If you’re an early-stage founder, here’s one of the biggest strategic advantages you’ve got:
You can afford to be weird.
Seriously. You don’t have 10 layers of exec sign-off. You’re not beholden to legacy brand guidelines. No one’s going to fire you for taking a risk, you’re the boss.
And yet… so many early-stage companies default to playing it safe.
Safe website. Safe messaging. Safe content. Safe campaigns.
They look around, copy what’s already out there, and try to fit in when their biggest advantage is the fact that they don’t have to.
Here’s the thing: no one remembers the brand that played it safe.
And let’s be real every category is crowded now.
You’ve got 374 competitors with “AI-powered” landing pages doing the same thing you are. Features don’t differentiate anymore, everyone can build fast now. Your edge isn’t in the roadmap. It’s in the story, the vibe, the feel of your brand.
You remember the ones that made you feel something.
It doesn’t have to be wild or unhinged (unless that’s your vibe then, by all means, go full goblin mode). But it does need to be intentional and authentic.
Here are a few high-leverage places to inject a little weird:
Your homepage – Skip the jargon salad. Say something bold. Something human. Something no one else in your space would dare put above the fold.
Your emails – Write like you talk. Include GIFs. Use subject lines that make people curious or laugh or click out of sheer confusion.
Your onboarding – Surprise people with delight. A quirky welcome video. A handwritten note. A product tutorial that’s actually fun to watch. (Yes, it’s possible.)
Your pricing page – Add personality. Or honesty. Or jokes. Just because it’s a spreadsheet with buttons doesn’t mean it has to be boring.
When you’re small, doing something different is your moat.
It’s how you stand out in a sea of sameness. It’s how you attract people who want your flavor not a watered-down version of something they’ve already seen.
Will it work every time? Nope.
But here’s the twist: even when it doesn’t “work,” you learn faster.
You gather better signals. You find your voice. You attract the right weirdos.
And those weirdos? They’re the ones who become true fans.
They stick around. They refer friends.
So if you’re building something new, do the thing that feels a little scary.
Write the copy that makes you nervous. Launch the campaign your inner voice says is “too much.” Make the joke. Take the swing.
Safe doesn’t scale. Weird wins.
Thanks for reading,
Adam