Creators are the new CMOs. In the past, brands hired agencies to tell their stories. Today, the smartest brands are looking at creators—the ones who’ve built loyal audiences from scratch—and realizing they have more to teach about content strategy than any HBS case study. Elite creators don’t just publish content. They build systems for trust, distribution, and monetization that rival entire marke

Intro staff|4 min read

Marketers love to chase the shiny new thing. TikTok ads, AI-driven funnels, viral stunts: If it feels cutting-edge, it gets attention and budget. But in the scramble for novelty, many startups are overlooking the most effective acquisition channels. The irony? These channels are hiding in plain sight. They’re not glamorous, but they’re efficient, scalable, and in some cases, cheaper than ever. Ign

Intro staff|4 min read

For all the noise about growth hacks and ad spend, one truth still holds: the fastest-growing tech companies let their product do the selling. Product-led growth (PLG) isn’t just a strategy. It’s a philosophy, designing the product itself as the engine of distribution, so every new customer naturally brings in the next one. Done right, PLG grows faster than any paid acquisition channel. In 2025, t

Intro staff|3 min read

Founders love to romanticize the pitch. It’s the movie scene version of entrepreneurship: a brilliant idea, a confident founder, a dazzled investor writing a check on the spot. Reality is messier. Investors sit through hundreds of pitches every year. Many are forgettable, and some are actively painful. The difference between the common “no” and the occasional “yes” is rarely about the idea alone.

Intro staff|4 min read

Traditional SEO is shifting. As AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude become the primary gateways to information, brands must evolve from ranking for clicks to being cited for clarity. This new rulebook—Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)—means your content must be intentionally structured and visible to large language models (a16z). Here’s your 5-step playbook to optimize content

Intro staff|2 min read

Founders know their first 50 hires will shape their company forever. This group doesn’t just fill seats; they establish culture, build early systems, and decide whether the startup can survive the chaos of the early years. But what exactly should you be hiring for? Not polished résumés, not blue-chip credentials, not “culture fit” in the corporate sense. The first 50 hires have to thrive in an env

Intro staff|4 min read

Most acquisitions take years. Yet Base44, a bootstrapped AI startup, was acquired by Wix in roughly 500 days. That’s extraordinary. But what’s more valuable for founders is not the speed itself, but the disciplined decisions that propelled it. Let’s explore the real journey. A Solo Venture, Born from Purpose Base44 didn’t emerge from a VC-funded incubator or a fancy startup studio. It was born as

Intro staff|2 min read

For many U.S. startups, international expansion is a milestone, a sign the business has matured beyond its home market. But choosing the right city for your first office abroad isn’t just about picking a spot on the map. It’s about aligning geography with strategy: talent pools, customer access, regulatory environments, and industry ecosystems. Here are five cities that stand out as the smartest b

Intro staff|4 min read