“We’ve spent $0 on marketing!”

I see and hear this line from almost 50% of the founders who have pitched me in the last six months. Please stop saying this.

I know it sounds good. You’ve been able to gain your first 1000 users or have made your first $150,000 without spending a penny on marketing. Articles, friends of friends, TV interviews, podcasts and, most recently, ProductHunt have skewed how much hard work it takes for first time founders to gain early traction. The problem with all of these different paths (and the idea that attracting users is free) is that they run out.

Very few companies in the world have built anything massive without any marketing dollars. According to my limited research in total there have been exactly zero. That’s because it typically costs money to make money. Some of that money can be spent on great referral programs (like Uber has done), some of it could be spent on things like SEO and press but for most companies the bulk of it will be spent on good old fashioned advertising in one form or another.

I’m not advising that you blow your seed capital on a marketing budget early on. You should, of course, leverage the amazing platforms that exist such as social, the press and genuine referrals. But in addition, make sure you test and iterate on what your potential paid marketing channels could be early too.

Doing this sooner rather than later will enable you and your investors to see what a true customer acquisition cost (CAC) will look like when all of the friendlier and free options go away. Once you’ve got that, go ahead and include that number in your pitch right alongside “We’ve spent $0 on marketing!”