{"id":8065,"date":"2025-04-24T10:33:07","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T10:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/?p=8065"},"modified":"2025-04-24T12:28:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T12:28:23","slug":"longread-for-founders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/longread-for-founders\/","title":{"rendered":"RBGT: Real Business Growth Tactics"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\" data-start=\"202\" data-end=\"265\"><strong data-start=\"202\" data-end=\"265\">HIDDEN LONGREAD FOR FOUNDERS\/BUSINESS OWNERS ONLY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"267\" data-end=\"596\">I&#8217;m so <strong>damn tired<\/strong> of all this content from so-called &#8220;expert experts&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"267\" data-end=\"596\">\u2013 <em data-start=\"340\" data-end=\"428\">Don\u2019t even think about starting a startup until you\u2019ve watched that YCombinator video<\/em><br data-start=\"428\" data-end=\"431\" \/>\u2013 <em data-start=\"433\" data-end=\"495\">Don\u2019t run ads until you\u2019ve taken that Instagram marketing course<\/em><br data-start=\"495\" data-end=\"498\" \/>\u2013 <em data-start=\"500\" data-end=\"596\">Don\u2019t scale production until you\u2019ve implemented the 6sigma-agile-TRIZ-figma-figaro methodology<\/em><\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-8065 gallery-columns-1 gallery-size-gridlove-single'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"gridlove-popup\" href='https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-40-30.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"740\" height=\"198\" src=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-40-30-740x198.png\" class=\"attachment-gridlove-single size-gridlove-single\" alt=\"Selly promotions\" srcset=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-40-30-740x198.png 740w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-40-30-300x80.png 300w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-40-30-768x205.png 768w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-40-30-370x99.png 370w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-40-30-270x72.png 270w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-40-30-570x152.png 570w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-40-30.png 770w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"gridlove-popup\" href='https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-37.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"740\" height=\"193\" src=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-37-740x193.png\" class=\"attachment-gridlove-single size-gridlove-single\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-37-740x193.png 740w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-37-300x78.png 300w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-37-1024x267.png 1024w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-37-768x200.png 768w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-37-1536x400.png 1536w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-37-2048x533.png 2048w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-37-370x96.png 370w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-37-270x70.png 270w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-37-570x148.png 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"gridlove-popup\" href='https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-56.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"740\" height=\"198\" src=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-56-740x198.png\" class=\"attachment-gridlove-single size-gridlove-single\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-56-740x198.png 740w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-56-300x80.png 300w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-56-1024x275.png 1024w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-56-768x206.png 768w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-56-1536x412.png 1536w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-56-2048x549.png 2048w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-56-370x99.png 370w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-56-270x72.png 270w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-41-56-570x153.png 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"gridlove-popup\" href='https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-08.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"740\" height=\"190\" src=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-08-740x190.png\" class=\"attachment-gridlove-single size-gridlove-single\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-08-740x190.png 740w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-08-300x77.png 300w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-08-1024x262.png 1024w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-08-768x197.png 768w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-08-1536x393.png 1536w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-08-2048x525.png 2048w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-08-370x95.png 370w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-08-270x69.png 270w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-08-570x146.png 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"gridlove-popup\" href='https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-48.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"740\" height=\"186\" src=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-48-740x186.png\" class=\"attachment-gridlove-single size-gridlove-single\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-48-740x186.png 740w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-48-300x75.png 300w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-48-1024x257.png 1024w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-48-768x193.png 768w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-48-1536x386.png 1536w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-48-2048x515.png 2048w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-48-370x93.png 370w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-48-270x68.png 270w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-42-48-570x143.png 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"gridlove-popup\" href='https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-03.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"740\" height=\"188\" src=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-03-740x188.png\" class=\"attachment-gridlove-single size-gridlove-single\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-03-740x188.png 740w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-03-300x76.png 300w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-03-1024x260.png 1024w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-03-768x195.png 768w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-03-1536x390.png 1536w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-03-2048x520.png 2048w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-03-370x94.png 370w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-03-270x69.png 270w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-03-570x145.png 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"gridlove-popup\" href='https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-37.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"740\" height=\"190\" src=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-37-740x190.png\" class=\"attachment-gridlove-single size-gridlove-single\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-37-740x190.png 740w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-37-300x77.png 300w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-37-1024x263.png 1024w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-37-768x197.png 768w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-37-1536x394.png 1536w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-37-2048x526.png 2048w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-37-370x95.png 370w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-37-270x69.png 270w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-37-570x146.png 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"gridlove-popup\" href='https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-50.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"740\" height=\"187\" src=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-50-740x187.png\" class=\"attachment-gridlove-single size-gridlove-single\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-50-740x187.png 740w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-50-300x76.png 300w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-50-1024x259.png 1024w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-50-768x194.png 768w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-50-1536x389.png 1536w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-50-2048x518.png 2048w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-50-370x94.png 370w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-50-270x68.png 270w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-43-50-570x144.png 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"gridlove-popup\" href='https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-12.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"740\" height=\"186\" src=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-12-740x186.png\" class=\"attachment-gridlove-single size-gridlove-single\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-12-740x186.png 740w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-12-300x76.png 300w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-12-1024x258.png 1024w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-12-768x193.png 768w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-12-1536x387.png 1536w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-12-2048x516.png 2048w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-12-370x93.png 370w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-12-270x68.png 270w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-12-570x144.png 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"gridlove-popup\" href='https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-32.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"740\" height=\"189\" src=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-32-740x189.png\" class=\"attachment-gridlove-single size-gridlove-single\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-32-740x189.png 740w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-32-300x77.png 300w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-32-1024x261.png 1024w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-32-768x196.png 768w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-32-1536x392.png 1536w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-32-2048x523.png 2048w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-32-370x94.png 370w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-32-270x69.png 270w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-44-32-570x145.png 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"598\" data-end=\"742\">I suppose <strong>I know<\/strong> my product, my industry, and my audience <strong>better than anyone else<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"598\" data-end=\"742\"><strong>Not a single \u201cexpert\u201d<\/strong> <strong>has ever proven me wrong<\/strong> on that in my 13-year journey as a startup founder (with 1 <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2022\/06\/30\/marketing-automation-startup-rocket-reach-nabs-24m-for-expansion\/\">exit<\/a>).<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"744\" data-end=\"1097\">I (and every founder I know) think about our products <em data-start=\"797\" data-end=\"803\">24\/7<\/em><\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"744\" data-end=\"1097\"><br data-start=\"804\" data-end=\"807\" \/>\u2013 <strong>NO ONE ELSE<\/strong> is scouting the market for best practices the way we are, <strong>looking for stuff we can adapt<\/strong><br data-start=\"914\" data-end=\"917\" \/>\u2013 <strong>NO ONE\u2019S<\/strong> obsessing over how our <strong>month-3 cohorts correlate <\/strong>with<strong> the emails we send<\/strong><br data-start=\"1000\" data-end=\"1003\" \/>\u2013 <strong>NO ONE\u2019S<\/strong> running as many \u201c<strong>what if we tweak XXX, maybe it\u2019ll improve YYY<\/strong>\u201d loops in their head<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1099\" data-end=\"1148\"><strong>Yes, I\u2019ve got blind spots.<\/strong><br data-start=\"1126\" data-end=\"1129\" \/>Every founder does.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"1150\" data-end=\"1248\">And yeah, we all hit walls and sometimes fall for the shiny TED\/YouTube\/Instagram logic and easy advice like<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1252\" data-end=\"1336\"><em data-start=\"1252\" data-end=\"1334\">1\ufe0f\u20e3 Your unit economics don\u2019t work? You\u2019re just buying ads through the wrong channel<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1340\" data-end=\"1465\"><em data-start=\"1340\" data-end=\"1426\">2\ufe0f\u20e3 You\u2019re burning out because you don\u2019t know how to delegate and haven\u2019t built a system<\/em> (alt version: <em data-start=\"1441\" data-end=\"1462\">just hire an A-team<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1469\" data-end=\"1566\"><em data-start=\"1469\" data-end=\"1566\">3\ufe0f\u20e3 Your ads aren\u2019t converting? Just build a \u201cuser-first\u201d product and the users will magically come<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1568\" data-end=\"1695\">All with case studies, case studies, and more case studies. Posts, interviews, podcasts.<br data-start=\"1656\" data-end=\"1659\" \/><strong>Success stories. Expert \u201cexpertise.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"1697\" data-end=\"1723\">Let me be straight with you<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1727\" data-end=\"1775\">\ud83d\udccc You can\u2019t change your behavior without therapy<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1779\" data-end=\"1829\">\ud83d\udccc You can\u2019t learn English without regular practice<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1833\" data-end=\"1919\">\ud83d\udccc And <strong>you <em data-start=\"1841\" data-end=\"1848\">can\u2019t<\/em> build a big business<\/strong> by <strong>following YouTube-expert-from-a-podcast advice<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"1921\" data-end=\"1965\">What really works for me<\/h2>\n<h3>Based on my experience working at a venture fund with an absolutely top-tier team that actually uses this approach to validate promising startups.<\/h3>\n<p>The idea behind the approach is super simple and straightforward: talk not to the ones shouting the loudest about themselves (like through ads), but to the ones actually doing the real work.<\/p>\n<ol data-start=\"1967\" data-end=\"3168\">\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"1967\" data-end=\"2041\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1970\" data-end=\"2041\">Let\u2019s say right now, my current product\u2019s<strong> biggest challenge is ad payback time<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"2043\" data-end=\"2203\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2046\" data-end=\"2203\">Let\u2019s say we\u2019ve been grinding on it for a while \u2014 <strong>some progress, but no breakthrough yet<\/strong>. (Every business always has that one key problem at any given time.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"2205\" data-end=\"2528\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2208\" data-end=\"2528\">So in Intch (we\u2019ve got this side-product there, tailored for founders), I set up a request:<br data-start=\"2299\" data-end=\"2302\" \/>\u201c<strong>Weekly, intro me to someone who\u2019s a specialist in paid acquisition\/monetization for XYZ business types.<\/strong>\u201d<br data-start=\"2411\" data-end=\"2414\" \/>(Sometimes I just want to rub elbows with other founders \u2014 not competitors, but folks from weird adjacent spaces)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"2530\" data-end=\"2689\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2533\" data-end=\"2689\">The algorithm picks the right person (sometimes from startups, sometimes from big corps), but always with \ud83d\udfe2 right experience and \ud83d\udfe2 someone I don\u2019t know yet.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"2691\" data-end=\"2741\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2694\" data-end=\"2741\">It messages them for me, sends them my profile.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"2743\" data-end=\"2878\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2746\" data-end=\"2878\"><strong>Their motivation is obvious<\/strong>: talk to a founder, dig into a real problem, and if there\u2019s a match (see below) \u2014 I might offer them a part-time role.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"2880\" data-end=\"2995\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2883\" data-end=\"2995\">Once\/week I hop on a call with someone new, give the full, raw context, and <strong>we tear into the problem together<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"2997\" data-end=\"3168\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"3000\" data-end=\"3168\"><strong>If the convo clicks and I hear something that resonates with everything I already know \u2014 I bring them on part-time<\/strong>. Not?<br data-start=\"3123\" data-end=\"3126\" \/>\u201cGreat meeting you \u2014 let\u2019s keep in touch.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 data-start=\"3170\" data-end=\"3531\">Is it a give-and-take? Yes.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"3170\" data-end=\"3531\"><br data-start=\"3196\" data-end=\"3199\" \/>But it\u2019s:<br data-start=\"3208\" data-end=\"3211\" \/>a) <strong data-start=\"3214\" data-end=\"3224\">Honest<\/strong> \u2014 no BS expert-for-the-sake-of-expert. If we can get results, we work. If not \u2014 thanks and goodbye. A team seat has to be earned.<br data-start=\"3354\" data-end=\"3357\" \/>b) <strong data-start=\"3360\" data-end=\"3387\">Sharpens my blind spots<\/strong>, gives me fresh angles, but always grounded in <em data-start=\"3435\" data-end=\"3439\">my<\/em> reality<br data-start=\"3447\" data-end=\"3450\" \/>c) <strong data-start=\"3453\" data-end=\"3474\">Takes 1 hour\/week<\/strong> \u2014 I don\u2019t need to go hunting, DMing, pitching for a call<br \/>\nd) <strong>Only with people doing real work<\/strong> \u2014 no \u201cI took a Coursera course, now I\u2019m an expert\u201d types.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"3533\" data-end=\"3562\">And the kicker? <strong data-start=\"3549\" data-end=\"3562\">It works.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"3564\" data-end=\"3586\"><strong data-start=\"3564\" data-end=\"3584\">Q1 2025 Results:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"3590\" data-end=\"3668\">\ud83d\udd25 Churn: <strong>\u201320% drop in cancellations<\/strong> (first 40 days after signup)<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"3672\" data-end=\"3762\">\ud83d\udd25 Refund rate: <strong>from 0.65% to 0.225%<\/strong> (at our scale, it\u2019s massive)<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"3766\" data-end=\"3848\">\ud83d\udd25 <strong>Launched Bing<\/strong> \u2014 new channel, and performance\u2019s already close to our top one<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3850\" data-end=\"4038\">\u274c Could we have done it ourselves? Sure. But we didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3850\" data-end=\"4038\">\u274c Could I have done it with ChatGPT? Nope \u2014 did thousand iterations = always\u00a0 generic result.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"3850\" data-end=\"4038\">Keep doing what you\u2019re doing \u2014 just do it more effectively. Don\u2019t fall for easy advice.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"3850\" data-end=\"4038\">Want to do the same? Set up a <strong>steady flow of these kinds of meetings for yourself on a regular basis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"185\"><strong>No time to search? Use Intch&#8217;s tool for business owners to find people like this.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"187\" data-end=\"249\">It\u2019s $39\/month \u2014 honestly, I don\u2019t know what could be cheaper.<\/p>\n<p>Sign-up link with the product I mentioned above: <a href=\"https:\/\/try.intch.org\/intch-pro\/email?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=hbplink\">https:\/\/try.intch.org\/intch-pro\/email<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/try.intch.org\/intch-pro\/email?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=hbpbtn\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-8083 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Subscribe-300x44.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"44\" srcset=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Subscribe-300x44.png 300w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Subscribe-370x55.png 370w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Subscribe-270x40.png 270w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Subscribe-570x84.png 570w, https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Subscribe.png 648w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HIDDEN LONGREAD FOR FOUNDERS\/BUSINESS OWNERS ONLY I&#8217;m so damn tired of all this content from so-called &#8220;expert experts&#8221;: \u2013 Don\u2019t even think about starting a startup until you\u2019ve watched that YCombinator video\u2013 Don\u2019t run ads until you\u2019ve taken that Instagram marketing course\u2013 Don\u2019t scale production until you\u2019ve implemented the 6sigma-agile-TRIZ-figma-figaro methodology I suppose I know [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[277],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hidden"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>RBGT: Real Business Growth Tactics - Intch Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/longread-for-founders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RBGT: Real Business Growth Tactics - Intch Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"HIDDEN LONGREAD FOR FOUNDERS\/BUSINESS OWNERS ONLY I&#8217;m so damn tired of all this content from so-called &#8220;expert experts&#8221;: \u2013 Don\u2019t even think about starting a startup until you\u2019ve watched that YCombinator video\u2013 Don\u2019t run ads until you\u2019ve taken that Instagram marketing course\u2013 Don\u2019t scale production until you\u2019ve implemented the 6sigma-agile-TRIZ-figma-figaro methodology I suppose I know [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/longread-for-founders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Intch Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-24T10:33:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-24T12:28:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/intch.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-24_12-40-30-740x198.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Yakov Filippenko\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Yakov Filippenko\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"RBGT: Real Business Growth Tactics - 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