STP for startups: the decision filter for focus

November 22, 2025

You’ve been told to do Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STP). It’s the marketing syllabus. It’s comforting. It’s a three-step process designed to give you clarity. But the comfort is a lie. When you actually try to apply classic STP to a pre-revenue, chaotic startup, it fails. You end up with five fuzzy segments, three appealing targets, and positioning that reads like corporate wallpaper. You didn’t need more options. You needed fewer. You needed a constraint. The problem isn’t the STP letters. The problem is the order and the decision rules. Conventional STP asks you to define *what could be* before demanding you commit to *what must be*. For a builder, this is poison. We like deterministic systems. We need clear input, clear processing, and clear output. You don't have the runway to pursue five markets and test three different positions. You have to commit to one path that is hard to copy and cheap to execute. This is why we use the STP Decision Filter. It reverses the mental model. It focuses on isolating the market so specifically that your Positioning is the inevitable consequence of your Segmentation and Targeting. This ensures your marketing strategy is not a guess, but a necessary conclusion. You can ignore the college textbook version. It was written for companies with infinite budget and established products. Your job is to survive and gain momentum. *** <h2>TL;DR</h2> The STP Decision Filter flips the traditional Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning sequence by using self-imposed market constraints to force uncopyable positioning. *** Short on time? Scroll to the Focus Builder section for the copy-paste prompt. *** <h2>The STP Decision Filter: Use constraint to force early focus for stp startups</h2> When you start with Segmentation, you start too broad. You define everyone who *might* need your thing. This creates a paralysis of choice. You end up trying to sell a universal solution. Universal solutions always sound generic. The Decision Filter uses three non-negotiable constraints, applied in order, to destroy ambiguity and reveal your true market. We don't ask, "Who needs this?" We ask, "Who *must* have this, right now, and why is the competition irrelevant to them?" <h3>Constraint 1: Isolation (Segmentation)</h3> Your segment isn't defined by demographics or industry size. It's defined by an acute, immediate pain point that you are uniquely qualified to solve for a narrow group. You are isolating a cohort that is currently suffering, or who is paying too much for a bad solution. You are not looking for the biggest market; you are looking for the least served market. Conventional segmentation says: "Mid-market SaaS companies, 50-200 employees." Isolation says: "Mid-market SaaS companies (50-200 employees) whose current developer onboarding process takes 4+ weeks and is managed entirely via disorganized Slack threads." That specific pain point is a gift. It means your messaging can be a scalpel, not a blunt object. <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/how-to-define-your-target-audience">How to define your target audience</a> is about finding this pain. Actionable Step: Define the single metric (time, money, resource waste) that your initial segment is losing every week due to the specific problem your product solves. If you can’t quantify the loss, the segment isn't isolated enough. <h3>Constraint 2: Access (Targeting)</h3> Once you isolate a segment, you need to target the sub-set you can actually reach and convert today. You are not targeting people who might buy in six months. You are targeting the people who are currently looking for a solution where you can interrupt their search cheaply. This is the moment to get practical. You may have the perfect product for Fortune 500 companies, but if you can’t get a meeting, they are not your target. We are looking for channels with low competition and high specificity. Forget the noisy channels for now. Look for the communities, forums, and niche newsletters where your isolated segment already gathers to complain about the problem you solve. This is where <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/marketing-strategy-for-startups">marketing strategy for startups</a> gets real. Example: If you isolated "Heads of Growth at mid-stage e-commerce firms who still use spreadsheets for inventory forecasting," your target access is LinkedIn content and dedicated e-commerce operator Slack communities, not broad SEO articles. Permission to Ignore: Stop trying to build a viral loop or launch on TikTok right now. Go where the conversation about the pain already exists. The path to growth is often less glamorous than you think. <h3>Constraint 3: Irrelevance (Positioning)</h3> This is where the power of the Decision Filter pays off. Positioning is not a slogan. Positioning is the inevitable conclusion your isolated, accessible segment draws when they compare you to the alternatives. Your constraints should make the existing competitors irrelevant. Traditional positioning says: "We are the faster, cheaper, better tool." Irrelevance positioning says: "For [Isolated Segment], who need to solve [Acute Pain], we are the only [Product Category] that removes [Specific Cost/Risk] because we are built on [Uncopyable Insight/Architecture]." If you have truly isolated the pain and found a cheap access point, your positioning writes itself. Your unique selling proposition is less about being 'unique' and more about being 'necessary' to the few people you target. It's an isolation maneuver. <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/brand-positioning-for-startups">Brand positioning for startups</a> should prioritize this isolation. Example: If your product automates Slack-based developer onboarding, your positioning isn't "better HR software." It’s "The only tool that turns Slack threads into structured onboarding tickets for scale-up CTOs." This makes Salesforce irrelevant. Reframing Insight: Positioning is not what you say, it's what they can't stop saying about you. If your segment is small enough and the solution is specific enough, the word-of-mouth is automatic. <h2>How to run the Decision Filter in one hour</h2> Your goal is to move from generalized market interest to hyper-specific conviction. This is a small win you can achieve today. First, ignore your product for ten minutes. Write down three things your ideal customer is currently doing manually or dealing with that is irritating and expensive. Choose the most painful one. Second, define the two places online where they currently complain or seek solutions for that pain point. This is your immediate channel list. Third, write the headline of an ad or piece of content that addresses that specific pain point, using language only they would understand. If your competitors could run the same headline, start over. Your <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/value-proposition-examples">value proposition examples</a> should be built on this specificity. The commitment is the mechanism of action. By committing to a small, isolated segment, you gain the clarity needed to write marketing copy that sounds like you read their mind. Actionable Step: Use the headline you wrote in step three as the subject line for five cold emails today. Check the open rate and reply rate. If it's low, your segment isn't isolated enough, or your access point is wrong. *** <h2>The STP Focus Builder</h2> Use this prompt to generate the foundation of your STP Decision Filter. Copy-Paste Prompt: Act as a cynical, hyper-focused marketing operator specializing in early-stage startups. My product is [YOUR PRODUCT DESCRIPTION - e.g., an AI tool that converts video transcripts into 5 social media posts]. My target customer currently suffers from [THE ACUTE, SPECIFIC PAIN POINT - e.g., spending 8 hours a week manually repurposing long-form content, which results in inconsistent publishing and burnout]. Based on this, apply the STP Decision Filter to produce the following: 1. **Isolated Segment:** Define the ultra-narrow segment by job title and context who experiences this pain most acutely, and name the two primary online spaces they frequent for professional advice. 2. **Targeting Hypothesis:** Name the single lowest-cost, highest-intent channel where I should focus 80% of my effort in the next 30 days. 3. **Irrelevance Positioning Statement:** Write a 1-sentence statement that makes the key competitor (manual work or a similar broad tool) irrelevant to the Isolated Segment. Example Output: 1. Isolated Segment: Solo creators or small content teams (1-2 people) managing highly technical YouTube channels (e.g., coding, finance) who frequent r/solopreneur and the ‘Creator Economy’ newsletter on Substack. 2. Targeting Hypothesis: Posting high-value, specific tips in r/solopreneur subreddits, focusing on the pain of manual transcript editing. 3. Irrelevance Positioning Statement: For technical solo-creators, we are the only repurposing tool that automates post-production fact-checking, making generalized content tools too risky for accuracy. This is one of countless interconnected prompts in the system designed to increase your velocity. *** <h2>FAQ</h2> <h2></h2> <h3>Q: If I use the STP Decision Filter, am I limiting my long-term growth?</h3> A: The opposite is true. You are gaining <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/how-to-build-a-marketing-strategy">momentum</a>. Broad targeting is for companies that can afford to wait three years for their message to resonate. Narrow targeting gives you early, specific wins that fund your expansion. You prove the model in a micro-market, then you scale to the macro-market. Focus is a launchpad, not a cage. <h3>Q: How is the 'Irrelevance' step different from standard Positioning?</h3> A: Standard positioning often focuses on feature parity or incremental benefits ("We're faster"). Irrelevance positioning is built on a non-negotiable difference, typically tied to the Acute Pain you isolated in the first step. You should aim to render the competition obsolete for your niche, not merely better. For more on this, review <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/positioning-strategy-for-founders">positioning strategy for founders</a>. <h3>Q: My product is genuinely useful to multiple segments. Should I still choose only one?</h3> A: Yes. Your product may be useful everywhere, but your marketing budget is not infinite. You must choose one segment to communicate with first. Market to them exclusively. Once you dominate that segment and have irrefutable proof (case studies, revenue), you can clone the process for the next segment. Trying to speak to everyone results in messaging that connects with no one. <h3>Q: How can I measure success for my STP decisions quickly?</h3> A: STP success for a startup is measured by the clarity and efficiency of your conversions. If your Positioning Statement (Irrelevance) is working, the Time-to-AHA (the moment a customer understands your core value) should drop significantly, and the cost of acquiring that specific customer should be low because your messaging is so targeted. You are looking for high signal, low noise. <hr> <h2>Start running operator-grade marketing in under an hour.</h2> LiftKit is the only strategy-first AI marketing system built for founders. It distills the same Fortune-500 frameworks used at Apple, Stripe, and McKinsey into a simple, actionable playbook you can run in under an hour. Stop tinkering with tactics. Start operating with strategy. <a href="https://getliftkit.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get LiftKit</a> <h2>Keep learning</h2> <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/frameworks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Frameworks</a>: Learn proven mental models to diagnose, prioritise, and scale marketing outcomes. <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/channels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Channels</a>: Understand which acquisition paths actually work and how to deploy them strategically. <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/messaging" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Messaging</a>: Build positioning, angle, and copy that converts without guesswork. <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Strategy</a>: Make smarter decisions using operator-grade prompts and structured thinking. <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/tools" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tools</a>: Use AI, automation, and practical templates to move faster. <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/research" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Research</a>: Tap into market insights, psychology, and patterns that drive effective marketing. <script type='application/ld+json'> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "Stp for startups: the decision filter for focus", "description": "TL;DR", "articleSection": "frameworks", "keywords": "stp startups, stp,startups,marketing strategy", "author": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "LiftKit" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "LiftKit" }, "url": "https://learn.getliftkit.com/frameworks/stp-startups", "mainEntityOfPage": "https://learn.getliftkit.com/frameworks/stp-startups" } </script>