Yes, startups struggle a lot with distribution... I've been thinking and experimenting a lot lately. I also launched a couple of products on various platforms: the last one is a distribution/marketplace.<p>The way MOST non-bootstrapped see it:<p>- Launch on Product Hunt<p>- Raise VC money.<p>- Invest in Ads.<p>- Hyper-growth.<p>Why this vision is flawed in my opinion:<p>- Product Hunt votes don't prove PMF.<p>- Early Ads are a waste of money.<p>- Conversion needs tuning first.<p>- Hyper-growth isn't always the answer, it strongly depends on your GTM timing & market maturity<p>Get rid of VC/angel money and it'll take x10-x100 longer to expand.<p>I'm building and growing a new platform microlaunch.net to overcome these reasons. My goal is to provide a healthy way to grow without compromising early founders' margins.<p>I feel like the famous Pareto 80-20 rule totally applies to this situation: putting 80% effort into your distribution will feel like a 20% reward. It's a quite hard game.<p>Do some of you relate to this take? Please share your experience too.