Pete Lamson: 5 Questions every CEO Must Answer Before Scaling Go to Market Investment

You took the leap. You quit your job and founded a company, taking the road less traveled. It’s exhilarating and terrifying all at once. Your family and friends think you’re crazy, but you’re proving them wrong (at least that’s what you tell yourself).  Sleepness nights are the norm, and only a small group of like minded entrepreneurial zealots truly understand why you work the insane hours you do. 

The thrill of landing your first paying customers validates your belief that you are onto something big. All that stands between you and your dreams is more of them. A LOT more.

So – it’s time hit the acclerator on new customer acquisition. The temptation to pour your hard-earned cash into ramping up sales and marketing is strong – but how do you know if your business is truly ready to take that leap?

Those first happy customers – the ones you personally sold – are proof of your perserverance, but they don’t necessarily mean you are ready for growth acceleration.

So how can you know when the time is right?  

The answer lies in brutally honest answers to these 5 Questions. 

1. What Problem Do We Solve?
2. For Who?
3. How Many of Them are There?
4. Why Will They Buy?
5. Why Will They Buy From Us?

1. What Problem Do We Solve?

Addresses:  Why we exist

This first question should be easy. Your company exists because it solves a specific problem—this is your 60-second elevator pitch. The Problem We Solve is your company’s purpose and reason for existence.

2. For Who?

Addresses: Target Market

Who specifically benefits most from your solution? Attempting to be “all things to all people” is a surefire path to mediocrity – or worse, failure. Define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) with precision, using both narrative and numbers.

For Example: “ACME, Inc. provides customer billing solutions to US based health care providers consisting of 10 to 50 employee practices”.

Clarity here sharpens your strategic growth focus and strengthens for target customer identity,

3. How Many of them are there?

Addresses: Total Attainable Market (TAM)

Is your target market large enough to support scalable growth? In other words, is the problem you solve big enough to justify investment? Define your TAM in both the number of prospective customers and the total available dollars in your market.

Be realistic. Avoid industry adjacencies or “every star must align” scenarios. If you need creative justification to make your TAM seem large enough, your target market might be too small.

4. Why will they buy?

Addresses:  Product Market Fit; Customer Need vs. Want

Is your product a “must-have” or a “nice-to-have”? A true “need” means customers willingly trade their money for your product—not just for the initial buy but for renewals and reorders.

Strong product-market fit fuels organic growth and market pull-through. This reduces sales friction and leads to favorable go-to-market (GTM) unit economics. Be fanatical about customer research—understand their likes, dislikes, and continuously improve through an ongoing product-marketing feedback loop.

5. Why will they buy from us?

Addresses: Competitive Differentiation

This is your key differentiator—the reason customers choose you over the competition. What sets your business apart? Is it a superior product? A unique go-to-market strategy? Pricing? Unmatched support?

Whatever it is, ensure it resonates with your ICP (again—customer research!) and clearly articulate this point in your product marketing.

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Answering these five questions with clarity and conviction is critical. However, they do not replace the need for sound GTM unit economics. Building a capital-efficient sales and marketing engine is just as essential for creating a category-leading business.

Stay tuned for more on that topic in an upcoming post.