How Early-Stage Startups Are Making Big Money In 2025

How do some early-stage startups make millions fast, while others with big funding go broke?
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It doesn’t make sense, right?

The truth is - the ones making real money follow a simple concept that most founders completely ignore. So let me show you exactly what that concept is - and how you can use it too.

It’s a straightforward, 3-step process. I’ve coached over 50 startups and built two of my own and as a founder, I can tell you:

This concept is absolutely essential to building a successful startup.
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Before we dive into this powerful framework, let me show you why most early-stage startups get stuck chasing growth, burning through cash, and eventually fail.

Let me tell you a quick story. A startup I worked with built a beautiful tool – it was an app to help people be more productive. Sleek design, easy to use, and packed with a ton of great features.

Task manager, calendar integration, focus mode, AI assistant - you name it, they added it.

But after 12 months of building non-stop, guess how many paying users they had?

25. Pretty brutal.

So can you guess what they did wrong?
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They were trying to solve everything for everyone. They were trying to get as many new users as possible, and that’s why they built feature after feature.

But here is the issue:

And this is where most early-stage startups go wrong. They build for too many people and don't have this one crystal-clear idea of who they can help best. In the end, they waste their time and money trying to get new customers - but no one buys because people don't feel the product is a perfect fit for them.

On the other hand - if you clearly know who your target audience is, you can build your product in a way that they say,

“Yes, this is exactly for me.”

So not only will you get more customers, but also, those customers will be worth much more - because they’ll stay with you.

Now, here’s the good news: You can easily avoid this big mistake. Or if you’re making it right now, you can still fix it.

I’ll show you a powerful framework for this. But first - think about your own startup right now:

Okay - now you know what the issue is, let me show you how to fix it. There’s a saying for startups:

So if you want to make real money as a startup - that’s exactly what you need to do.
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✅ Pick one specific audience.
✅ One clear problem.
✅ And solve it better than anyone else.

Let me give you an example. Let’s go back to the founder with the productivity tool.

❌ So - this founder builds a sleek productivity app, and the team thinks:
“Hey, this can help everyone be more productive.”

But that’s a red flag. It's just way too broad. Nobody will feel like “Yes, this is for me.” So, let’s niche down.

→ A more targeted niche could be:
“People who work remotely and struggle with managing their daily structure.”

That's better. Now you’re speaking to a real audience with very specific needs. But let’s go even further.

✅ An even more targeted niche could be:
“Remote-working parents with toddlers or school-age kids who need a simple way to structure their day around meetings, deep work, and unpredictable parenting moments.”

Now we’re talking.

You're not just building a productivity app anymore. You’re giving remote-working parents their sanity back - with a tool that helps them every day.

And that’s exactly how you win as an early-stage startup. You need to niche down as much as possible. So here’s my question to you, because that’s where your opportunity is:

Now, before I show you this powerful framework - a quick disclaimer:

To fully leverage this framework and build a successful startup, you need to know where your ideal customers are. So, how about a proven 4-step framework that helps you do just that:

Find the best marketing channels to attract new customers, without wasting your hard-earned money on expensive ads?

You can get it in my Marketing Channel Bundle.

Check it out now!

Alright - let's get to the fun part - a framework where most founders get unstuck. This framework is simple, but I promise you: It’s going to change the way you think about your startup entirely.

It goes like this:

1. We help [target audience]
2. Achieve [outcome]
3. Without [pain point]

Let me give you an example with out productivity app:

"We help remote-working parents structure their day and get important work done, without sacrificing time with their kids or feeling guilty about falling behind."
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Solid, right?
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That one sentence tells people:
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✅ Who you help
✅ What you help them achieve
✅ And how you make their life easier

• Who do we help?
• What result do we help people achieve?
• What pain do we remove?
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Once you’ve got that - let’s move to the most important step. Because this framework alone won't do much if you don’t use it right.

Now that you know who you help and how - what do you do with that? You turn it into your full marketing message.

So you put it on your website, your ads, your sales calls.

Remember - your main goal is that when someone lands on your website, they immediately know that your product is made for them.

And look - I know writing a solid marketing message can be tough, so I’ve made it easier for you. I’ve created a plug-and-play ChatGPT prompt that turns your value proposition into a full-blown marketing strategy.

Website headlines, social posts, email newsletters — all done in seconds.

Just drop in your value proposition, hit enter, and you’ll get instant content that speaks directly to your ideal customer. Check out the ChatGPT prompt here for free.

Now let me give you 2 pro tips to make the most out of this so you can start getting your customers immediately.

First - make sure your niche has the buying power to pay for your product. You can have the perfect product, but if your audience simply doesn’t have the money to pay for what you’re offering, you won't get any customers.

So before you go all-in on your niche, do some quick research:

✅ Are there existing tools your target audience is already paying for?
✅ What’s their average income?
✅ What price range are they willing to invest?
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In our parenting productivity tool example - that audience does have buying power. Many remote-working parents are employed full-time, and they’re actively looking for tools that help them save time. So if your solution saves them time and stress - they’re likely willing to pay for it.
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But if you went too niche - like: “Teenagers who want to get better at productivity during summer break” - they might love your product… but not have a credit card to buy it.

So niche down - but make sure your niche can pay. Because nothing kills your startup faster than building something amazing for people who can’t buy it.

Here’s what usually happens: You start small, with one clear audience - and it’s working.
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→ You’re getting traction.
→ You’re getting customers.

And you start thinking: “Well, what if I just made this one feature that would be valuable for agencies? Can’t be that bad, right?”

No. Don’t do that. Not yet.

Here’s the truth: You should only expand once you’ve absolutely nailed it for your one main audience. Because only then do people start recommending you. And that’s what you want.

You want to become the go-to solution in that space.

Remember – if you expand too early, you lose the edge that made your product so special in the first place. So go deep first, and expand later. Focus on building something amazing for a small, defined group.

Okay - defining your ideal customer is the foundation. But you know what’s next? Getting them.

So, how about a proven 4-step framework that will help you find your best marketing channels to get new customers WITHOUT you having to waste your hard-earned money on expensive ads.

You can get it in my Marketing Channel Bundle.

Check it out now!