At some point every early-stage startup needs to stop being a secret and
START TELLING PEOPLE
START TELLING PEOPLE
Written by
Chris Matthews, Silicon Valley-based marketing & brand consultant
AT LAST a book focused on revealing the marketing strategies, tactics, and opportunities unique to stealth and early-stage startups as they emerge, grow, and change the world.
Whether B2C, B2B, or B2B2C, this practical collection of anecdotes, interviews, frameworks, and experiences all provide thoughtful insights that can help early-stage companies make a powerful first impression, and build the foundations needed for a lasting and beloved brand.
5 KEY CONCEPTS
FROM THE BOOK
5 KEY CONCEPTS
FROM THE BOOK
Marketing is a Discipline,
Not an Activity
Startups often mistake marketing for a checklist of tasks—ad campaigns, taglines, social posts. This book reframes marketing as a core discipline, akin to engineering or finance, that should shape your company from day one. It’s about embedding strategic thinking across your org, not sprinkling creativity on top.
Great Brands Begin
Inside the Building
Your first marketing asset isn’t your website—it’s your people. From early prototypes to hallway demos, the stories you tell internally shape how others will perceive you externally. You’ll learn how to turn internal alignment into external magnetism, and why your engineers should be your best brand ambassadors.
Positioning is a
Strategic Weapon
You don’t need to invent a new category to win, but you do need to choose your battlefield wisely. Whether you’re creating, redefining, or improving a category, this book gives you the tools to position your brand with intention—and to do it in a way that sticks in the minds of customers, investors, and press.
Your First Launch Isn’t the Beginning, It’s the Reveal
What looks like overnight success is usually years in the making. This book shows how to build toward a launch that feels inevitable—layering strategy, story, and systems so that when you “start telling people,” they already want in. Marketing is what makes your moment land with credibility and power.
Startups Don’t Need More Content, They Need Clearer Strategy
Most early-stage companies drown in outputs but starve for insight. You’ll learn how to ask better questions, align marketing with product, and build brand foundations that scale. It’s not about doing more; it’s about doing the right things, in the right order, with the right clarity.
Marketing is a Discipline,
Not an Activity
Startups often mistake marketing for a checklist of tasks—ad campaigns, taglines, social posts. This book reframes marketing as a core discipline, akin to engineering or finance, that should shape your company from day one. It’s about embedding strategic thinking across your org, not sprinkling creativity on top.
Great Brands Begin
Inside the Building
Your first marketing asset isn’t your website—it’s your people. From early prototypes to hallway demos, the stories you tell internally shape how others will perceive you externally. You’ll learn how to turn internal alignment into external magnetism, and why your engineers should be your best brand ambassadors.
Positioning is a
Strategic Weapon
You don’t need to invent a new category to win, but you do need to choose your battlefield wisely. Whether you’re creating, redefining, or improving a category, this book gives you the tools to position your brand with intention—and to do it in a way that sticks in the minds of customers, investors, and press.
Your First Launch Isn’t the Beginning, It’s the Reveal
What looks like overnight success is usually years in the making. This book shows how to build toward a launch that feels inevitable—layering strategy, story, and systems so that when you “start telling people,” they already want in. Marketing is what makes your moment land with credibility and power.
Startups Don’t Need More Content, They Need Clearer Strategy
Most early-stage companies drown in outputs but starve for insight. You’ll learn how to ask better questions, align marketing with product, and build brand foundations that scale. It’s not about doing more; it’s about doing the right things, in the right order, with the right clarity.
Marketing is a Discipline,
Not an Activity
Startups often mistake marketing for a checklist of tasks—ad campaigns, taglines, social posts. This book reframes marketing as a core discipline, akin to engineering or finance, that should shape your company from day one. It’s about embedding strategic thinking across your org, not sprinkling creativity on top.
Great Brands Begin
Inside the Building
Your first marketing asset isn’t your website—it’s your people. From early prototypes to hallway demos, the stories you tell internally shape how others will perceive you externally. You’ll learn how to turn internal alignment into external magnetism, and why your engineers should be your best brand ambassadors.
Positioning is a
Strategic Weapon
You don’t need to invent a new category to win, but you do need to choose your battlefield wisely. Whether you’re creating, redefining, or improving a category, this book gives you the tools to position your brand with intention—and to do it in a way that sticks in the minds of customers, investors, and press.
Your First Launch Isn’t the Beginning, It’s the Reveal
What looks like overnight success is usually years in the making. This book shows how to build toward a launch that feels inevitable—layering strategy, story, and systems so that when you “start telling people,” they already want in. Marketing is what makes your moment land with credibility and power.
Startups Don’t Need More Content, They Need Clearer Strategy
Most early-stage companies drown in outputs but starve for insight. You’ll learn how to ask better questions, align marketing with product, and build brand foundations that scale. It’s not about doing more; it’s about doing the right things, in the right order, with the right clarity.
Marketing is a Discipline,
Not an Activity
Startups often mistake marketing for a checklist of tasks—ad campaigns, taglines, social posts. This book reframes marketing as a core discipline, akin to engineering or finance, that should shape your company from day one. It’s about embedding strategic thinking across your org, not sprinkling creativity on top.
Great Brands Begin
Inside the Building
Your first marketing asset isn’t your website—it’s your people. From early prototypes to hallway demos, the stories you tell internally shape how others will perceive you externally. You’ll learn how to turn internal alignment into external magnetism, and why your engineers should be your best brand ambassadors.
Positioning is a
Strategic Weapon
You don’t need to invent a new category to win, but you do need to choose your battlefield wisely. Whether you’re creating, redefining, or improving a category, this book gives you the tools to position your brand with intention—and to do it in a way that sticks in the minds of customers, investors, and press.
Your First Launch Isn’t the Beginning, It’s the Reveal
What looks like overnight success is usually years in the making. This book shows how to build toward a launch that feels inevitable—layering strategy, story, and systems so that when you “start telling people,” they already want in. Marketing is what makes your moment land with credibility and power.
Startups Don’t Need More Content, They Need Clearer Strategy
Most early-stage companies drown in outputs but starve for insight. You’ll learn how to ask better questions, align marketing with product, and build brand foundations that scale. It’s not about doing more; it’s about doing the right things, in the right order, with the right clarity.
TAKE A PEEK INSIDE
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TAKE A PEEK INSIDE
Sign up to get a free preview of the book
TAKE A PEEK INSIDE
Sign up to get a free preview of the book
REAL READERS,
REAL REACTIONS
REAL READERS,
REAL REACTIONS
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 RoboticsIEEE Entrepreneurship Vice Chair, 2023
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 RoboticsIEEE Entrepreneurship Vice Chair, 2023
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 RoboticsIEEE Entrepreneurship Vice Chair, 2023
No one wants to read a lecture on marketing theory. That's exactly why we need books like Start Telling People. It gives practical advice with real-world examples, and as a bonus, it's entertaining. The book doesn't focus on overnight successes or crash-and-burn failures, but rather on the hard work that goes into building a company day-to-day. If you're a startup founder, read this book.
MEGAN LAMB
Co-Founder and Senior Partner Cutline Communications
No one wants to read a lecture on marketing theory. That's exactly why we need books like Start Telling People. It gives practical advice with real-world examples, and as a bonus, it's entertaining. The book doesn't focus on overnight successes or crash-and-burn failures, but rather on the hard work that goes into building a company day-to-day. If you're a startup founder, read this book.
MEGAN LAMB
Co-Founder and Senior Partner Cutline Communications
No one wants to read a lecture on marketing theory. That's exactly why we need books like Start Telling People. It gives practical advice with real-world examples, and as a bonus, it's entertaining. The book doesn't focus on overnight successes or crash-and-burn failures, but rather on the hard work that goes into building a company day-to-day. If you're a startup founder, read this book.
MEGAN LAMB
Co-Founder and Senior Partner Cutline Communications
Matthews’ parley is easy to understand yet profound. Not just a marketing manual; it's a survival guide for startups navigating the stormy seas of the business world.
BEN KEARNS
From Amazon
Matthews’ parley is easy to understand yet profound. Not just a marketing manual; it's a survival guide for startups navigating the stormy seas of the business world.
BEN KEARNS
From Amazon
Matthews’ parley is easy to understand yet profound. Not just a marketing manual; it's a survival guide for startups navigating the stormy seas of the business world.
BEN KEARNS
From Amazon
After I read the book I went through it chapter by chapter and created a flow chart... There’s practical wisdom for both technical and marketing perspectives.
JESSICA C.
From Amazon
After I read the book I went through it chapter by chapter and created a flow chart... There’s practical wisdom for both technical and marketing perspectives.
JESSICA C.
From Amazon
After I read the book I went through it chapter by chapter and created a flow chart... There’s practical wisdom for both technical and marketing perspectives.
JESSICA C.
From Amazon
Straightforward and to-the-point... helped me understand which strategies are appropriate for certain businesses. I plan on starting my own business one day, so this book was a great one to read in preparation.
BRENDA JAMES
From Amazon
Straightforward and to-the-point... helped me understand which strategies are appropriate for certain businesses. I plan on starting my own business one day, so this book was a great one to read in preparation.
BRENDA JAMES
From Amazon
Straightforward and to-the-point... helped me understand which strategies are appropriate for certain businesses. I plan on starting my own business one day, so this book was a great one to read in preparation.
BRENDA JAMES
From Amazon
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
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
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
It's great! I especially like the notion that marketing is a discipline not an activity—so very true. The whole book contains valuable advice for startup Founders and their Marketers. It should be required reading at all incubators!
ANDY CUNNINGHAM
President, Cunningham Collective Author of "Get to Aha"
It's great! I especially like the notion that marketing is a discipline not an activity—so very true. The whole book contains valuable advice for startup Founders and their Marketers. It should be required reading at all incubators!
ANDY CUNNINGHAM
President, Cunningham Collective Author of "Get to Aha"
It's great! I especially like the notion that marketing is a discipline not an activity—so very true. The whole book contains valuable advice for startup Founders and their Marketers. It should be required reading at all incubators!
ANDY CUNNINGHAM
President, Cunningham Collective Author of "Get to Aha"
Chris doesn't tell you what to do, but instead guides you into asking the right questions. Highly recommended even if [the demo section] is the only chapter you read in full.
RYAN HICKMAN
From Amazon
Chris doesn't tell you what to do, but instead guides you into asking the right questions. Highly recommended even if [the demo section] is the only chapter you read in full.
RYAN HICKMAN
From Amazon
Chris doesn't tell you what to do, but instead guides you into asking the right questions. Highly recommended even if [the demo section] is the only chapter you read in full.
RYAN HICKMAN
From Amazon
This book helps a would-be emerging product marketer win attention and business when there is no playbook. Wonderfully written and easy to absorb.
MARCUS GOSLING
From Amazon
This book helps a would-be emerging product marketer win attention and business when there is no playbook. Wonderfully written and easy to absorb.
MARCUS GOSLING
From Amazon
This book helps a would-be emerging product marketer win attention and business when there is no playbook. Wonderfully written and easy to absorb.
MARCUS GOSLING
From Amazon
Explains how to use marketing as a strategic discipline across functions, as opposed to a tactical line item in the budget. Highly recommend!
ERIC JOHNSEN
From Amazon
Explains how to use marketing as a strategic discipline across functions, as opposed to a tactical line item in the budget. Highly recommend!
ERIC JOHNSEN
From Amazon
Explains how to use marketing as a strategic discipline across functions, as opposed to a tactical line item in the budget. Highly recommend!
ERIC JOHNSEN
From Amazon
PICK YOUR FORMAT AND
START TELLING PEOPLE
PICK YOUR FORMAT AND
START TELLING PEOPLE
ABOUT CHRIS
ABOUT CHRIS
A marketing veteran with decades of practical experience in building and guiding brands, Chris has built and led marketing teams worldwide and across a wide range of industries, including robotics, climate tech, wearables, healthcare, and premium consumer hardware.
Originally from Canada, Chris earned his MBA at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, and lives in Redwood City, California with his wife and their lawn dinosaur, Dug.
Start Telling People, published by Very Small Robots, LLC
Copyright 2025
Start Telling People, published by Very Small Robots, LLC
Copyright 2025
Start Telling People, published by Very Small Robots, LLC
Copyright 2025