Good communication is the fuel for the growth of any emerging business. Without spreading the word about your startup, you won’t be able to accumulate new investors or clients. In a loud world full of people trying to make a name for themselves, it can be difficult to send the right message that will set your brand apart from the crowd.
His insights provide the tools for founders to establish themselves, grow their networks, and position their startups for success in a market that’s more competitive than ever.
A Master of Network Growth
Through his work with DraperU, Suffiyan Malik has mentored over 3,000 entrepreneurs and helped them develop sound communication strategies. He has built a community in frontier tech and hosted events for more than 6,000 technologists, such as the Building Atoms Summit, which featured speakers such as David Friedberg, Professor Alex Filippenko, and Trevor Martin.
Malik has used his deep understanding of communication and business development to define core skills for aspiring entrepreneurs and startup founders. Without effective networking, fundraising, and business development, new founders will struggle to position their brand in the market.
Below are nine key lessons from Malik that are essential for founders.
1. Build Relationships Before You Need Them
It’s no good asking for handouts before a relationship has been established. To anticipate your startup’s needs, it is important to nurture early relationships. Make a showing wherever you can, be it at networking events, conferences, or even incidental meetings at a coffee shop.
2. Research Like a Journalist
Before a startup can thrive, the founder will need to know the nature of the market it’s entering. To gain a thorough understanding of potential competitors and the audience for your business, founders should adopt an effective research strategy.
Like a journalist, you can accumulate research through multiple sources, including financial websites, analysis tools, and word of mouth.
3. Word of Mouth is the Best Baseline Strategy
Founders shouldn’t underestimate the power of word-of-mouth networking; it’s the strongest go-to-market strategy because it builds trust and credibility through personal recommendations, which people value more than traditional marketing. It’s also cost-effective and scalable, allowing startups to grow their customer base organically while garnering loyalty and social proof.
4. Podcasts Are the New Business Development Medium
Podcasts are emerging as a scalable method for founders to build relationships. They offer a platform for sharing expertise, engaging with audiences, and connecting with influential guests. A successful podcast opens up opportunities for networking and trust-building. This generates leads through authentic conversations and content that resonates with listeners.
5. Newsletters Can be Used for Business Development
Newsletters are a long-standing tool for businesses for a good reason. A newsletter creates value by building long-term relationships and business development. Good newsletters strengthen the relationship between the business and clients by keeping them informed of its goals and growth measures.
6. Everyone Loves an Audience
When a startup enters the market, it is entering a public stage. Every move it makes has the potential to draw attention from clients and investors. Cultivating an audience does more than just set you apart from the crowd; it can help to establish credibility and trust. Communication strategies should go beyond spreading awareness of your brand.
By showing the world who you are and what you believe in as a startup, you can grow an audience of fans and believers.
7. Positioning Yourself Matters
When entering a market, it is crucial to carve out your own space. A founder should define and communicate a unique value proposition that they bring to the table. Consider what niche you fill in the market, how you intend to fill it, and why you are the optimal choice for this strategy.
8. Design Your Category
When performing preliminary market research, it is easy to find existing categories to emulate. However, instead of trying to compete in existing categories, founders should design and create a novel category they can inhabit.
One example of a company breaking out by designing a new category is Salesforce differentiating itself from Siebel in 1999. As detailed in this article by
By introducing the concept of “Cloud CRM,” Salesforce defined a category it could use to enter the market and stand apart from competitors.
9. Practice Cold Outreach Religiously
Cold outreach is a core skill for every founder. Sometimes, the strongest and most valuable relationships are formed from the ground level. You never know who might be your next biggest network opportunity, so cold outreach should be performed constantly and consistently.
“Practice cold outreach like going to church on Sundays,” Suffiyan Malik asserts. He recommends sending at least twenty emails to the highest-value potential advisors, investors, hires, and customers on a weekly basis.
A Foundation for Startup Growth
With these nine lessons from Suffiyan Malik, founders now hold the keys to growing a startup that will hold its own against the competition.
By building early relationships, performing thorough market research, communicating through word of mouth, podcasts, and newsletters, growing an audience, positioning yourself in the market, defining your own category, and practicing consistent cold outreach, you can develop a robust network that will help carry your business to success.
As a guru of communication strategies, Suffiyan Malik has helped thousands of founders build their business dreams. For aspiring entrepreneurs, he has another word of advice: “Technical ability is key, storytelling ability is consequential. Making comms your superpower is the most fundamental muscle you have to build as an entrepreneur.”
