This was a lecture I gave on Go-To-Market strategy for the Big Idea Ventures start up accelerator. It focuses on: - What is a GTM - Why is it so important - How do you create one - Tactics, strategies and best practices you can use to help develop your GTM

1. 1
CONFIDENTIAL
–
DO
NO
SHARE
Go-To-Market

2. Agenda
1. What is GTM strategy?
2. Why is it important?
3. How do you create it?
4. Strategies and tactics you can use!

3. A “go-to-market strategy” outlines how your
start-up plans to deliver your product to your
customer/client
3
GTM - what is it?

4. Let’s break that down a little further. It really is all about bringing your
products to market.
Key elements include:
• Define your objectives, KPIs, metrics
• Finding the right customer/client (research, personas, pain points, use cases)
• Defining market / size / opportunity (TAM / Serviceable / Attainable)
• Is your business/product marketing or sales intensive/driven?
• Determining your value proposition
• Identifying channels (and the role each channel plays)
• Determine the pricing strategy
• Outlining marketing plans to support
• Creating and testing your Minimum Viable Tests (MVT)
GTM - how does it work?

5. GTM - why is it important?
• 90% of all start-ups fail
• 21.5% of companies suffer failure during the first year
• 30% of companies fail during the second year
• Most start-ups fail after having raised $1.3 million and
around 20 months after their last financing round

6. “Scaling growth before having product/market
fit is the fastest way to kill your start-up.”
Sean Ellis
GTM - why is it important?

7. GTM - why is it important?
“Many entrepreneurs who build great products
simply don’t have a good distribution strategy.”
Marc Andreesen

8. GTM B2B - how do you create it?
Define Mkt size
/ opportunity
Market
Intelligence,
Customer
Insights
Value proposition /
Positioning / Offering
Identify
distribution
channels
Define your
Metrics (KPIs)
and Objectives
Figure out
your pricing
Define your marketing
& sales plans +
funnels to support
MVT - Define
hypothesis + risky
assumptions and
test & iterate
Are you Marketing
or Sales drive

9. GTM - when do you need it?
MVP
Product
User Fit
Product
Market Fit
Growth &
Scale
Right about
here
Then iterate
Then iterate
Then iterate

10. GTM - how does it help?
• It provides start-ups with a compass to drive toward User and
Product-Market fit
• Helps you smartly deploy limited resources when a product is first
launched and a company has one chance to make a strong, first
impression
• It will help you to define and adjust your sales and marketing
efforts as you move through the different phases of your journey
• It gives you process and structure when you need it most. This in
turn provides you with feedback and learning in a structured way

11. Tactics and strategies
start-ups can use!

12. Leslie’s Compass
Framework for understanding the interplay between sales and marketing in a GTM strategy
At the heart of a go-to-market strategy and much more - is one key question:
Is your business/product marketing-intensive or sales-
intensive?
It is vitally important as determining if your product sales or marketing
intensive means you can create the appropriate Go-to-Market as well as other
key strategic pillars.
To help companies work this out Leslie’s Compass was created by Stanford
Lecturer Mark Leslie.

13. 13
Leslie’s Compass
If you’re marketing-intensive, the product is bought, and sales serves marketing
• Marketing generates the demand
• Sales supports this effort through ensuring the product can be found easily by consumers
• This means you have a marketing driven product, so your you can adjust your GTM accordingly
If you’re sales-intensive, the product is sold and marketing services sales
• Sales converts qualified leads to win customers
• Marketing supports sales through creating and hand off qualified leads to the sales organization
• This means you have a sales driven product, so your you can adjust your GTM accordingly
And most importantly it helps you understand what are you are building and for who!

14. 14
Leslie’s Compass
Key to deciding, if you are a marketing or sales driven
organisation is a set of variables you need to consider (including
Price, Market Size and Complexity…) to define how you should
go to market.
Let us examine two extreme examples - Proctor and Gamble’s
Crest toothpaste and General Electric’s jet engines.
For example:
Price - Ask yourself: Is this a large or small economic decision
for the buyer?
Complexity - Ask yourself: Is this a large or small economic
decision for the buyer?
Touch - Ask yourself: How much agency do you have in
developing your relationship with your customer? Can your
efforts compound or are they mostly one-off?

15. MVT (Minimum Viable Test)
• It tests your GTMs most important hypothesis & key risks – the things that must be
right, or else the GTM won’t stand a chance
• It helps you take the guesswork out by testing the riskiest elements of your GTM
before you actually launch it
• This helps you reduce risk, gain feedback and help predict whether a market will
appreciate your product
Framework for testing key hypotheses and risky assumptions of your GTM strategy

16. DISCOVER MVT
Research and generate your GTM
(Hypothesis + Risky Assumptions)
Develop (MVT) based on
your biggest Hypothesis +
Risky Assumptions
Run tests gather results and
gain conviction
• User Surveys, Research
• Brainstorm sessions, BMC / Crazy 8’s
• GTM Framework
• Leap of Faith / Risky Assumptions
• Interviews. Usability testing
• A/B testing. Surveys, Heuristic evaluation
• Analytics
• Persona + Problem + Growth + Value
Hypothesis validation
TEST,
MEASURE,
LEARN
• Problem / Persona / Growth /
Value / Risky Assumptions
• Low / High fidelity Prototypes
• Mock-ups
MVT (Minimum Viable Test)
Launch your GTM with
conviction + confidence
(then iterate)
Iterate + Test
next assumption
Framework for testing key hypotheses and risky assumptions of your GTM strategy
1. 2. 3.

17. GTM Agility
How beyond meat shifted it GTM strategy
• Beyond Meat’s initial "go-to-market" strategy - relied heavily on foodservice penetration. Placing its hamburgers and
breakfast proteins in major quick-service restaurant chains was a logical approach to igniting brand awareness and
helped quickly establish trust. This was clearly reflected in its sales
• Fast forward to Q2 202, with the onset of COVID-19 it needed to radically alter its GTM strategy, based on the shut
down of many foodservices outlets
• Distribution strategy - looking at redirecting its foodservice stock into retail include B2B and D2C channels
• Repackaging- for example creating new products including the “Classic Burger” value pack
• Pricing - adjusting its pricing, so it is competitive (while still at a premium) to conventional burgers)

18. • Gastronomy first -
• Products initially land on the market alongside “suitable culinary experts”
• Valuable feedback, builds awareness, authenticity, credibly trust, scarcity and initial demand
• Mass market foodservices second -
• Ability to test things like pricing and operations, giving companies “more room to manoeuvre” before deciding on what
works with consumers when it ends up in supermarkets
• Legitimacy, relevancy, positioning and validation
• Retail third –
• Delivers scale and growth (and due to their earlier success, which validated demand, these brands were in a strong
negotiating position)
What’s the secret sauce
Impossible Foods and Oatley’s GTM strategy

19. CONFIDENTIAL
–
DO
NO
SHARE
Adrian M Odgers
- Founder Growandco
- Head of DTC The Live Green Co
Thank you