If you had $100,000 to grow your startup, how much would you spend on marketing? Chances are - not enough. And you wouldn’t be alone. In this episode of Think: Business Futures, Ali Aitken is joined by Dr Ofer Mintz, Associate Professor and Associate Head of Marketing at UTS Business School, whose research uncovers a surprising truth: more than half of startups don’t invest in marketing at all. Ofer discusses: Why marketing is often misunderstood - and misused - by founders How skipping marketing hurts product-market fit, funding chances, and long-term growth Why adding a marketer to your founding team could double your odds of getting funded When to invest in marketing (and what that investment should look like) How to use AI tools wisely, without falling into the ‘shortcut trap’ So what’s going wrong? And what does it really mean to be customer-centric in a fast-moving, resource-strapped startup? Hosted and produced by Ali Aitken