to apply learnings to different industries to see what stuck.

However, COVID-19 created challenges for everyone, including our customer base, which required us to reassess our target market. In this process we were fortunate to win our first enterprise contract, the outcome of which was so successful that we were quickly able to build momentum on that for subsequent deals.

It is important to qualify deals as quickly as possible. Don’t spend endless resources chasing a deal that will never happen. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve received as an enterprise B2B founder is: “When dealing with prospects, a ‘yes’ makes us money, a ‘no’ saves us money, but a ‘maybe’ costs us money.” Always remember that is especially the case when you’re focusing precious startup resources.

HSFS: At the 0-to-1 customer stage, your product-market fit is often still evolving. How did you adapt your messaging or value proposition as you gathered feedback from your first customers?

BS: Product-market fit is always evolving. It never stops, and it’s important that founders continue to learn from their customers at all stages of the scaling journey.

At the 0-to-1 stage, product-market fit is fluid, and customer feedback is invaluable in shaping both the product and its positioning. We had an early strong belief in our core value—automating document processing with AI—but the way we communicated that value evolved significantly as we engaged with our first customers.

Initially, our messaging was feature-driven, highlighting speed, accuracy, and automation. However, through customer conversations, we realized that different industries valued different aspects of our solution. For some, the biggest pain point was reducing manual errors, while others prioritized compliance and auditability. This insight led us to refine our messaging to be more outcome-driven, emphasizing specific business impact rather than just technology. Now, we focus on delivering automation that people love.

We also ran structured feedback loops, holding post-onboarding interviews and tracking objections in sales calls. If customers struggled to articulate our value internally, it was a sign that our messaging needed to be clearer. We adapted by using simpler, more relatable language and incorporating real-world use cases into our sales and marketing materials.

One major shift came when we repositioned from being seen as just an “AI document processor” to a “business efficiency enabler”—helping enterprises streamline operations and improve decision-making. This resonated much more with decision-makers and expanded our market appeal.

HSFS: What marketing channel had the biggest impact in those early stages, and why?

BS: In the early stages at Staple, strategic partnerships had the biggest impact on our growth. As a startup, establishing credibility is one of the toughest challenges—potential customers are often hesitant to trust an unknown brand.

I’m a big believer in ecosystem-led growth. By partnering with established industry players, we were able to borrow credibility, gain access to warm leads, and accelerate adoption without the high costs associated with traditional demand generation.

These partnerships took different forms, including channel partnerships, integrations, and co-marketing efforts. Partnering with enterprise software providers allowed us to position Staple as a value-added solution within existing ecosystems, making it easier to acquire customers who were already using complementary tools.

Additionally, this approach ensured extreme capital efficiency—instead of spending heavily on paid acquisition, we focused on relationship-building and leveraging mutual incentives. Our partners benefited from offering AI-driven automation to their clients while we gained trust and distribution at a fraction of the cost.

While we tested various marketing channels—including paid ads, content marketing, and outbound sales—partnerships delivered the highest ROI. They not only helped us scale more efficiently but also positioned Staple AI as a trusted player in the space much faster than we could have done alone.

HSFS: Many founders struggle with resource constraints during early scaling. How did you allocate your marketing budget and team efforts to ensure maximum impact without overextending?

BS: Resource constraints are a reality for any early-stage startup, so every marketing dollar and team effort at Staple had to deliver measurable impact. Our approach was centered on four pillars:

• Prioritization: Focus on high-impact, low-cost channels. Instead of spreading thin across multiple strategies, we focused on marketing channels with the highest ROI. Partnerships became a core growth lever, as they offered trust, distribution, and lead generation without high acquisition costs.
• Experimentation with a lean mindset: With a small team and budget, we committed to a test-and-learn approach—running at least five experiments per week to identify what worked before committing more resources.
• Automating and outsourcing where possible: To maximize team efficiency, we automated repetitive tasks like lead nurturing and reporting. For tasks requiring expertise but not full-time commitment (e.g., SEO, design, paid ads), we used freelancers and agencies instead of hiring in-house prematurely.
• Aligning marketing with sales for efficient growth: Rather than focusing purely on top-of-funnel acquisition, we worked closely with sales to optimize conversion rates—ensuring that every marketing-generated lead was high quality. This reduced waste and improved revenue efficiency.

By staying lean, focused, and data-driven, we stretched our marketing budget further while ensuring consistent growth without overextending resources.

Conclusion

As you can see, flexibility is an important trait when it comes to building a GTM strategy. Rather than focusing on building a product and attracting a wide range of clients, Staple AI worked toward selling only to leads that truly fit its ICP. This allowed Staple to approach more sustainable revenue from larger-enterprise clients while still fitting into a niche.

Further, Staple utilized a lean mindset to grow without overextending its resources, which ultimately led to more efficient and sustainable growth without causing the burn rate to skyrocket—a common hurdle for many startups.

With these efforts combined with data-driven experimentation, Staple continues to see success in scaling, and its journey is one that other founders can learn from to grow their own startups.