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A Startup's Guide to Launching College Ambassador Programs | Future

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In fact, I myself was an entrepreneur in college who tried using an ambassador program on campus as our primary go-to-market (GTM) strategy for my startup, Hang. While Hang ultimately failed (in part due to launching in the middle of the pandemic), I learned a lot of lessons along the way on what works for a college ambassador program – and what doesn’t. When I joined a16z as part of the consumer go-to-market team, I got a lot of questions from startups and brands about how to launch and grow a successful college ambassador program, so I started talking with the campus directors and leads for other ambassador programs. Based on my own experience building Hang and research with both established brands like Bumble, Grubhub and Discord and startups like Fizz and Sidechat, here is a beginner’s guide on college ambassador programs for consumer startups. I’ll cover the what and why, when to launch a college ambassador program, how to get started and metrics for success, incentive structures,

For new consumer startups targeting young people, one of the most popular marketing strategies is an on-campus student ambassador program. Household names like Tinder, Bumble, and Red Bull leveraged these programs successfully in the early days (and still today) to grow their brands across the country, and today’s generation of startups continue to build on this playbook. When done right, college ambassador programs are a low cost way to acquire users, generate buzz, and kickstart the network effects that lead to massive growth and adoption. In fact, I myself was an entrepreneur in college who

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