When Founders Say “No Marketing,” Here’s What They’re Not Telling You
Have you heard this one?
“I built an 8-figure brand with ZERO marketing.”
It’s the kind of story that travels fast — passed around as proof that great products sell themselves. But look closer and you’ll see the scaffolding: a Twitter audience years in the making, influencer seeding, community-as-content strategy. Not exactly “zero.”
What these narratives miss is the marketing that doesn’t look like marketing — the founder’s time, the unpaid labor of loyal followers, the slow, deliberate build of visibility and trust. Stripping those out flattens the story and feeds a myth that misleads more than it inspires.
I unpack what gets edited out of the “zero marketing” origin story — and why it matters for founders making real decisions about what growth actually costs.
📝 Read more on Substack: That “Zero Marketing” Brand Story? Not Quite.
