2025-10-29 16:25:46
The idea that a business lives or dies depending solely on the personal qualities of its founder—innovativeness and grit, for example, or the lack thereof—is a romantic one and therefore highly misleading.
In the early days of running my first sign shop in small-town Idaho, none of my schooling or hard work could outmuscle one brute fact: businesses live or die by cash flow—and how long you can stretch a dollar.
Fresh out of my twenties and a brand-new business owner, I was hungry, sleep-deprived, and scrambling for every sign installation gig I could grab. Cash was tight, so I paid for supplies by check—each one an anxious little leap of faith. One stressful morning, I handed my supplier a check, and he tossed it onto the battered counter, giving me a dry look. “Let’s hope this one doesn’t bounce,” he said, grinning. I laughed along, but his joke taught a valuable lesson: in the world of entrepreneurship, trust is earned one payment at a time.
Rituals like that became our routine. Over weeks, as my checks cleared, the vendor’s tone warmed from skeptical to encouraging. Then one day, he surprised me: “How about we set you up with net-30 terms? No more chasing checks—just pay me in thirty days.”
I had no idea what ‘net-30’ meant, but when he explained, a lightbulb flickered on. Net-30 simply meant I’d get the supplies now and have thirty days to pay—giving me precious room between spending on materials and collecting payment from customers. It wasn’t a loan. It was old-fashioned trust, with no fee-hiding bank manager playing middleman.
For anyone hustling with not much but work ethic and a dream, net-30 terms are gold. Here’s why:
But there was more. My vendor explained that each on-time payment he reported helped me build a business credit file, which was crucial for future loans or bigger supplier relationships, and something I’d never thought about as a cash-only operator.
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One key lesson I learned in the process is that not all suppliers report your net-30 payments to business credit bureaus. Those that do are really supplying you with two things—materials to get jobs done, and the foundation for a business credit history that can open real doors.
If you’re offered net-30, ask your vendor if they report payments. If they don’t, keep looking for one who will. Each timely payment is a brick in your business’s financial reputation.
Taking advantage of a net-30 payment plan is not just about scoring terms or padding your credit file; it’s about everyday survival as a business. Here’s what matters most:
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Net-30 did more than buy me time. It taught me to respect timing, relationships, and the power of showing up reliably. That trust became the seed for bigger jobs, repeat business—and, eventually, partnerships that let me expand well beyond the sign shop.
For new entrepreneurs, the best thing to remember is this: Learn how money actually flows in and out of your business, and use the tools around you—like net-30—to smooth that ride. Done right, those thirty days can be the difference between treading water and catching your next big break.
So don’t chase just the next sale or new gadget. First, chase the trust that comes from paying your bills—and leveraging vendor credit to build a real, lasting business.
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2025-10-26 14:31:12
Building a product startup can feel like a never-ending sprint. You launch, you iterate, you push new features, yet growth continues to feel like a treadmill rather than the much-anticipated hockey-stick curve.
Many founders experience this because they’re chasing a product-market fit (PMF) that doesn’t really exist. They fall into the trap of thinking PMF is a sudden spike in sign-ups, user testimonials and investors at their door. Sold on this “aha” moment, founders chase the wrong signals, make premature scaling decisions and waste cash on growth tactics that never lead to lasting success.
In truth, PMF is neither a feeling nor a final stop, but rather a measurable, ongoing process. Early users rarely represent the broader market, and vanity metrics can falsely boost confidence without reflecting sustainable value.
This article examines common myths that stall progress and offers practical ways to distinguish false positives from real traction. You’ll learn how to tell early positive feedback from genuine demand, ways to measure retention and indispensability, and why scaling prematurely is often fatal.
Before diving into solutions, we need to understand why so many founders get PMF wrong in the first place. The root of the issue lies in a fundamental problem with how the startup ecosystem discusses growth.
Over the last decade, there’s been an explosion of startup “advisors” who’ve never actually built businesses themselves, and accelerators that have muddied the waters around what PMF truly means. Many accelerators require PMF to apply, yet they contradict themselves by equating PMF with early traction metrics (e.g., testimonials, download numbers, growing user counts) instead of focusing on sustainable, repeatable demand.
This creates a dangerous feedback loop. Founders think, “These experts know all about startup growth. So, if they suggest that achieving PMF means focusing on early adopter numbers and customer feedback, then that must be the right path forward.”
However, the truth is that true PMF isn’t easy traction that just boosts your confidence, it’s the phase where you can be confident in consistent, scalable growth. A product with true PMF is one that people can discover, use and recommend on their own, without needing your constant intervention or persuasion.
This misunderstanding has created myths that trap founders in endless cycles of false progress. The myths feel right as they provide the dopamine rush of perceived success, but they quietly undermine the foundation. Let’s discuss some of these common misconceptions.
Your first users will likely love what you’re building. They’ll share positive feedback and make you feel like you’ve cracked the code. This feels incredible, particularly after months of grinding in uncertainty.
However, let’s be honest, your early adopters are often friends, family or people who simply love trying new things. These enthusiasts for innovation tolerate bugs and rough edges because they get excited about potential more than polish. Their praise might stroke your ego and land you a place in an accelerator, but it won’t predict long-term growth.
Early adopters comprise just 2.5 percent of any market, and they are fundamentally different from pragmatists, who are crucial for sustainable growth. Geoffrey Moore’s technology adoption lifecycle illustrates that the real challenge is “crossing the chasm,” which involves moving from innovators to the early majority. That leap demands proof points that differ from mere enthusiastic testimonials.
Instead of celebrating the excitement of early adopters, focus on tracking actions:
If every customer requires extensive handholding, your product hasn’t yet achieved widespread appeal. Real PMF means the value is self-evident.
Self-service adoption indicates that your product’s value is apparent to typical users, not just innovators willing to explore things on their own.
Pay attention to the origins of referrals, as recommendations from mainstream users are more impactful than those from early adopters who tend to refer every new tool they experiment with.
Initial sign-ups or pilot conversions might seem like a conclusion, but they’re only early indicators that capture a moment in time, not a sustained trend. Without durability, these signals fade quickly. And this search for a decisive moment leads straight into the next myth: viewing PMF as a binary state.
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Many founders treat PMF as merely a box to tick before moving on. But PMF isn’t a permanent achievement. Markets change, competitors innovate and customer behavior evolves. What works today might not fit tomorrow if there’s no constant adaptation. That’s why viewing PMF as a binary state, as if it’s something you either have or don’t, becomes a trap.
Instead of binary thinking, assessing PMF on a spectrum is more beneficial. One useful framework scores PMF by stage:
This spectrum helps you align decisions with the current reality. A company at 25 shouldn’t act like one at 55. Early-stage scrappiness, mid-stage retention work and scale-stage systemization each demand different strategies. Many founders encounter difficulties when they misjudge their stage or skip ahead prematurely.
Recognizing PMF as a spectrum is only half the battle. The other half is maintaining it as an ongoing discipline. Even companies that once experienced an explosive fit can lose it if they stop tracking and adapting.
To prevent this kind of drift, you need processes that make PMF checks a regular activity:
Understanding that PMF exists on a spectrum helps you escape the binary trap. But it also introduces a new temptation: the assumption that if some PMF is good, then more must be better. Founders often believe that chasing bigger numbers, whether in sign-ups or total reach, is the logical next step. In reality, that mindset leads directly into yet another myth.
As user numbers increase, it’s tempting to think you’ve nailed PMF. But growth built on uncertain foundations leads to leaky funnels. New users join but don’t stick, forcing you to spend more on acquisition. This accelerates cash burn without creating lasting value. The mistake is pursuing scale before proving staying power.
The essence of achieving a strong product-market fit lies in ensuring depth before expanding breadth. A product that 100 people use every week and simply cannot live without is far more robust than one that has 10,000 superficial sign-ups. Reaching this level of engagement requires a clear understanding of exactly who you are building for.
Before building a minimum viable product, define your minimum viable audience. This is the smallest group with a distinct problem that you can solve better than anyone else, and who are willing to pay for your solution.
A simple value proposition framework helps sharpen the focus:
For [specific target customer], who is dissatisfied with [current alternative], our solution is a [category] that provides [key benefit]. Unlike [competitors], we [your USP].
This degree of specificity drives better messaging, focuses feature development and clarifies success metrics.
Once you’ve determined your MVA, the real test is proving they stay engaged. That’s why it’s essential to invert the traditional funnel: instead of acquisition -> retention -> monetization, consider prioritizing retention -> acquisition -> monetization. Without retention, acquisition is just expensive churn.
A solid benchmark is if 20 to 30 percent of your users remain active after 30 days, you’re laying a building foundation.
Validation steps:
Scaling is a reward for achieving PMF, not the proof of it. Which brings us to the final question: how do you measure fit in a way that distinguishes genuine traction from temporary excitement?
Beyond retention and staged scoring, several frameworks can help cut through the noise:
The key is to select the few metrics that best represent value in your specific context and track them relentlessly. Vanity metrics like downloads or sign-ups will never truly reveal PMF.
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Product-market fit is a capability that you develop through disciplined practice. The most resilient companies design systems to measure retention, double down on providing indispensable value, and stay clear of the seduction of premature scaling.
Each myth points to the same trap: chasing shortcuts. Whether it’s applause from enthusiasts, the comfort of binary thinking, or the vanity involved in sheer user numbers, the result is fragile progress.
Lasting traction comes from adopting a different mindset: focus on the customers who can’t live without your product, validate value through behavior, not words, and continually test whether your product-market fit holds as markets change.
If there’s one takeaway, it’s this: treat PMF as an ongoing practice. Build the muscle to measure it, stress-test it and adapt along the way. Founders who master this skill not only achieve PMF but also maintain it long enough to cross the chasm, scale with confidence and build businesses that last.
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2025-10-23 17:47:00
\Attracting angel investors in today’s competitive startup landscape requires innovative strategies that go beyond traditional pitches. This article presents cutting-edge approaches, backed by expert insights, to help founders stand out and secure crucial funding. From AI-powered personalization to evidence-based demonstrations, these methods offer fresh perspectives on engaging investors and showcasing your startup’s true potential.
I used AI-powered, hyper-personalized, interactive storytelling to attract angel investors, which completely differentiated me from other founders using generic pitch decks. Instead of sending the same static presentation to everyone, I leveraged AI tools to analyze each potential investor’s background, portfolio history, and interests, then automatically customized my pitch narrative, examples, and slide ordering to match what they specifically cared about.
I created interactive digital presentations with embedded videos, clickable case studies, and dynamic data charts that investors could explore themselves. The AI also A/B tested different versions of my outreach to continuously optimize what resonated most with different investor types.
This approach made each investor feel uniquely understood — they saw their own investment thesis and portfolio analogies referenced directly in my pitch. The result was significantly higher meeting conversion rates and investors who were genuinely aligned with my mission from the start.
Neevai Esinli, Founder and CEO, Esinli Capital
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To be honest, when we first went out to attract angel investors, I knew we couldn’t just compete on the usual pitch deck metrics: market size, revenue projections, and hockey-stick graphs. Every founder has those slides. What differentiated us was an evidence-first approach: instead of selling only a vision, we showcased working prototypes and client traction built on a lean budget.
One innovative move was bringing an angel into a live demo session with a prospective client. They saw, in real time, how our AI-powered document parsing engine solved a pain point the client had been struggling with for months. It wasn’t just a pitch; it was proof of market validation unfolding in front of them.
That experience did two things: it de-risked their perception of us (“this isn’t just an idea, it’s already working”) and it highlighted our culture of resourceful execution. In a market where many founders overpromise, we stood out by showing tangible outcomes before asking for capital.
My advice for other founders: don’t just sell investors the future; let them witness the present working at scale. That kind of credibility can cut through the noise.
Naresh Mungpara, Founder & CEO, Amenity Technologies
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Before writing a single line of code, I interviewed more than 250 enterprise leaders, startup founders, and agency owners in our space. These conversations weren’t about pitching; they were about listening, validating problems, and sharing a glimpse of where I believed the industry was headed.
This approach paid off in two ways. First, it gave us deep conviction that we were solving a real, high-value problem. Second, it created early champions who felt like part of our journey from day one. By the time we launched our MVP and onboarded our first enterprise client, many of those original conversations came full circle; some became our customers, and others became our angel investors.
The differentiator was trust. Instead of approaching investors cold, we re-engaged people who had already seen our thought process, adaptability, and execution in action. They weren’t betting on a pitch deck; they were investing in a journey they’d already been part of.
Mustafa Saeed, Co-Founder, CEO, Luella
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Instead of chasing investors with a pitch deck, we built an investor onboarding experience — almost like a customer onboarding journey. We created a private online hub where potential angel investors could “trial” our company, in a sense. It included interactive dashboards displaying key metrics, client testimonials in video form, and a behind-the-scenes tour of our team’s workflow.
We didn’t want this to be just data dumped in a folder — so, we turned it into a curated, story-driven path that allowed them to explore our traction, culture, and plans at their own pace. By the time we got on a call with our potential angel investors, they already felt like part of the company and could focus on strategic discussions rather than basic due diligence. It stood out because we weren’t pitching to them — we were letting them experience the business before investing.
Orest Chaykivskyy, Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer, Forbytes
One thing that worked for us early on was flipping the timing. Most founders start chasing investors before they’ve proven much. We did the opposite, we bootstrapped for about nine months, got paying customers, and even hit profitability before talking to anyone.
That changed the whole dynamic. Instead of selling a dream on a pitch deck, we were showing real numbers and a working business. It also meant we could be selective and look for angels who could add strategic value, not just capital.
It set us apart because the conversation wasn’t, “Will this work?” but, “How big can we make this?” That shift made it easier to get the right people on board, people who were excited to help us scale rather than just take a bet.
Gustav Westman, Founder & CEO, Niora AI
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I knew I had to cut through the noise. I also knew that most founders walk into meetings with decks full of projections and vague promises. So I did the opposite. I brought investors into our office and walked them through projects we had already delivered, both hardware and software. Instead of talking about future potential, I showed them the infrastructure we had already built, the systems already running, and the clients already paying us.
I followed a simple logic: if I wanted them to fund us as a complete tech solution, they needed to see that we could actually provide end-to-end results. One move I made was opening our internal dashboards for a full day. Investors could examine live project timelines, budgets, and even how we tracked resource allocation across teams. It was a risky move, I know. They could spot delays or bottlenecks, but it worked.
One investor even told me later that this transparency separated us from every other founder they met. They could already see we had systems, processes, and actual revenue flowing through proven operations. And that’s what convinced them to write the check.
Michal Kierul, CEO & Tech Entrepreneur, InTechHouse
I’ve used a transparent performance dashboard during conversations, showing metrics like client wins, SEO traffic growth, and conversions updated in near real-time. It transformed our pitch from a static presentation into a data-driven experience. That transparency built trust, shortened our sales cycles, and made investors feel confident because they could see the momentum unfolding, not just read about it.
Taylor Humphries, CEO, Ranked
One approach that made a significant difference for us when attracting angel investors was offering a “technical proof tour” instead of a traditional pitch deck. Rather than walking investors through slides filled with projections and TAM graphs, we invited them to participate in a guided walkthrough of our internal QA tools, dashboards, and test automation pipelines in action — real code, real use cases, real client outcomes.
This wasn’t just a demo; it was a narrative. We showed how our system flagged a critical checkout bug for a client before it hit production, and how that saved them thousands in cart abandonment. We didn’t just talk about product-market fit; we demonstrated how the product actually worked under pressure, and why clients trusted it.
What differentiated us? Most founders try to convince investors with future potential. We brought them into the present reality — our traction, velocity, and operational maturity spoke louder than projections.
The biggest lesson here: investors bet on clarity and conviction. When you let them feel the problem and see the solution live, they remember you not as a pitch, but as proof. That built trust faster than any hockey-stick graph ever could.
Shishir Dubey, Founder & CEO, Chrome QA Lab
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I would argue that the boldest move a founder can make is to skip hypothetical forecasts and walk into the room with real, verifiable, front-loaded revenue. If a founder pre-sells 500 subscriptions at $200 each before product launch, that $100,000 in upfront cash is the loudest proof an angel investor wants. Most founders hype potential; the ones who collect cash before launch are a different species entirely. Preorders, beta fees, or corporate LOIs can replace years of slide decks and vanity KPIs. When founders do this, they shift from pitching an idea to offering a stake in validated demand. That is all angels need to take a second meeting.
Some people think innovation means AI or blockchain. I would say the better innovation is economic simplicity. Take the investor’s lens, and ask what they want: return, liquidity, de-risked entry. Offer one of those early. If a founder walks in and says, “We have 12 companies signed to $10K annual contracts starting next quarter,” angels listen. It positions the founder as a risk-reducing operator, not just a dreamer. In a world of 1,000 pitches, the guy who brings real cash from real buyers breaks through.
Guillermo Triana, Founder and CEO, PEO-Marketplace.com
My approach to angel investor engagement involved presenting the traditional pitch in a new way through storytelling that resonated with their emotions instead of using conventional presentations. A short video presented real customers who described their difficulties with outdated insurance systems and how our AI platform transformed their lives positively. I provided investors with direct access to our user-friendly technology through live demonstrations during meetings, which made the solution feel both real and urgent. The approach demonstrated our product while creating emotional bonds that converted investor curiosity into strong belief in our mission. My human-centered approach established partnerships that advanced our mission to transform insurance.
Your pitch will become unforgettable when you create a story that emotionally connects with investors while using authentic human experiences to bring your solution to life. Present a powerful customer narrative through a brief video instead of using statistics to demonstrate the essence of your solution. Investors should experience your product directly through a demo that creates a personal and engaging connection. Each investor requires a customized approach because you should understand their interests and previous investments to create a dialogue instead of a sales presentation. Your venture should be presented as a mission that investors can join to transform lives while becoming part of a larger story.
André Disselkamp, Co-Founder, Insurancy
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To attract angel investors, I made customer experience the focus of my pitch. Instead of just talking about what our products do, I showed how our product helps improve many people’s daily lives. I shared detailed stories we had from our customers, both businesses and everyday people, who used our standing desks and ergonomic chairs to help them become generally healthier and more productive.
We had a corporate client who told us that switching from ordinary desks to our standing desks led to an 11% reduction in employee sick days due to fewer posture and back pain-related complaints. One of our customers is a content creator who told us that our chairs allowed him to focus for much longer periods without discomfort. It enabled him to gain a higher overall work output than he had previously achieved.
I used numbers and real-life experiences to strengthen my case. Investors saw our value beyond the product, as it was already improving the way people worked. This has helped me stand out from others who only spoke in broad terms without backing up their claims.
John Beaver, Founder, Desky
Instead of pitching angel investors with a generic deck, I focused on founder-led marketing. I built an audience first by sharing our journey, the struggles, user stories, and my vision for AI in mental health. By the time I spoke with angel investors, they already understood the problem and believed in the mission. That differentiated me from founders who only show up when they’re asking for money. Investors don’t just back an idea; they back the momentum behind it.
Ali Yilmaz, Co-founder&CEO, Aitherapy
Our behind-the-scenes day involved inviting potential angel investors to the clinic to meet patients (with their consent), chat with staff, and observe our treatment process. They would not hear things happen, but see them, including the environment, the technology we employ, and the pattern of care delivery. It assisted in bringing our expansion to life, and it gave them a personal emotional appeal to the cause.
The thing that made us different was that we focused on impact rather than profit during the visit. We presented a positive patient experience, demonstrated clinical workflows in a real-life context, and discussed the barriers to delivering specialized care. By depicting to them a place where their investment would have a quantifiable impact on the lives of patients, we transformed a financial pitch into a shared promise to increase their investment in bringing healthcare to more patients.
Ben Waismann, CEO, ANR Clinic
Instead of pitching investors with just ideas and projections, we took a proof-of-concept approach by securing a brand name with strong search potential and building initial traction before seeking funding.
This is our actual case study: we built PRpackages.io with minimal investment to rank for the term and built cheaper backlinks to it to demonstrate real market interest and search traffic.
Our goal was specific: funding to acquire the premium PRpackage.com domain to strengthen our brand positioning and build a comprehensive platform for brands and influencers.
Once we had traffic and validation metrics, we reached out to an angel investor to fund the acquisition of the premium .com domain to solidify our brand positioning and build a real platform.
This approach set us apart from other founders who rely on pitch decks and projections.
Victor Hsi, Founder & Community Manager, PR Package
One of the strategies I implemented was to develop a data-driven investor deck that tied financial projections to presentable market trends and customer acquisition metrics. Instead of putting out broad-based growth projections, I presented proof of performance via real-time dashboards of user engagement and cost per acquisition, which we updated regularly. This transparency not only gave investors confidence in the scale of our model but also allowed us to present our detailed financials, which supported our go-to-market strategy.
It was different in that most founders present only their vision for the future; instead, I positioned my startup as a combination of visionary and execution-ready from day one. I backed the pitch up with tangible and proven elements, which in turn presented a lower risk for investors and simultaneously demonstrated great operational discipline. That balance of big-picture thinking with careful financial management made the startup stand out to those angels who invest not only in big returns but also in managed risk.
Nathan Barz, Financial Advisor, Management Expert, SEO Founder and CEO, DocVA
I run a sex education startup, and I transformed investor outreach into a hands-on “Consent Sprint.” Instead of a static deck, I sent angel investors a 7-minute interactive demo: a boundary-setting mini-game, an AI role-play that simulates challenging partner conversations, and a Yes-No-Maybe planner that adapts to choices in real time. A live leaderboard displayed therapist benchmark scores, and I opened a 72-hour window with a small early allocation for anyone who beat the benchmark. One invite unlocked a “pro” diligence kit — a nod to viral referral mechanics — so interested angels quickly pulled in peers.
To prime the funnel, I posted a 36-second clip from a workshop where our “green-flag meter” reached 92% after a communication drill. It garnered 148,000 views in 4 days, 1,900 shares, and 117 investor signups. Results: 43 angels completed the sprint (average 11 minutes), 19 requested the data room, and I received 2 term sheets in 9 days.
This set me apart because investors didn’t just hear me claim product-market fit — they experienced it. They felt user psychology, community energy, and our ability to spark engagement on demand, which is exactly what I’d need their money to scale.
Clara Whitlow, Women’s Wellness Coach and Sex Educator, Clara Whitlow
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17 Lessons Learned from Pitch Deck Revisions for Angel Investor Feedback
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2025-10-21 13:04:32
This is an excerpt from YOUR MONEY: Reimagining Wealth in 101 Simple Sketches by Carl Richards.
Every month, I get pitched a new investment opportunity, whether it’s my neighbor wanting to buy real estate or a friend starting a business.
I used to go down these financial rabbit holes…
Spending weeks of my time talking about it, researching it, and considering it.
One day, in an act of frustration, I paused and asked myself some pretty basic questions.
Why am I doing this?
Why is money important to me?
How much is enough?
I grabbed a Sharpie and wrote the answer on a piece of card stock:
Time with my family, mainly outside, and serving in my community.
Now, when a new opportunity comes up, I don’t spend time thinking about it. I just glance at that card and ask: Will this investment opportunity get me closer to my goals?
The answer is almost always, “No.”
I started calling that card my one-page plan.
You can call yours whatever you want—a statement of financial purpose, a touchstone, or a reminder of what you said was important to you when you were thinking clearly.
Even if it’s just a sticky note on your laptop, it’s better than having no plan and will save you hundreds of hours each year.
This excerpt from YOUR MONEY: Reimagining Wealth in 101 Simple Sketches is reprinted with permission of the publisher, Harriman House, an imprint of Pan Macmillan. Copyright © 2025 by Carl Richards.
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2025-10-20 17:13:00
Ever spent money on an influencer campaign that didn’t do much? You’re not alone.
The trick isn’t just picking someone with tons of followers, but finding creators who truly connect with your target audience.
As influencer marketing has steadily risen in popularity over the past decade, audiences have become increasingly skeptical of sponsored posts. One recent study from Clutch found that nearly 50% of customers have refrained from purchasing products recommended by influencers over the past year due to waning trust levels.
If you want to learn how to choose the right influencers for brand promotions, I can help.
In this article, I will take you through the step-by-step process of how you can find and choose the right influencers and get the maximum ROI from your influencer campaigns.
Let’s get started.
Before I explain how to choose the right influencers, I want to emphasize the importance of understanding your goals and audience.
Ask yourself: what’s your goal? Awareness? Sales? Credibility? The answer will shape who you work with and your influencer marketing strategy.
Big, well-known influencers are great for getting noticed. Smaller creators often get better engagement and conversions. And niche experts? Perfect for audiences that value authority and trust.
Next, know your audience. If their followers aren’t your customers, it won’t work. Goals + audience = the roadmap to the right influencer. Simple.
Not every influencer is worth the hype. Some influencers post things that make you go, “Wait… what?”
Checking their past content and engagement first is like reading reviews before buying a gadget, you want to know it works before you spend your money. If you need help, use a tool like HypeAuditor to quickly check any influencer’s engagement rates.
Here are some things you should do to choose the right influencers for brand promotions.
Think of an influencer’s past content like a portfolio of their work. I usually tell people to look at it the same way you’d look at someone’s portfolio before hiring them.
Does the content show skill and care? Is it consistent? Are there followers genuinely interested in and engaging with their content?
Also, consider if their content is relevant to your audience and matches your brand voice.
Check for:
If the feed doesn’t make sense for your brand, it’s a pass.
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Big follower numbers look good in a pitch deck, but they don’t tell the full story. I recommend looking at engagement rate instead.
See if their content gets likes, comments, and shares, but also pay attention to the quality of those interactions. Are followers asking meaningful questions, tagging friends, or sharing opinions?
That tells you if the audience actually cares. Even a smaller account with strong engagement can deliver better results than a huge account with passive followers.
Check out this Instagram content where the influencer is collaborating with a brand to promote its new perfume. The comments section is filled with positive comments showing appreciation for the influencer’s recommendations.
This is a testament to the influencer’s audience engagement and loyalty.
I always advise brands not to rely solely on follower numbers. Take a moment to explore who is following an influencer.
Are they the kind of people who would care about your product? Look for signs of fake or inactive accounts, and focus on those whose followers match your target demographic.
That way, you’re putting your budget into a campaign that can actually convert.
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Let’s be honest, any brand can run into trouble if an influencer says or does something off-brand. An influencer may look perfect on paper, but if they’re not professional, or if their values don’t align with your brand, things can go wrong quickly.
That’s why I recommend using Popular Pays by Lightricks to ensure your influencer collaborations are safe. It will help you find and choose the right influencers who are known for their great work ethic and performance. You can use the platform’s SafeCollab tool to audit their past posts for questionable content and ensure they’re a good fit for your brand, and it only takes minutes, thanks to AI.
Also, take the following steps to further ensure safe influencer collaborations.
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Don’t assume every influencer can perform on every platform. Look at their strengths and where they get the best results.
Match that to your campaign goals and content type. Video campaigns need influencers who are good at visual storytelling and video editing. Image posts need great photography or design.
I recommend you shortlist 1-2 key platforms where your audience is most active. Then, look for platform-specific influencers.
Also, decide the type of content you want influencers to create before selecting a platform. YouTube is great for long videos, while Instagram is excellent for short-form videos for Reels and Stories.
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Your budget is going to shape a lot of your decisions when choosing influencers. Think of it this way: it doesn’t just tell you who you can afford, but also affects the type of results you can realistically get.
If you spend blindly on someone with a huge following, you might get eyeballs but very little engagement. Spending smart means finding influencers who bring value to your influencer marketing campaign.
So, what should you do?
Well, follow these tips to choose the right influencers and get the maximum ROI.
Here’s a brief summary of influencer charges by platform.
Image via Collabstr
Lastly, once you choose the right influencers and run your campaign, don’t forget to track the performance of various influencers. Based on this, you can form long-term partnerships with high-performing influencers and let the others go. This will help you maximize ROI from your influencer campaigns.
That brings us to the end of this guide on how to choose the right influencers for brand promotions.
Follower count isn’t everything. Engagement, fit, brand safety and authenticity matter way more. Check those boxes, budget smartly, and your influencer campaign won’t just run, it’ll perform. Go make it happen! Image by wayhomestudio on Freepik
The post How to Choose the Right Influencers for Brand Promotions appeared first on StartupNation.
2025-10-17 17:12:00
Startups face numerous cybersecurity challenges, but protecting your business doesn’t have to break the bank. This article presents 21 low-cost cybersecurity measures that offer high return on investment, based on insights from industry experts. From network segmentation to hardware security keys, these practical strategies can significantly enhance your startup’s digital defenses without straining your budget.
Network segmentation provided the highest security ROI for our cybersecurity consultancy. I implemented basic VLAN separation using our existing managed switches, creating isolated networks for client work, internal operations, and guest access.
The configuration required only my existing networking knowledge and a weekend of careful planning. I documented the segmentation strategy and trained our team on which network segments to use for different types of client engagements and internal research projects.
This segmentation prevented a client’s compromised endpoint from accessing our proprietary threat intelligence database. The isolation contained what could have been a catastrophic breach of our research data and client information. In our industry, losing that intellectual property would have destroyed our competitive edge.
As someone who has written extensively about cyber threats, I can confidently say that network segmentation offers exceptional protection relative to implementation costs. For consultancies handling sensitive client environments, this foundational security control enables us to maintain the trust that our reputation depends on.
Bob Gourley, CTO & Co-founder, Author, The Cyber Threat
For us, cybersecurity has been a top priority since the very beginning, as we’re a fully remote team spread across multiple countries, so every bit of information is shared digitally. While investing in cybersecurity tools is important, I find that the best and single most valuable cybersecurity measure we implemented early on was educating our employees.
Early on, we held regular workshops on simple, practical habits everyone must do, such as using password managers to generate and store passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and keeping all software and operating systems updated to stave off attacks. We also talked a lot about phishing and the importance of recognizing shady links, which could seriously endanger employees and the company as a whole. Here, we made good use of free tools like Gophish, helping everyone recognize suspicious emails and links before they cause trouble. The best part is that these measures cost little to nothing financially and only require a bit of preparation, but the payoff is enormous in the long run.
Really, there is no tool, no matter how sophisticated or expensive, that can fully prevent mistakes that come from the inside of an organization. For us, education comes first and has always provided us with the highest return on investment in all areas, not just cybersecurity.
Harry Morton, Founder, Lower Street
I implemented automatic cloud backups for all our property documentation and client files, which cost us only $30 per month but saved us from a potential disaster when our office computer crashed during a major flip project. Having dealt with the fast-paced restaurant industry for 15 years, I knew that losing critical data could shut down operations instantly. We set up automated daily backups to secure cloud storage for all our renovation photos, contracts, and financial records, then created a simple recovery protocol that my team could execute in under an hour. This gave us peace of mind knowing our business could continue operating even if our physical equipment failed.
Gene Martin, Founder, Martin Legacy Holdings
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One low-cost cybersecurity measure that provided significant ROI for our startup was implementing strict role-based access control (RBAC) policies. By meticulously defining and assigning user roles based on the principle of least privilege, we ensured that employees only had access to the systems and data absolutely necessary for their jobs. This drastically reduced the attack surface, limiting opportunities for insider threats or external breaches through compromised accounts.
To implement RBAC with limited resources, we utilized free tools like open-source identity and access management (IAM) software, which allowed us to automate and enforce role assignments. We conducted an internal audit to classify sensitive data and systems, then cross-referenced each employee’s tasks to map out precise access requirements. Additionally, we provided free online training sessions to our team to emphasize the importance of robust password management and responsible access practices. This approach was inexpensive yet highly effective, significantly enhancing our security posture while promoting a culture of accountability.
Matthias Woggon, CEO & Co-founder, eyefactive
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Hire a virtual CISO (vCISO) – typically $15-25K/year for 10-20 hours monthly.
Why it’s high ROI:
– Provides senior cybersecurity expertise without a $200K+ full-time salary
– Aligns security spending with actual business risks (prevents security theater)
– Handles compliance requirements efficiently (SOC 2, etc.)
– Optimizes existing tools rather than buying expensive new ones
– Creates incident response plans your small team can execute
Implementation: Find a vCISO with SMB experience who understands resource constraints. They’ll conduct a business-aligned risk assessment, rationalize your security stack, and build practical processes that scale with growth.
Result: Strategic security leadership that prevents both breaches and wasteful spending while making you audit-ready.
Oussama Louhaidia, Founder/CTO, getcybr, inc.
The highest ROI security measure was teaching every employee to use VirusTotal before opening any attachment or clicking any link. VirusTotal is a multi-scanning website that aggregates many antivirus products to scan files.
Our rule is simple: any file, suspicious or not, coming from a third party or URL goes into VirusTotal first, no exceptions. VirusTotal is free and, in my humble opinion, irreplaceable. Teaching your colleagues or employees is really easy. A 5-minute training session is sufficient, and bookmarking the website is all they need to do.
All in all, if you are unsure about a URL, just check it with VirusTotal. Received a suspicious ZIP file from a client? Upload it to VirusTotal first.
Burak Özdemir, Founder, Online Alarm Kur
Privacy and security regarding our clients’ payroll data are paramount to us. This is why we took multiple low-cost cybersecurity measures to tackle this issue. The two most impactful low-cost, yet even free, cybersecurity measures are the following:
We implemented a CAPTCHA verification in our app sign-up step to ensure that users who first sign up for our app are real, not bots or spam. CAPTCHA is a system that verifies if a user is a genuine human, and there are many CAPTCHA providers (from reCAPTCHA to Cloudflare) out there, which even offer their services for free. You can easily sign up with any CAPTCHA provider, go to the specific CAPTCHA widget section, and create a CAPTCHA widget. Once you have created the widget, you will be given API keys, which you can easily implement into your application. Depending on your tech stack, the implementation of CAPTCHA API keys varies, but there are many great tutorials (from WordPress to NextJS) on the web.
Second, we have implemented a DDoS mitigation solution to prevent a DDoS attack. DDoS is short for distributed denial-of-service, and it is a cyberattack in which the attacker has multiple bots (known as a botnet) and tries to flood and overwhelm your server with a massive amount of traffic in a short time frame, thus making the server and the application inaccessible or spiking the server costs tremendously. These DDoS attacks can shut down your services if you don’t take precautions. This is why we use a DDoS mitigation tool to stop those attacks. There are many providers for this (from Fastly to AWS), some even offer it for free. The best way to implement this tool is to check if your server provider offers this feature, and then you can easily activate this mode with a few clicks. In most tools, you can also set the level of checks, which means you can set, for example, the “Under Attack Mode”, which then checks every single request thoroughly against a potential attack. This, however, delays the user’s experience of your site, so many set the amount of checks to medium.
Frederic S., Founder, PayrollRabbit
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I set up Wordfence on our WordPress site after we were hit with automated attacks attempting to scrape our financial data last year. The free version blocked over 200 malicious login attempts in the first month alone. Now I sleep better knowing our investment content and user data stay protected without impacting our tight budget.
Adam Garcia, Founder, The Stock Dork
One cybersecurity measure we found had the most impact for the lowest cost was implementing an advanced email security tool. It integrates with Microsoft 365 and Outlook to better filter and quarantine suspected threats, completely removing the potential risks and protecting our business. The implementation was fairly simple, and there is a low license cost per user that we pay on an ongoing basis to access the tool. The tool we selected leverages AI and machine learning to delve deeper into analyzing signals that an email may contain threats and continues to get smarter at categorizing potential threats the more we use the platform. Given that email is still the most exploited communication channel, allowing bad actors to use impersonation, phishing, and links to malware to gain access to systems and data, it is worth putting some extra protection in place.
Colton De Vos, Marketing Specialist, Resolute Technology Solutions
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As a blockchain security specialist, one of the best moves we made was enforcing HTTPS with SSL encryption across our entire platform. It didn’t cost much, but it created a huge layer of trust and safety for our users. We have a crypto exchange platform. This means that every transaction and login involves sensitive data that could be targeted by attackers.
SSL ensures that information is encrypted end-to-end. It makes it harder for bad actors to obtain or tamper with account credentials, wallet addresses, or trade details. Beyond this technical protection, the visible padlock reassures traders. It shows them that their activity is happening in a secure environment. For a startup running lean, it was an inexpensive way for us to provide serious protection and peace of mind, which is priceless in the crypto space.
Thomas Franklin, CEO & Blockchain Security Specialist, Swapped
We have a lot of different processes in place, so there are no gaps in security. I don’t think you should ever rely on just one or two measures, even if you want to keep things lean. Out of these measures, the most cost-effective one was setting up automatic software and system updates. Almost all our work involves diagnostics, where we’re handling sensitive data and have to meet strict regulations. So outdated software can expose us to all kinds of vulnerabilities and also get us into legal trouble.
Thankfully, with these automations, it means we’re closing security holes as soon as patches come out. It’s really such a simple step that it makes no sense to skip.
Mario Hupfeld, CTO and Co-Founder, NEMIS Technologies
One of the simplest, low-cost cybersecurity measures we use is frequently changing our passwords. And not just “CompanyName123!” type passwords; we generate complicated, strong ones using online generators. That’s the first and easiest step we took.
We also rely on automatic backups for our most critical data. For example, we use a hosted Nextcloud installation that backs up our files automatically. Old data goes into an archive, so nothing important is ever lost.
On the software side, we stick to cost-effective options. Microsoft firewall and antivirus serve well, and they come free. In addition, many of the tools we already use, like Google, Zoho, and Slack, have strong, built-in security features that we utilize.
Another simple but effective practice is keeping our user list tidy. If someone leaves the company, their ID is removed almost immediately. That small step alone reduces a lot of risk.
Taken together, these basic but consistent measures have given us a high ROI on cybersecurity without requiring heavy investment.
Chaitanya Sagar, Founder & CEO, Perceptive Analytics
We enabled automated dependency scanning to start generating weekly auto-PRs with a 48-hour SLA for critical issues. The mean time to remediate dropped from 45 days to 6 days without shipping known CVEs, with incremental headcount; we netted approximately 6 engineering hours per week that would have gone to manual upgrades.
As co-founder of all-in-one-ai.co, it’s the only control I’m aware of that delivered a payback in both risk reduction and developer time savings.
My advice in summary would be: start with production repositories only, limit it to patch/minor version bumps, and route security PRs through CODEOWNERS with branch protection so that the tests must pass before merging. Track MTTR for vulnerabilities and the percentage of auto-merged PRs as your success metrics. In the first month, we closed over 70 findings (including one critical OpenSSL chain) with no rollbacks.
Dario Ferrai, Co-Founder, All-in-one-ai.co
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We’ve been practicing proper password hygiene from day one. While it can’t be the only cybersecurity tool in our toolbox, the vast majority of breaches are ultimately tied to user error, either by falling for phishing attacks or being careless with passwords. This is something we take a moment to review at every monthly staff meeting, along with reminders to update passwords and regular phishing tests.
Wynter Johnson, CEO, Caily
One low-cost measure that gave us the best ROI was blocking USB ports on all company laptops using simple OS policies. It sounds basic, but here’s why.
We had freelancers and remote employees working on client data. Someone once plugged in an infected USB drive from their personal device, and luckily our EDR flagged it before any damage occurred. That was a wake-up call.
With no big budget for enterprise DLP solutions, we used Group Policy (Windows) and simple terminal commands (Mac) to disable USB storage for everyone except a couple of machines in a controlled lab. We documented an exception process for emergencies.
The cost was $0. Time invested was just 2 hours. But the impact? It removed an entire attack vector that could have cost us our client contracts.
Security ROI isn’t about buying new tools; it’s about closing the easiest doors attackers use.
Garrett Lehman, Co-Founder, Gapp Group
For us, requiring VPN-only access for our remote team was the highest-value, low-cost move. At just around $10 per user, it allowed us to confidently keep client data and internal conversations secure from prying eyes. I’d suggest starting here if you’re remote-heavy—it’s affordable, easy to roll out, and immediately closes off many risk paths.
Joe Davies, CEO, FATJOE
We installed hardware security keys because we realized that there were frequent phishing attacks on our employees. We bought 25 of each key, and each was priced at $40, which amounted to approximately $1,000. The implementation process was simple and required about 45 minutes per employee for setup and only a short training. This change was not difficult since the machines ensured more reliable logins as well as eliminated the use of complicated passwords that had kept the staff and customers frustrated with the server.
IT was also spending approximately 6 to 8 hours every quarter on phishing-related problems and account recovery that would translate to about $900 in lost productivity annually before rollout. Since we began to add the keys, there were no further incidents of this sort in one year, which saved us that time and money in a short period. The dollar payoff was not as significant, but the peace of mind and a lessening of friction within the team as a whole made it one of the best low-cost moves we have ever made.
J.R. Faris, President & CEO, Accountalent
As the COO, I understand the critical importance of implementing cost-effective cybersecurity measures that provide a strong return on investment. For our business, one of the most effective cybersecurity tools is a properly configured firewall and the implementation of network segmentation.
In the early days of scaling our business, we recognized the need to protect sensitive customer data, particularly their payment information, from cyber threats. Simultaneously, we were aware that our available resources were limited as a startup, and it was crucial not to divert valuable resources away from our main business objectives by making costly purchases.
We decided to leverage the security tools already included with our cloud hosting provider, AWS. Specifically, we knew that the firewall’s default settings and the ability to create virtual private clouds (VPCs) could be used to build a solid security system without incurring high costs.
We engaged a freelance IT consultant for a one-time fee of $150 to assist us in setting up the firewall rules and implementing network segmentation. This process was straightforward – we restricted traffic to only the necessary ports, effectively reducing the size of the attack surface and minimizing the likelihood of unauthorized access to our systems.
Once we had configured the firewall, we utilized AWS’s VPC features to establish an isolated environment for our customer-facing tools and resources, separating them from our internal tools and resources. Network segmentation is crucial for preventing an attack from propagating into our non-public facing tools. In the event of an incident on our public-facing platform, the segmentation would prevent it from ‘spreading’ into our internal tools and data.
By leveraging the built-in security features from our cloud provider, we constructed a cyber-secure environment using a freelance IT consultant for less than $200. This investment has continued to provide returns to our business as we have grown.
Now that Resell Calendar has reached its current stage of growth, we can build our own in-house IT team to manage our cybersecurity infrastructure going forward. As we secure sensitive information from potential clients, they will have the confidence that comes with knowing we have taken the necessary steps to secure our platform.
Ryan McDonald, COO, Resell Calendar
One of the best ROI security measures was encrypting clients’ data, particularly sensitive information such as contracts, financial information, and personal information. Young, broke, and resource-constrained, we turned to free or cheap encryption tools: VeraCrypt for files and SSL certificates on the website. We also provided the team with training on secure file storage and sharing. This was an easy measure to implement and didn’t require too much spending. The outcome was better security around client data that would help establish trust while preventing legal and financial issues in the future from data breaches – strong security at low cost.
Keith Sant, Founder & CEO, Kind House Buyers
The highest ROI, low-cost move was putting a WAF in front of everything—specifically Cloudflare. I am not endorsing or promoting in any way, but sharing our learnings. It’s a plug-and-play solution, shields you from DDoS, bot abuse and common web exploits, while giving you so many granular level controls and flexibility to configure it the way you want. And the ROI is simple: it keeps you alive without hiring niche specialists. Start on the free plan; if traffic or risk grows, Cloudflare Pro at $20/month is a no-brainer for the extra rules and protection.
Implementation with limited resources is a key element here: We did it due to our team’s high IT infrastructure caliber, but for anyone out there, it’s not a turn-off because it’s a one-time job – fire and forget. A teammate with decent IT infrastructure knowledge can do this in an afternoon; otherwise, hire a freelancer for a few hours to set it up and show you the basics. After that, you mostly leave it alone—update the IP whitelist when staff or locations change and you don’t need to do anything else day-to-day.
What most startups overlook is that a WAF also acts as “virtual patching”, buying you time when there’s a vulnerability you can’t fix immediately. You cut downtime risk, reduce origin load, and avoid expensive emergency engineers—all for little or no spend.
Whether you are a retailer needing your WordPress protected, or a normal business – application and network layer restrictions along with performance elements make Cloudflare a no-brainer. It’s like weighing up Microsoft versus what? There’s no one business that provides everything under the roof as an alternative to Microsoft. You would need Google + AWS + other services to make up for Office 365 replacement. Why not use the ones from tried, tested specialist recommendations?
Harman Singh, Director, Cyphere
Email authentication gave us the highest return for the lowest spend. We implemented SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, then progressed from monitor to quarantine within a week, and finally to reject mode. The first thing I check is whether external senders can spoof our domain. The key question is whether finance-related changes arrive only through our verified channel. A simple rule seals it: any bank change requires a callback to a known number before we process payment.
Setup took one afternoon with our domain host and a ten-minute tailgate meeting to explain the reasoning. Spoofing attempts decreased by more than ninety percent, and we thwarted one invoice fraud that would have resulted in significant financial loss. For small teams, prioritize securing the main entry point and then create a concise payment verification process.
John Elarde III, Operations Manager, Clear View Building Services
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