Startup Marketing Strategy: 20 Best Website Examples
Updated: Oct 5
To click, or not to click, that is the question?
To click through and consume the content which thou art has been written; to suffer through this calamity of long-winded propositions; these throes of product righteousness with its slings and arrows taking up arms against thee prospect; it is but an act of marketing misfortune.
No more into the brand breach, dear marketers.
Keep reading for 20 startup websites that make thee click.
20 best website examples from the world’s top startup marketers.
Jump to a product page
1. Telepath - machine learning platform
If you're still figuring out key taglines. Or still deciding how far you want to push it. This early-stage messaging strategy is for you.
"Build machine learning powered applications without a data scientist," Telepath says.
This is an example of contrasting the prospect's pain against your product's big promise; an approach that relies on leveraging the emotional triggers that ignite people to buy.
This is what Mister Stupid calls "The Old World versus New World Principle."
2. Olipop - healthy prebiotic soda
Rejoice.
After 140 years of waging war on your Uncle Frank's cholesterol, there’s a new fizz-in-a-can that’ll help keep those problematic jokes around through the holidays.
Olipop is a healthy soda alternative positioning against Big Soda. It's an ambition as grand as Napoleon. Thus, the name for this startup marketing strategy as "The Little Corporal Principle."
It says that "Any startup challenger, no matter the size or niche, should strive for the most ambitious vision as it relates to their category, in a goal to be as broadly relevant as their product permits."
In the case of Olipop, "Healthy Meet Delicious" successfully positions the brand into mass marketing territory. All while speaking to the growing niche of soft drinkers who refuse to settle.
3. Created by Humans - AI licensing platform
This is called "The On the Nose When Nobody Knows Principle."
Created by Humans is a first-mover protecting human creative rights against AI. "Our mission is to preserve human creativity and make it thrive in the AI era," says their manifesto.
This is where "The On the Nose When Nobody Knows Principle" comes in. It says that "Any product entering a category lacking mainstream awareness shouldn't sacrifice clarity in the name of creative."
"The AI Rights licensing platform for books," says Created by Humans. *Which also leverages first-mover authority and market leader appeal.
*There's another principle which speaks to this kind of market leader COMMS. See #18 on this list.
4. Granola - The AI notepad for back-to-back meetings
When it comes to product taglines, there's a lot of bad advice.
For example, how many times have you seen marketing gurus share Nike's "Just Do It" slogan as something marketers must mirror?
But when you sell something as simple as basketball sneakers. And you already have a recognizable global brand worth $1.2 billion (in 1988, when Just Do It launched)—then absolutely, create an emotional tagline that gives consumers something to aspire to.
Until then?
Challenge yourself to write the most specific, charismatic product descriptor you can think of. Your sales team will thank you (along with that beautiful product interface like the one Granola achieves above).
5. Revolut - digital finance platform
Course, if you fancy yourself as talented like the marketers at Revolut, you can always marry the two kinds of marketing messaging (functional and emotional). Thus, creating a hybrid brand message.
"Change the way you money" isn't exactly a product descriptor that enlightens people about the skinny on digital finance accounts.
But the mere presence of "money" married with a verb as powerful as "change" is enough to tip off anyone looking to get a different experience from their traditional bank.
And that's exactly what Revolut was writing towards.
6. Mercury - fintech for entrepreneurs
Speaking of finance, I've spent too much time losing my soul in Corporate America to know that "banking" doesn't vibe like this. That's why creatively, we can label this a "marketing masterpiece" from Mercury.
As a fintech competing against corporate banks, their startup marketers are also applying "The New World Versus Old World Principle."
Branding against tradition with the tagline, "Radically different banking." The visual branding also shatters norms for their audience. Specifically, young entrepreneurs who have no interest in banking at some stuffy bank in Midtown Manhattan.
P.S. Remember this Mercury homepage if your product's entering a very traditional industry.
7. OSSO - VR procedural skills platform (nurses)
From OSSO comes another example of "The On the Nose When Nobody Knows Principle."
Thanks to this VR upstart, we're moving into a wonderful world where nurses don't have to train in the line of fire.
In their product page example, OSSO understands that the marketplace is still catching up with their innovation. Therefore, by applying descriptive copywriting, their customers benefit from clarity rather than abstract creative.
DISCLAIMER: "Clarity over creativity" is a cliché that's been oversold. But if you're still in your early-stage marketing, it remains strategically sound. Just make sure you're working towards more emotional, universal creative concepts. As startup brands in their latter stages grow by reaching bigger audiences through broader messaging.
8. Who Gives a Crap - eco-friendly toilet paper
As planet earth's favorite toilet paper startup, Who Gives A Crap is playing the "What's the most memorable thing we can say right now?" game.
I call this example "The Everything Tastes Better With Butter Principle."
Since toilet paper is not a hard concept to understand, Who Gives A Crap doesn't have to explain itself with complex ingredients. Instead, they can skip the product features and layer on that butter baby.
AKA, that simple, emotional, universal, most memorable part of any brand, product, or creative ad concept.
"We're here to uncrap the world," deserves a golden toilet.
9. Heura - plant-based meat
Unlike Beyond Meat or Impossible Burger, whose food feels like it was genetically engineered in some lab by men in white coats like the dinosaur babies in John Hammond's Jurassic Park. Heura Foods has a human origin story behind their plant-based brand.
This is what I call the "The Elephant in the Room Principle."
It's defined by a startup marketer's ability to answer 'the big question' relevant to their category in a way that demystifies perception around their product.
For plant-based brands, that big question is “Are we sure this is real food?”
To address this elephant in the kitchen, Heura leans into the hallmark of their brand, their Mediterranean heritage. They were co-founded by two social activists, Marc and Bernat, in Barcelona, Spain.
"From the Mediterranean to the whole world," the brand proclaims.
By allowing this differentiator to be a face of the product, Heura can address the big question shaping customer perception, while distinguishing themselves in a faceless category.
10. tomboyx - gender-neutral underwear
When targeting an audience as marginalized as the trans community, marketing is an exercise in individuality.
In the individual case of Tomboyx, earning individual trust comes less from proof of product. And more from understanding the hardships facing their individual consumer.
"How hard can it be to make good underwear?" asked Tomboyx founders. "And by that, we meant underwear that anybody could feel comfortable in, inclusive of all sizes and gender expressions."
In startup marketing, no one size fits all. And when it comes to product acceptance, the Who We Are is as important as the product itself.
11. shortwave - AI email automation
As you continue to build your startup marketing strategy, audience segmentation will become more important.
"Search all receipts from the London trip and add them to my expense report," says Shortwave's prompt.
This is an example of use-case marketing. By avoiding generic messaging about what problem the product solves, you become more relevant to the audience your targeting.
In this case, Shortwave's email automation is marketing to a senior leadership segment who doesn't care to waste time on admin.
12. Notpla - sustainable packaging (seaweed)
Notpla.
"LET'S F***ING GO," as Tom Brady would say, with his face aging like Benjamin Button because of the fruits, nuts, and most probably one highly sought-after plastic surgeon in California.
And now, that we're talking plastic. Let's talk Notpla.
This sustainable packaging startup applies "The It's the Economy Stupid Principle." You may have heard this term before. It's the phrase coined by Bill Clinton's Campaign Advisor when the President and his staff were struggling to stay on message during the 1992 Presidential Election.
The idea is that there's one simple message that should be hammered into the minds of an audience. Rather than three or four messages, that while, may communicate a concept more completely, only serves to dilute and distract from the most important message of all.
On this Notpla product page, there's one message communicated four different ways:
The edible bubble made from seaweed
What if packaging was so natural you could eat it?
The breakthrough solution that started it all
It began with a simple question, "how can we package liquid in a way that works in harmony with nature, rather than against it?"
Put simply—it's the seaweed stupid.
13. Givebutter - fundraising software
In any market where the consumer has too many choices, it's best to treat this like an episode of "ABC's The Bachelor."
To start, imagine yourself as a contestant competing for a rose.
After weeks of chasing after a guy who lives on his sister's couch. And witnessing your self-worth vaporize before your eyes like an elementary school bus before a runaway train: You've finally secured the "One-on-One."
It’s the dating card which grants you an exclusive one-on-one date with The Bachelor to convince him you're not crazy.
But startup marketer beware.
This one-on-one isn't a time to just sell yourself. It’s a time to compare and contrast. A time to expose the women in the other room for what they really are.
I like what Givebutter's doing here.
14. Seapoint - AI-native financial platform (startups)
No matter how subtle, alliteration makes a message more memorable. In fact, the more subtle it is, the less gimmicky it feels.
"Full financial control for startups," Seapoint eloquently states.
In five words, the brand is able to communicate the power of their product in a way that's just too easy to forget.
15. DASH Water - healthy soft drinks
Great startup marketers shatter social norms. In the case of DASH Water, their soft drinks made with wonky fruit destined for the trash is a perfect example.
This is what I refer to as "The Island of Misfit Toys Principle."
The principle says that "startups entering traditional categories should lean into marketing concepts that exist outside the social norm."
This storytelling strategy also finds success in Hollywood movies. My favorite was Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon. You remember... the genius janitor who solves impossible math problems?
If not, maybe you prefer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?
16. Athletic Brewing Co. - NA craft beer
If you have a blind date, this is one beer you can drink if you're trying to pretend you're not an alcoholic. But she'll find that out when she takes you home to her parents next Christmas.
Athletic Brewing's founding, was in some way, Christmas morning in this category. They were smart to realize nobody wanted to drink non-alcoholic brews because they tasted like rusty cat piss that couldn't even get you drunk.
If you're not gonna give people the 8am shame, at least give them the flavor.
"Brewed for beers lovers," was Athletic's counter: Non-alcoholic beer that tasted better than even its ABV counterparts.
They redefined a whole category by targeting the people who used to hate their product. Kinda smart.
17. mumumelon - dupe activewear brand
***** * ***** ************.
That first line is what I think about the typical Lulu-lemonhead. I bleeped it out because I started talking to a therapist and were working on some sh*t.
But Mumumelon has taken Lululemon and flipped it on its ass, riding the love and hate of a polarizing brand into the promised land of sustainable fast-fashion.
Is this for real? Is this a marketing stunt? Only time will tell.
But it's a great example of comparative advertising and how you should leverage the polarity of competitor brands. Especially, when you have an anti-Lululemon audience waiting on the other side.
18. &Open - global gifting platform
"The Brand, The Myth, The Legend Principle" helps create a market leader aura around a brand.
This &Open example is a similar approach used by Created by Humans (#3), who needed complete clarity in a category lacking consumer understanding.
But this positioning strategy can fulfill another purpose. Especially for those startups, like &Open, who are first-mover product doubling down on their product positioning for a particular niche.
"The global gifting platform for companies that care," says &Open
This principle may have been inspired by that college football team in Columbus, Ohio. But can't confirm.
19. flashka - AI flashcards
Flashka has three headline versions interchanging on their website.
Generate quality flashcards in seconds
Highlight and understand your notes
Study in the most efficient way
An example of "The It's the Economy Stupid Principle, they're communicating the same message in three different ways: We help improve the way you study.
20. Stupid For Startups - marketing consultant
Like Owen Wilson's speech at the end of Wedding Crashers where Rachel McAdams learns he's a degenerate who likes to "crash weddings to sleep with girls."
Sometimes you just need to say f*ck it "and maybe take a walk... take a chance."
I'm not sure where this is going. But I do know this: If you just take a look around your industry, you'll find so many marketers doing the exact same thing every same day.
But if you can give yourself permission to embarrass yourself and leave the sheeple behind. You may hear crickets around your content marketing for a bit (guilty). But you'll feel confident knowing that you've built something personally sustainable.
After all, no individual idea is realized overnight. They're half-baked in the morning.
In the meantime, in the high-pitched, whispery voice of Mr. Wilson, I tell you ...
"Maybe take a walk ... take a chance."
How to make your startup's product page great?
Let's start by reviewing the principles in this article.
The 8 Original Principles of Startup COMMS & Marketing Stupid featured in article:
The Little Corporal Principle: Embracing a Napoleonic-like ambition, the startup mission is positioned to be as broadly relevant as the product permits.
The Elephant in The Room Principle: The marketing messaging answers the taboo question relevant to the category in way that demystifies product perception.
The On-the-Nose When Nobody Knows Principle: Innovative products coming into brand new categories lack awareness, and should therefore prioritize clarity over abstract creative concepts.
The Brand, The Myth, The Legend Principle: First-movers or category leaders let prospects know they're number one. If not, they stake their claim as a 'fan favorite' or 'beloved brand' in the category.
The Everything Tastes Better with Butter Principle: Startups with established category awareness (especially commodity products), should double-down on emotional messaging concepts that appeal to broader audiences.
The It's the Economy Stupid Principle: Good startup communications is the product of saying the same thing over and over and over again in a slightly different way.
The Rebel With a Cause Principle: Category leaders position against the category status quo with anti-traditional branding that speaks to underserved audiences.
The Internet Killed the Shopping Mall Principle: In the early-stages, awareness grows by targeting early adopters, or what we know as "micro-marketing audiences."
Dear John, that's all she wrote.
- Charley
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