Let data overrule the founder. Jim Phillips runs Graymatter on "data over ego": ads he expected to crush did nothing, and ads he thought looked terrible did well, so performance data gets the final say.

Track acquisition cost and cohort contribution margin together. Jim watches new customer acquisition cost by channel and contribution margin by monthly cohort, so he knows by month two or three when a cohort breaks even.

Protect your subscription offer, even if you build the tool yourself. About 95% of Graymatter buyers subscribe. When resellers used the intro offer to win the Amazon buy box, the team built its own blocker, The Warden, in a matter of days with AI.