Identifying a startup's TG/TA

Read this article in conjunction with viewing my video on TG vs Customer Profile

Video link: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/vinitb_startups-entrepreneurship-founders-activity-6927839792143437824-hoZ9

Q1) How would you suggest a startup go about identifying who their TG really is??

Founders need to do dozens (hundreds) of interviews with "probable/potential users". Keep fine-tuning your filter as you meet more people and learn from them.

Also, whom you interview comes from the original Problem Statement itself. If your startup is solving for some problem, then there is some instinctual filtering of who has this problem.

For example: Rare for teenagers to want to learn about mid-career Upskilling. This would be of value to people who have had 5-7 years of work experience and are now looking to move up. They are in a white-collar job, probably active on LinkedIn and subscribe to specific learning channels on youtube, and so on.

Similarly, rare for people with kids (or unmarried 20-year olds) to want to solve for IVF/fertility issues. This would be more valuable to people who have been married for 5+ years, don't have kids, can afford non-emergency medical expenses, and so on.

These get fine-tuned as you begin speaking to people.

Some other methods:

A) Run el-cheapo ad-words campaigns. Many of them, in parallel.

The response rates are a strong indicator of what type of users like what about your value prop.

Of course, you then need to have conversations with these potential users to correctly prioritize who to include in your TG and who to leave out

B) Start with a wide range, when making assuming demographic data, and then use interview answers, and possibly data from competitors (even the old-world ones you are trying to dislodge) to fine-tune this.

C) Be open to being surprised with what your analysis does to your original assumptions.

Q2) Can there be multiple TGs for different personals?

Yes, founders might be able to come with multiple TG personas, each with it's own compelling problems statement and potential revenue models.

However, early stage startups are better off picking one or, at most, two TGs so they can devote maximum resources at getting PMF for them right. Don't spread yourself too thin in your early days.

I hope this quick guide will help you understand how to go about identifying your TG/TA and optimize the Value Proposition of your product/service for this specific audience.

Thanks to Yash Bhansali of SafeGold for asking these questions in the original video post.