It’s come to my attention that “organic” = “unpaid”. Which, if you know my positioning to viral marketing, I will be the first to say, organic does not mean unpaid CAC.

As a clarifier, “Paid” is one thing only as a term: paid ads.

First update: this includes brand deals with creators.

And you might think that’s obvious but it’s not. Software-specific creator relations is the wild west. And, granted, software is cheaper than physical product to send to a creator, usage is still a cost. This is why I started to think about what was not unpaid.

Influencer programs
Content
Community, in a formal sense

The first, and most natural argument, is that all three of these things are still unnatural in the world of software. This means that it, typically, is not normal for founders of an early-stage company to be good at any of these functions - so they hire them.