Now as you’ve pushed past the “10 to 100 customer” hurdle and proved that your startup idea works. Now comes the crucial next phase: evolving your Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy to reach the next thousand users—and beyond. In India’s diverse and rapidly growing ecosystem, scaling a startup means thinking deeply about segmentation, storytelling, and smart distribution.

At Salaah, we’ve seen early-stage founders struggle to scale, not because of bad products, but because their GTM strategy plateaued. That’s why we built the Salaah Startup Launchpad—to help Indian founders go beyond early traction with expert-led guidance on sales, GTM, and hiring. In this blog, we explore how top startups like KukuFM, Classplus, and Zepto evolved their GTM strategies—and how you can, too.

Segment Smarter: Know Exactly Who You're Selling To

Scaling isn’t about selling to everyone—it’s about knowing your best-fit segments. Your first 50–100 users are goldmines of insight. They reveal who values your solution most.

Take Classplus, for example. After finding success with local tuition centres, they didn’t jump to schools or corporates. Instead, they went deeper into the same vertical—onboarding similar coaching centres across Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. This allowed them to fine-tune their product, messaging, and sales playbook.

KukuFM did something similar. Recognizing that 90% of Indians prefer content in regional languages, they doubled down on Hindi and Marathi audio series. Instead of expanding genres, they segmented by language and city tier—unlocking growth from India’s “Bharat” audience.

Salaah Pro Tip: Use customer data to build behavioral cohorts. Which segment has the highest retention? Which city shows the lowest CAC? Tools like Mixpanel or simple Excel dashboards can give deep insights.

Stack Your Channels: Don’t Rely on Just One

Founders often depend too heavily on a single channel—like referrals or LinkedIn. But real scale happens when you layer multiple GTM channels, also known as "channel stacking."

Zepto started with college interns doing on-ground delivery tests. As their model evolved, they added digital ads, influencer campaigns, and strategic brand placements. This mix allowed them to reach both the tech-savvy Gen Z in metros and convenience-seeking families.

KukuFM used a two-pronged approach: YouTube influencers for discovery and in-app referrals for viral growth. Their GTM became a loop—each new user brought more users.

Salaah Pro Tip: Map your GTM channels as experiments. Test Facebook ads for one persona, run referral contests for another, and build community groups for high-LTV users. Salaah’s Launchpad helps you run these tests in 30-day growth sprints.

Refine Your Hook: Messaging That Converts

Most founders don’t revisit their messaging after launch. Big mistake. Your pitch should evolve as you scale.

Classplus went from “app for tutors” to “Shopify for coaching centres”—a sharper, value-driven promise. Zepto shifted their hook from “grocery delivery” to “10-minute groceries,” instantly communicating speed and convenience.

Framework: Pain + Benefit + Proof = Hook

For example: "Tired of no-shows? Use our WhatsApp CRM to 2x your coaching revenue—trusted by 1,200+ tutors."

Salaah Pro Tip: Use qualitative data (sales calls, NPS responses) to tweak your core hook. We offer GTM messaging worksheets inside the Launchpad to help refine your pitch per persona.

Build a GTM Engine, Not Just Campaigns

GTM isn’t a one-time campaign—it’s an engine. That means setting up feedback loops, automation, and consistent experimentation.

KukuFM launched micro-pilots of new content, monitored engagement (e.g., avg. listen time), then scaled winners. This loop helped them grow to over a million paid users without massive ad spends.

Classplus had founders doing demos themselves initially. Then they built a predictable sales process—scripts, CRMs, objection-handling templates. This turned their GTM into a repeatable machine.

Salaah Pro Tip: Start with founder-led sales. Then scale with playbooks, email templates, demo videos, and CRM workflows. Our GTM Toolkit helps you build this engine.

Hire to Scale: Your First Growth Team

Your next hires should multiply your GTM. Early-stage teams need marketers who can run scrappy campaigns, sales reps who hustle like founders, and ops folks who streamline onboarding.

Classplus expanded to 70+ cities by hiring local salespeople who knew the coaching ecosystem. KukuFM hired voice artists and writers fluent in regional languages.

Look for:

• Generalists with hustle

• People fluent in your user’s context (local language, city, profession)

• Teammates who obsess over user feedback

Salaah Pro Tip: Use our Early Hiring Templates to define roles, draft JDs, and assess founder-fit attitudes.

Conclusion: Ready to Scale Smarter?

Scaling GTM in India takes discipline, experimentation, and user obsession. The good news? You don’t have to figure it out alone.

Salaah’s Startup Launchpad is a 6-month hands-on program that helps you:

• Refine GTM with expert mentorship

• Build founder-led sales funnels

• Test new acquisition channels

• Plan key early hires

We’ve helped 100+ Indian founders scale from idea to revenue, and you could be next.

**Check out free GTM guides, sales scripts, and team templates at **Salaah.co.in

Because building in India is tough—but with the right playbook, it’s possible to scale smarter.

Key Takeaways

• GTM should evolve with your user base—segment, test, and re-position

• Use channel stacking to build multiple paths to growth

• Sharpen your hook using real user insights

• Build a repeatable GTM engine with feedback loops

• Make key hires to multiply your distribution power

Explore Salaah’s resources and programs to level up your GTM and scale confidently in the Indian market.