As I navigate sales and go-to-market (GTM) for my startup, one thing is becoming clear: any friction in the process slows growth. While the saying “a good product sells itself” has some truth—we’ve seen early traction through referrals—I’m realizing that relying on a single growth channel is risky. I want to de-risk GTM by building multiple levers for growth beyond just word of mouth.
The Problem: Trust Bottlenecks Growth
Even if you offer a product that’s objectively better—cheaper, faster, more reliable—customers still may not switch. Why?
Because switching comes with perceived risk. Even if you’ve made onboarding seamless, customers don’t know you yet. What if your service fails at a critical moment? What they have now works. It's the classic “don’t fix what isn’t broken” dilemma.
That’s why trust becomes the bottleneck to growth. And why referrals are such a powerful channel: they shortcut trust-building.
The Wedge: Pure Incremental Value
What I’ve come to call incrementality is about finding a wedge—a way to deliver value to a potential customer without requiring them to take a leap of faith.
Think of ZocDoc. Their pitch to providers is simple: we send you new patients, and we only get paid if you see them. It’s pure upside. No risk, no switching. No reason to say no.
This wedge gives ZocDoc an entry point. Once they’ve delivered value and built trust, they can expand their footprint. The same is true for Amazon (affiliate marketplace → infrastructure), Instacart (delivery → white-label logistics), and Headway (credentialing + billing → provider enablement).
From a product lens, it’s like shipping a new V2 system alongside V1. You don’t force a migration—you start with new features, build trust in the system, then gradually shift over legacy workflows.
Where I’m At
I’m still trying to find the right incremental wedge. One approach is targeting providers who don’t yet have systems in place—net new businesses that need a solution from day one. That’s an open thread I’m actively pursuing.
But the bigger unlock would be a wedge so low-risk, so incremental, that even established providers would say “why not?” That’s the north star I’m aiming for—because trust, and the ability to earn it quickly, defines how fast you can grow.