Marketing
for Future-Defining
Startups
Start Telling People
At some point, every early-stage startup needs to stop being a secret and start telling people. As your engineering and development work begins to take shape, building fast attention and strong demand become essential - and just buying ads won't be enough.
My book, Start Telling People, provides frameworks, examples, and interviews that reinforce the book’s central thesis: marketing is a discipline, not just an activity. The book offers practical, jargon-free ideas and stories that seamlessly blend marketing fundamentals with the functional realities of fast-paced, growth-focused startups.
“If you’re a hardware founder, ‘Start Telling People’ will stop you from screwing up your biggest opportunities to shine.”
- Andra Keay
Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, IEEE Entrepreneurship Vice Chair, 2023
"I've always believed that the marketing function is only a tiny fraction of what marketing departments actually perform! This gem is a perfect illustration of why we need to think about marketing more as a discipline, a way of thinking, and a philosophy!"
-Dilip Soman
Author of "The Last Mile" and "Managing Customer Value: One Step at a Time"
Director of the Behavioural Economics in Action Research Centre at Rotman [BEAR], University of Toronto
“Working with Chris Matthews and implementing the marketing strategies from his book was a game-changing experience. The book served as our playbook, while Chris served as our coach. By providing a clear path through the ever-uncertain journey of startup life, particularly around product market fit and go-to-market strategy, the book helped provide a sense of plan that let us focus on execution.
Matthews' unique blend of asynchronous and synchronous work styles allowed us to maximize our productivity, making every meeting count. His wealth of experience was invaluable, helping us craft the right words and strategies for our unique challenges.
But perhaps most importantly, Matthews taught us the art of considering trade-offs. He challenged us to think critically about our focus and what we were willing to give up to achieve our goals. This perspective was not just insightful, it was transformative.
In short, Matthews' book and his guidance were more than just helpful - they were instrumental in our success. If you're navigating the startup world, I can't recommend his work highly enough.”
Frank Corrigan
Co-Founder, BeStoried.ai
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“Chris helped me not only improve our demo, but reorient my own thinking about how to talk about the product to users, investors, press, and others. It was such a helpful deep-dive that I'll be using what I've learned at every company I work at from now on.”
Fahrzin Hemmati
COO, Reviewable.io
Hi, I’m Chris. Nice to meet you.
Over two decades, I’ve built and led marketing teams for advanced startups and brands that span the leading edges of robotics, artificial intelligence, climate science, wearables, health technologies, and premium consumer hardware.
If you’re a stealth or early-stage startup wondering how to effectively and efficiently develop your marketing strategy and brand, you’re in the right place, and I’d love to talk.
Capabilites
Marketing, Brand, and Comms Strategy
Support for your team in planning, structure, goal alignment, and marketing roadmaps that create enduring strategic advantages for your brand and its future.
Brand Identity & Positioning
Not just who are you, but why are you? What principles will help you stay true to that vision?
Where will you compete, and how will you position your brand to win?
Customer Experience Design
Your best customers don’t know you exist yet. From segmentation and journey mapping to channel strategy and community, our go-to-market expertise can help bring your brand to the right first customers in the best ways.
Demo Development
A compelling, flawless demo is essential for every part of growth: fundraising, closing new hires, earned media, and sales. We can help design and script a product or experience demo that’s methodical, magical, and bulletproof.
Market Research and Data
From surveys to research to synthesis, we can help you boost data-driven confidence in the marketing decisions you’re making, even when data seems scarce.
Digital & Content Consulting
From content strategy to digital platform selection, we can help you understand and implement the best suite of digital marketing systems to suit your startup’s needs, now and in the future.
Previously Imagined Futures
The adorable home robot, Kuri, was launched at CES 2017 to media acclaim, pre-orders, and best-in-show awards & nominations. Our approach focused on building a future where robots are joyful, useful, and inspiring.
Solving for and adapting to our changing global climate will require a massive global redesign of food production. At Iron Ox, we designed and developed a robotics & A.I.-enhanced approach to growing delicious, nutritious food using vastly less land, energy, and water.
