And there’s data that proves it. According to HubSpot’s 2024 State of Marketing Report, 63% of startups find it difficult to get traffic and leads after launch. CB Insights mentions that over 42% of startups fail as they lack market demand because they couldn't connect with the customer and not because the product is bad.

And another ad campaign won’t fix it unfortunately. It is about how startups prepare before launch. Here’s what actually works based on what I’ve seen across markets and industries.

Start building curiosity before the launch

If your first post on Instagram is “We’re live!” – it’s already too late. 

There’s a misconception that people follow brands. People actually follow stories that feel relevant to them. It’s about being transparent – showing what they are building and why it matters. 

It doesn’t need to be complicated. Start sharing the process – real behind-the-scenes updates a few months before launch: app bugs, design sneak peeks, early user interviews. There’s no need to hire a PR agency to do this. Just post regular updates on Instagram or LinkedIn, start a Substack for weekly posts or create a Notion page. The objective is to let people see why and how you’re doing it. 

If you’re consistent, at some point, you’ll create curiosity – and by launch day, people will already feel connected to it, not like strangers you need to convince overnight.

Create a beta group (10 people is already enough)

Founders sometimes delay building a community until after launch, and that’s a mistake. There’s no need to onboard hundreds of early testers, ten people who care are enough. And these people aren’t customers yet – they are a reality check. Their feedback is important and can shape the way the startup is positioned or how simple it is to use. Give early adopters access before launch and make it easy for them to share opinions. And if not all ten stay active, that’s fine too, as you’ll still have people who understand your product and share it with their circles – that’s trust. And by the way, paid ads can’t do that.

Launch date isn’t a finish line

The launch date isn’t the end. Founders should see it as the first real-world test but usually they spend all energy on it: launch a landing page, prepare a press release, publish posts on social media and maybe boost a couple of them. And then they go quiet for a few weeks. The launch should be treated like a real-life experiment. Start small. If you were planning to run five ads on the launch day – start with two, run them with small budgets, focus on which message performs better and switch off the one that doesn’t. When I helped a founder launch a new travel app, our main launch message got a very average engagement. But a simple organic post about the product feature we thought was important, outperformed everything else. Later we used it as our core message. But we couldn’t find out about it without testing. 

According to Harvard Business Review, companies that regularly test ideas, grow 1.5x faster than those that rely on one particular campaign and assume it will work best. 

Things to remember

Many startups don’t fail because of budget or time – they fail because founders start talking too late. You don’t need hype – it’s usually a very short-term process. You need momentum, and that means:

• Start small and build curiosity early
• Involve real people
• Focus on trust
• Think of launch as a real-world test
• Continue talking and sharing

If you do these things, your launch will become a continuous process. Show it consistently, earn trust early and by the time you’re ready to launch, people will already care. 

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