Paid marketing should be measurable and tied to specific metrics, especially in the later stages of a startup's growth.

Brand marketing is often just a small piece of the overall brand strategy; the best way to grow your brand is to get more people to use your product.

Investing heavily in brand advertising and sponsorships can be tempting, but it often doesn't yield the expected returns, especially for early-stage startups without established brands.

Startups must focus on measuring the right metrics comprehensively to understand their performance and drive success.

It's important to create a holistic marketing strategy that balances brand building with performance marketing, as neglecting one can harm overall effectiveness.

When working with early-stage startups, the focus is often on how to get the product in front of people, as there are no silver bullets in this process. You need to try various strategies like content marketing, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, events, webinars, partnerships, and even street teams to find what works best.

In the early stages of your startup, you are the brand; the way you communicate and the effort you put into personalization will stand out to potential customers and partners.

In India, it's easy to start a brand but very hard to scale it. Scaling requires efficiency in performance marketing, sourcing, and design after achieving product-market fit.

For the first 20 crores, prioritize product-driven growth through word of mouth and community engagement rather than relying solely on performance marketing.