Most marketing funnels are broken and founders don't realize it until they've burned through their budget.

After analyzing 50+ startups that crossed $1M ARR this year, the same three funnel structures keep showing up:

1. The "Value-First" Webinar Funnel

Not the old-school "buy my course" webinar. The new version gives away your best stuff upfront, then sells the shortcut. Conversion rates are 2-3x higher because trust is built before the pitch even starts.

2. The Community-Led Acquisition Loop

Free community → weekly value drops → members invite peers → upsell to premium. The CAC on this is essentially zero once it's running. The key is making the free tier genuinely good enough that people talk about it.

3. The Content-to-DM Pipeline

Post tactical content on social → drive to a lead magnet → follow up in DMs with a personalized offer. This works absurdly well for anything $500+ because it feels personal, not salesy.

The common thread? All three build trust before asking for money.

I break down one of these playbooks every week inside Growth Memo — with real examples, numbers, and templates you can use. It's free to join.