u/Choice-Delay8509

I’m building an app startup currently at day 0/pre-launch.

I’m handling:

• product
• coding/technical development
• overall company building

I’m considering bringing on a marketing/GTM-focused co-founder early to own:

• growth strategy
• distribution
• partnerships
• brand/community
• user acquisition
• launch execution

They’d be joining before launch and likely taking below-market compensation initially.

I’m trying to understand what founders/investors realistically consider fair equity for this type of role today.

I’ve seen everything from:

• “true co-founder = double digits” to
• “marketing should be early employee-level equity.”

For people who’ve actually built venture-backed startups:

• what ranges have you seen work?
• how do investors usually view a CMO/growth co-founder?
• what changes the equation most (timing, traction, network, execution ability, etc.)?

Would especially appreciate input from technical founders who’ve hired early GTM leaders before PMF.

Hey,

I recently finished building a mobile app focused on helping people deal with urges and relapse patterns in real time instead of just tracking streaks.

The product side is mostly done, but I honestly don’t have the time to properly focus on marketing/distribution right now, which is why I’m looking for someone who enjoys figuring out growth from scratch.

Things like:
• content angles and hooks
• organic growth
• testing platforms/communities
• figuring out what actually makes people care

The idea is already validated and well researched. Some competitors in this space are doing 6 figures/month with barely any marketing, and the market still isn’t that saturated.

Main audience is the US, UK, and Canada, but you don’t necessarily need to be based there if you understand how to attract and appeal to those demographics.

Also, I’m 16 and based in India.

Not looking for an agency or short-term client work. More interested in finding someone who wants to build and grow this long term.

No traditional salary right now, it would be equity-based.

If this sounds interesting to you, feel free to reach out.

I’m building an app and trying to market it organically through short-form content, but my accounts keep getting pushed mostly to local audiences even though the content is aimed at US/UK/Canada viewers.

Before anyone says “improve the content”:

• retention is solid
• hooks are optimized
• content is English-only
• posting times are US-focused
• references/slang are Westernized

So I’m starting to think this is more of a distribution/account issue.

For creators outside the US who’ve built mostly Western audiences organically:

• did fresh accounts help?
• does SIM/IP/device region matter?
• are Shorts less geo-locked than Reels/TikTok?
• how important is early audience clustering?

Trying to avoid paid ads and figure this out organically. Would appreciate advice from people who’ve actually dealt with this.

Hey,

I recently finished building a mobile app focused on helping people deal with urges and relapse patterns in real time instead of just tracking streaks.

The product side is mostly done, but I honestly don’t have the time to properly focus on marketing/distribution right now, which is why I’m looking for someone who enjoys figuring out growth from scratch.

Things like:
• content angles and hooks
• organic growth
• testing platforms/communities
• figuring out what actually makes people care

The idea is already validated and well researched. Some competitors in this space are doing 6 figures/month with barely any marketing, and the market still isn’t that saturated.

Main audience is the US, UK, and Canada, so preferably looking for someone from there, or someone who already understands how to appeal to those demographics.

Not looking for an agency or short-term client work. More interested in finding someone who wants to build and grow this long term.

No traditional salary right now, it would be equity-based.

If this sounds interesting to you, feel free to reach out.

Hey,

I recently finished building a mobile app focused on helping people deal with urges and relapse patterns in real time instead of just tracking streaks.

The product side is pretty much done, but now I’m at the stage where distribution matters way more than code.

I’m looking to connect with someone who genuinely enjoys figuring out growth from scratch. Things like:

• content angles and hooks
• organic distribution
• testing different platforms/communities
• understanding what actually gets users to care

Main target audience is the US, UK, and Canada, so ideally I’d like to work with someone based there as well.

I’m not looking for an agency or someone doing temporary client work. I’m mainly looking for a long term growth-focused partner who actually wants to build something together.

Also being upfront about this: there’s no traditional salary involved right now. The setup would be equity-based since I’m looking for someone who wants to grow alongside the product long term.

If you’ve grown accounts, products, communities, or just like the challenge of figuring out attention and distribution, feel free to reach out.

Hey,

I recently finished building a mobile app focused on helping people deal with urges and relapse patterns in real time instead of just tracking streaks.

The product side is pretty much done, but now I’m at the stage where distribution matters way more than code.

I’m looking to connect with someone who genuinely enjoys figuring out growth from scratch. Things like:

• content angles and hooks
• organic distribution
• testing different platforms/communities
• understanding what actually gets users to care

Main target audience is the US, UK, and Canada, so ideally I’d like to work with someone based there as well.

I’m not looking for an agency or someone doing temporary client work. I’m mainly looking for a long term growth-focused partner who actually wants to build something together.

Also being upfront about this: there’s no traditional salary involved right now. The setup would be equity-based since I’m looking for someone who wants to grow alongside the product long term.

If you’ve grown accounts, products, communities, or just like the challenge of figuring out attention and distribution, feel free to reach out.