Most startup advice tells you to "do things that don't scale." Cool. But which things?

After watching dozens of founders go from $0 to $1M, the same 3 channels keep showing up in the early days:

1. Cold outbound (DMs, emails, comments)

Not spam — targeted, personal outreach to people who already have the problem you solve. At low revenue, this is your highest-ROI channel because it costs $0 and gives you direct feedback loops.

2. Community-led content

Post in the communities where your buyers already hang out. Not "check out my product" posts — actual breakdowns, case studies, and opinions. Build trust before you build funnels.

3. Referral mechanics baked into the product

The cheapest customer is the one your existing customer brings. Even a simple "share and get X" can 2-3x your word of mouth.

Paid ads, SEO, influencer deals — they all work eventually. But they need budget and time to compound. These 3 work now, with $0.

I write about this stuff every week in GrowthWire. Tactical playbooks for founders who need results, not frameworks.