Creating the Market (CTM) vs. Go-To-Market (GTM) – Don’t Go to Market—Create It First

If You're a Founder Wondering: CTM or GTM—This Is for You

Everyone’s talking about GTM these days. Go-to-market frameworks. GTM tech stacks. GTM org design. But here’s the thing:

You can’t go to a market that doesn’t exist.

Most companies obsess over GTM and forget the most important part—Creating the Market (CTM) in the first place. And that’s the difference between short-term tactics and long-term category dominance.

You're here because you're building something. Maybe your product is strong, your team is sharp, and the vision is clear. But now you’re staring down the go-to-market motion and wondering: Should we just execute better—or is this the moment to create a category and movement of our own?

Let’s break it down. Not as theory. As a real decision you’re about to make.

Why CTM > GTM: The Story Comes Before the Strategy

GTM is a Strategy. CTM is a Story.

Go-To-Market (GTM) is about how you deliver your product to customers. Channels, sales motions, pricing, positioning—it’s the tactical execution layer.

Creating the Market (CTM) is about why your product exists in the first place. It’s the narrative layer. The belief system. The movement.

GTM is a playbook. CTM is a point of view.

GTM speaks to awareness. CTM creates demand.

GTM is the map. CTM is the reason people want to take the journey.

The Archetype of a Founder Who Creates the Market

As a founder, how do you know if CTM is right for you?

Do you see yourself in this archetype?

The Movement Maker

• Believes business is about more than just solving problems—it’s about reshaping reality.

• Obsesses over the why before the how.

• Isn’t afraid to speak boldly, challenge norms, or polarize the market.

• Has an intuitive grasp of narrative and how to rally people around an idea.

• Understands that belief must come before conversion.

• Believes not just in outcomes but impact and builds for purpose not just for profits.

They’re not just product visionaries—they’re cultural architects. They’re not looking to play in someone else’s category—they’re here to build their own.

If that’s you? CTM isn’t just an option. It’s your calling.

CTM Starts with Psychology, Not Product

Great markets aren’t created with spreadsheets. They’re born from emotion, frustration, curiosity, and vision. Movements start when you speak to identity—not just utility.

Ask any category creator what came first: the GTM strategy or the story that rallied people around a new way of thinking? Every time, it starts with:

· A villain worth fighting (legacy systems, outdated beliefs, inefficient processes)

· A mission people can believe in

· A story your audience sees themselves in

CTM answers the questions GTM can’t:

• Who are we for?

• Why now?

• What change are we here to make?

GTM Fails Without CTM

We’ve seen it time and again:

• Great products that go nowhere.

• Launches that fall flat.

• Sales teams asking, “Who exactly are we selling to again?”

Because GTM can only take you as far as the market you've created. If your story hasn’t shifted hearts and minds, no amount of ABM, SDR output, or paid media will save you.

Once the Movement Is Built, GTM Matters More Than Ever

Let’s not throw GTM under the bus—once you’ve created the market, GTM becomes critical.

CTM is about creating belief, momentum, and new demand. But GTM is how you scale that belief with precision. It’s how you deliver on the promise of the movement.

· CTM plants the flag. GTM builds the infrastructure around it.

· CTM gets people to believe. GTM ensures they convert, engage, and stay.

Once the market believes, GTM becomes your engine for repeatability, growth, and category leadership.

CTM and GTM in Action: Data-Driven Proof

Let’s look at some companies that first created the market—then scaled it through disciplined GTM execution.

Salesforce

• CTM: Created the “Cloud CRM” category and killed “on-premise software” with the rallying cry “No Software.”

• GTM: Once the market was educated, Salesforce layered on an ecosystem of sales enablement, consulting partners, and land-and-expand pricing to scale globally.

• Result: $200B+ market cap. Became the default platform in the CRM space.

• If they had only done GTM: They’d be just another CRM company lost in a sea of legacy vendors.

HubSpot

• CTM: Introduced the term “Inbound Marketing” as a rejection of interruptive, outbound lead gen. Defined the problem before selling the product.

• GTM: Created a self-service funnel, content marketing machine, and strong partner network to scale adoption.

• Result: $25B+ market cap. Dominant leader in SMB marketing automation.

• If they had only done GTM: They would’ve been just another email automation tool fighting for lead gen scraps.

Canva

• CTM: Democratized design for non-designers. Positioned itself not as a “Photoshop alternative” but as a movement for creative independence.

• GTM: Product-led growth, freemium model, and viral templates helped Canva scale rapidly across teams, countries, and industries.

• Result: 135M+ users and a $40B valuation.

• If they had only done GTM: They’d still be stuck trying to out-feature Adobe or fight for freelance designers.

Figma

• CTM: Reimagined design as collaborative, browser-based, and accessible. Made “design with anyone, anywhere” its mantra.

• GTM: Focused on virality, team-based usage, and bottom-up adoption within design orgs.

• Result: Acquired by Adobe for $20B.

• If they had only done GTM: They’d be another SaaS tool struggling in a crowded design tech landscape.

They didn’t “go to” the market. They created the market. And once belief was built, they scaled it with repeatable GTM motion.

• Salesforce – Created “cloud CRM,” declared war on software, then scaled with partner GTM.

• HubSpot – Coined “Inbound Marketing,” led with education, then scaled with a self-service funnel.

• Canva – Made design accessible to everyone, then used PLG + templates to scale.

• Figma – Reimagined collaboration in design, then scaled with bottom-up virality.

In the age of AI, you can clone tactics, features and event content. But you can’t clone belief.

That’s what CTM gives you:

• A market that sees your product as the only answer.

• Customers who identify with your brand on an emotional level.

• A competitive moat that is rooted in culture, not cost or code.

Once you have that? GTM becomes the level that scales belief into revenue.

Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Pursue a CTM Strategy

Let’s be real—not everyone should try to create the market. CTM isn’t for the risk-averse.

It’s for the founders who want to change the rules, not just play the game.

If your goal is to build something safe, optimized, and predictable, a GTM-only approach might be enough.

But if you’re the kind of founder who sees a broken status quo and can’t unsee it—who wants to reshape the future instead of settle for the present—then CTM is your path.

· CTM is for the risk takers, the rebels, the visionaries.

· CTM is for people who aren’t just building a company—they’re building a cause.

It’s hard. It’s not always linear. But when it works, it rewrites entire industries.

Why This Matters Now: The Age of AI Demands a New Playbook

We’ve entered a new era—one where AI is rewriting how businesses build, sell, and grow. But here’s the catch: while AI can scale messaging, optimize funnels, and automate engagement, it can’t create belief.

Founders today are finding that GTM playbooks that once worked are losing their edge.

• More outreach doesn’t mean more conversion.

• More automation doesn’t mean more trust.

• More data doesn’t mean deeper connection.

In the age of AI, what’s scarce is not information—it’s meaning.

The founders who win this next chapter won’t be the ones who execute the old GTM motion faster. They’ll be the ones who create the market first. Who define the problem. Who build the tribe. Who craft the story worth scaling.

GTM without CTM is automation without soul. And in the Age of AI – our soul, our humanity is our BIGGEST differentiator.

The Takeaway: Make CTM Your First Move

When you create the market, you're not just acquiring customers—you’re building a tribe. A belief-driven community with shared values, identity, and purpose.

CTM helps you build more than demand—it helps you build culture. A movement your customers are proud to belong to. A mission your team rallies around. A story your market can’t ignore.

Because in the end, people don’t just want to buy from companies. They want to belong to them.

If you want:

• Demand that doesn’t rely on discounting

• Customers who evangelize, not just convert

• A market that moves to you, instead of you chasing it

Then CTM isn’t optional. It’s foundational.

Start with belief. Lead with narrative. Create the market before you go to it.

 Because strategy without story is just noise.

It dazzles the C-suite but leaves the market unmoved.

But when your story moves people?

You don’t chase the market-you become the market.