“There are no facts inside the building, so get outside.” — Steve Blank
From Zero to One: The Role of Product Management in Building and Socializing the Go-to-Market Strategy
In the chaotic early days of a startup, when the only certainty is uncertainty, one role sits quietly at the intersection of vision, validation, and velocity: product management. While often mistaken as a purely executional function—writing specs, running sprints, shipping features—product management at the zero-to-one stage is anything but. It is strategic, generative, and deeply collaborative, particularly when it comes to developing and socializing the Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy.
Historical Context: From Product Builders to Market Makers
The origins of product management can be traced back to the 1930s at Procter & Gamble, where Neil McElroy wrote a now-famous memo advocating for a “brand man” role—someone responsible for a product’s end-to-end success. Over time, the role evolved from brand-focused to technology-enabled, with modern tech luminaries like Ben Horowitz, Marty Cagan, and Ken Norton helping to redefine product management as a leadership role, not just a delivery role.
In early-stage startups, particularly those at the zero-to-one stage (popularized by Peter Thiel’s book Zero to One), product management plays a critical role in not only building the product but building the market for it. The product isn’t just a solution—it’s a wedge, a hypothesis, a test of whether the world wants what you’re building. And GTM isn’t just a plan—it’s the proving ground.
What “Good” Looks Like: Product as Strategic Co-Founder
When done well, product management at this stage functions as a strategic co-founder. Take examples like Airbnb, where Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia (designers by trade) partnered with Nathan Blecharczyk (engineer) to test early GTM ideas by validating the problem—struggling to rent their apartment—through small-scale discovery and feedback. Or Slack, where Stewart Butterfield and his team validated GTM by releasing the product internally first, then through controlled external releases with highly engaged design partners.
These companies weren’t just building product features; they were co-creating the market motion. They used early discovery, validation loops, and iterative launches to align internal stakeholders around what mattered: real user feedback, clear value propositions, and market timing.
Steps in Developing a Go-to-Market Strategy from Zero to One
At the earliest stage, PMs (or founders wearing the PM hat) must shepherd the GTM process across five critical phases:
1. Discovery and Problem Validation
Before talking about marketing channels or pricing, PMs must deeply understand the customer problem. This means running problem interviews, mapping existing workflows, and challenging assumptions.
What good looks like: Structured interviews, jobs-to-be-done frameworks, and continuous synthesis with the founding team.
What bad looks like: Assuming the problem because “it’s obvious” or basing it solely on founder intuition.
2. Defining the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
GTM isn’t just about broad reach—it’s about precise resonance. Defining who the product is for (and not for) helps refine both product scope and market tactics.
What good looks like: Specific ICPs supported by early signal data, e.g., job titles, budget authority, pain points.
What bad looks like: “Our market is everyone.”
3. Engaging Design Partners
Design partners—early users who agree to co-develop or closely advise the product—are invaluable. They help validate both the product and GTM messaging.
What good looks like: A structured design partner program with feedback loops, clear mutual value, and NDAs or letters of intent where appropriate.
What bad looks like: Treating design partners as beta testers without structured feedback or mutual benefit.
4. Developing the GTM Motion
This involves defining pricing, packaging, messaging, sales motions, onboarding flows, and marketing channels. PMs must coordinate with sales, marketing, and founders to design a motion that makes sense for the ICP.
What good looks like: A narrative that links the product to business outcomes, testable landing pages, and lightweight funnel metrics.
What bad looks like: Writing blog posts before validating messaging or committing to paid acquisition before conversion is understood.
5. Socializing the GTM Strategy Internally
Perhaps the most underrated PM skill at this stage is internal storytelling. A great PM helps the founding team see the GTM strategy as an evolving hypothesis, not a final answer.
What good looks like: Collaborative sessions, shared Notion docs or Miro boards, and early input from engineering, marketing, and customer success.
What bad looks like: PM works in isolation and delivers a surprise GTM plan the day before launch.
Common Pitfalls and Anti-Patterns
- Building before validating: Many startups fall into the “if we build it, they will come” trap. Without validation, GTM is a shot in the dark.
- Confusing traction with product-market fit: Early adoption from friends, incubators, or internal teams isn’t enough. GTM needs to reflect sustainable customer acquisition.
- Failure to iterate: GTM is not a single launch; it’s a series of tests. Treat every experiment—email copy, pricing test, outbound pitch—as a learning opportunity.
Thought Leaders and Tools
- Marty Cagan (SVPG): Advocates for empowered PMs who deeply understand users and the business.
- Teresa Torres (Continuous Discovery Habits): Provides excellent frameworks for continuous learning.
- David Bland (Lean Value Tree): Helps PMs align product development with customer and business outcomes.
Common tools at this stage include:
- Figma for rapid prototyping,
- Typeform or Maze for user fedback,
- Notion or Confluence for aligning documentation, and
- HubSpot, Customer.io, or Apollo.io for early GTM outreach.
Wrapping up…
In early-stage startups, product managers are not just feature spec writers—they’re market makers. The GTM strategy is their canvas, and their job is to paint a story that not only builds belief inside the company but resonates with users outside it. By owning discovery, validation, and internal alignment, PMs help transform fuzzy founder visions into real market traction.
When the role is done well, GTM becomes more than a plan—it becomes a shared language for building the future.
