In reality none of these is the true objective. Simply put, a startup should focus on reaching a deep understanding of customers and their problems, their pains, and the jobs they need done to discover a repeatable roadmap of how they buy, and building a financial model that results in profitability.

How are you going to find your early adopters? What acquisition channels are you going to test? Are you going to take a Founder-Led approach to sales and marketing? Will you need to hire? Or are you going to lean into Product-Led Growth? And, perhaps most importantly: Can you build a big enough audience and convert enough of them to paying customer

You don’t have a real strategy if it doesn’t pass these two tests: what you’re planning to do really matters to your existing and potential customers; and second, it differentiates you from your competition.