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Hokione
“We've always focused on B2B, and going direct to consumers felt like starting a new company. GTMLab built the system that made it work, and now D2C is a real source of revenue.”
Build the new venture with people who have built one.
For founders, and for companies launching a new line: we find the first customer, design the offer, and land the first sales with you, from idea to go-to-market. Equity-friendly for ventures we would back ourselves.
No commitment. A senior operator reads every request.
- Google Partner
- 200+ brands grown
- $20M+ ad spend operated
- Senior operators only
The growth partner behind brands across Asia.
200+
brands served
$20M+
ad spend operated
Our team’s track record
and 180+ more brands
Meet our clientsVenture design
Most new ventures don’t fail on the product. They fail on the first channel.
Our founders have been in the seat: Kevin Cho co-founded Peeba, a wholesale marketplace for retailers across Asia, and grew it to $20M in GMV, with $8M raised from investors including Y Combinator, Headline and Mana Ventures. We bring that playbook to new ventures and new business lines: the first customer, the offer, the first channel, then the hire who takes over.
- D2C ROAS
- 6×>80×the new line’s first monthfrom 6×, in six months
- New revenue line
- NoneLiveoffline, relationship-led sellingdirect to consumer, from scratch
- Blended ROAS
- —28×at launchheld as investment doubled
- B2B cost per lead
- —−35%+at launchqualified, in the first 3 months
What changed
- The businessOffline, relationship-led sellingA D2C line and a B2B funnel, from one catalog
- DemandHigh-intent searches nobody capturedSearch intent captured, then forked by buyer
- Buyer pathsOne storefront for two kinds of buyerCheckout for shoppers, quotes on WhatsApp for B2B
- MeasurementNo way to measure what soldEvery sale and quote tracked
Figures from the distributor’s own sales data, six months from launch. The chart is indexed to the launch month; the curve between the endpoints is drawn.Read the case study
The short answer
What is venture design?
Venture design is building a new business or revenue line from an idea to a working, measured channel: testing whether buyers want it, designing the offer and the path to purchase, and scaling it once the numbers work. It’s how established companies launch something new without betting the core business on it.
We build ventures with founders and companies, from the thesis to the first customers and the system that scales them.
- Validate
- Prove buyers want it, quickly and cheaply.
- Build
- The offer, the funnel and the tracking.
- Scale
- Grow what the numbers support.
The build
A new channel, built layer by layer.
How a 27-year offline distributor got its first direct-to-consumer line, from captured search to predictable scale.
Step by step
- 6× → 80×+D2C ROAS in six months
- 28×blended ROAS, sustained
- >35%lower B2B cost per qualified lead
Before27 years of offline sellingRelationship-led, with high-intent searches nobody captured
1
CaptureSearch on the brands and parts buyers look for
CTR 7%+2
ForkOne catalog, two buyersShoppersCheckout or a WhatsApp orderProcurementA WhatsApp conversation and a quote
B2B CPL −35%+3
ConvertA D2C funnel on Meta retargeting and catalog creative
6× → 80×+4
ScaleBoth funnels measured, budget following each
Blended 28×Why new ventures stall
Six reasons new ventures run out of runway.
Founders and corporate teams launching something new fall into the same six traps. Every one of them burns runway before the first real customer.
01 / 06
No clear first customer
What’s happeningBuilt for everyone, the first offer convinces no one. The first customer is a decision, not a hope.
Check it yourself30 sec
Describe your first customer in one sentence. Would everyone on your team describe the same one?
How we fix it
One first customer, defined and interviewed.
The offer
Your venture diagnostic, in 5 working days.
Done by the operator who would co-build it with you, measured against revenue, and yours to keep whatever you decide.
- 1
The market read
Where the opening is, who already competes for it, and what they leave unserved.
- 2
The first customer
Who buys first, what they’re trying to solve, and what they will pay.
- 3
The first channel
Where those first customers can be reached, and the test that proves it.
- 4
The 90-day plan, walked through
The moves in order, on a 30-minute call with the operator who did the diagnostic.
Results
New lines we launched, and what they returned.
Measured in revenue, pipeline and customers from each client’s own data.
- 80×+D2C ROAS in six months, on a revenue line built from scratchHokiOne
- $1M+Qualified pipeline from a brand-new channel, validated in 30 daysLion Parcel
- 74×Registration gap closed in 2.5 weeks for a launch eventMegabuild Indonesia
- $20MGMV at the venture our founder co-builtKevin Cho · Peeba
After 27 Years Selling Only to Businesses, a First D2C Channel Built From Zero Hit 80× ROAS
6× → >80×ROAS in six months
0 → 1D2C revenue line, built from scratch
How a Logistics Firm Built a New B2B Acquisition Channel With $1M+ Pipeline in 30 days
>50%Meetings completed to partnership won
$1M+Qualified pipeline generated
200 Sign-Ups, 2.5 Weeks to Opening: How a Three-Track Sprint Closed a 74x Registration Gap
~74×Pre-registration gap closed
5,000+Registered for B2B matchmaking
15 Qualified Meetings at 7–8× ROI: A B2B Pipeline Built in Under 30 Days
15BANT-qualified meetings, under 30 days
7–8×ROI on engagement investment
“They built our entire marketing funnel end-to-end and owned every deliverable. Not an ad-hoc agency you pay to run a few campaigns and hope it works.”
11.11 Bali Retreats
“They understood in hours what took me years, and gave me a clear way forward. If you're pouring money into ads that don't you bring qualified leads, I'd 100% recommend GTMLab to turn that around.”
Balkan Shawarma
“They are truly experts, and we're excited to embark on this incredible journey with GTMLab.”
Global Paws
“In just two months, our business has grown dramatically with more customers coming digitally. I’m extremely satisfied with their services and highly recommend GTMLab to other business owners.”
“We weren't even sure it was possible, and we wanted GTMLab to validate whether there is a way to acquire partners predictably. GTMLab didn’t just answer 'yes'—they proved it.”
The first 90 days
What happens after you say yes.
- Week 1
Find the first customer
We read the market and talk to the people most likely to buy first, and agree what the first offer has to prove. Nothing launches without your sign-off.
You getYour first customer, defined
- Weeks 2–3
Design the offer
The offer, the price and the page, and the first channel test, built around that first customer.
You getAn offer in front of real buyers
- Weeks 4–8
Land the first customers
Two channels tested, three dropped, and the first sales read against the numbers we agreed up front.
You getYour first paying customers
- Day 90
The review
What’s proven, what to scale, and the hire who will take it over, whom we help you recruit.
You getThe plan to scale, and who runs it
Why GTMLab
GTMLab, an agency, or a first hire?
Three ways to take a new venture to market, and what each one actually gets you.
What you getGTMLabSenior operators, judged on revenueTypical agencyPaid by the monthIn-house hireOne person, one channel
Who builds itOperators who have founded and scaled companiesNo: A team that has never launched a companyPartly: A first hire, learning on your runway
What you getFirst customers, not just a launchNo: A brand and a launch campaignPartly: Whatever one person can ship
How you payEquity-friendly for ventures we backNo: A project fee, cash onlyPartly: Salary, equity and training
ApproachTest, measure, drop, then scaleNo: Launch everything at oncePartly: Learned the slow way
After launchWe stay until your growth hire is inNo: Over at the launch partyPartly: One person carrying it all
Time to startDiagnostic in 5 working daysPartly: Weeks of discoveryNo: Months to hire and ramp up
Beyond strategyAds, pages, CRM and data to launch itPartly: Strategy and branding onlyNo: One skill, one person
Who runs your account
Senior operators, on every account.
You speak to the people doing the work, every week, not an account manager relaying messages.
Where our team comes from
- Y Combinator alumni
- Forbes 30 Under 30
- 100+specialists, no junior layer
Leading your account: Kevin Cho, Co-founder, Growth Strategy · Rizky Darmawan, Head of Performance Marketing · Andhika Nurrizky, Senior Performance Marketing Specialist
We don’t get paid for clicks, so we don’t chase them. Every account we take on is wired to the sales in the client’s CRM and judged on them.
FAQ
Before you book the audit
What is venture design?
Designing a new business, or a new line inside an existing one, around a real first customer: the offer, the price, the first channel and the first sales, before the big spend.
Who is it for?
Pre-seed and seed founders who want a co-builder rather than a vendor, and established companies launching a new product line or market. A 27-year distributor launched its first direct-to-consumer line with us.
Do you take equity?
Yes, in select cases. Venture-build mode is equity-friendly (typically warrants or advisor shares) and reserved for ventures we would back ourselves.
How long do you stay?
Typically the first six months: we sit in the strategy seat, build the go-to-market with you, then help you hire the person who takes it over.
What does it cost?
The diagnostic comes with no commitment. If we work together, the fee is set by the scope of the work and agreed with you before anything starts, and it can be equity-friendly for ventures we would back ourselves.
Who will we work with?
Senior operators who have founded and scaled companies, with direct access to our founders. Our CEO, Kevin Cho, co-founded Peeba, backed by Y Combinator, Headline and Mana Ventures.
How quickly will we see results?
The first-customer read lands in week one, and the first channel test usually goes live within two to three weeks, with clear numbers to keep it or drop it.
Do you build the product too?
We focus on taking it to market: the offer, the pages and funnel, the first channels and the data behind them. We work alongside your product team rather than replacing it.
Get started
Find out who your venture’s first customers are.
Pick whichever is easier. Same senior team, same audit, no commitment.
- Tell us what you’re buildingToday
Send the form, or a WhatsApp message with a link or a line about it.
- We run the diagnostic5 working days
The market, the first customer and the first channel, read by a senior operator.
- We walk you through it30 minutes
The first offer and the 90-day plan, on one call.
Request your audit
Takes 2 minutes · No commitmentRather talk it through?Message the team directly on WhatsApp.Chat on WhatsApp
