Here’s a hard truth every modern founder has to face: if you want people to notice your startup, you need to live online — like, really online.
Forget your neatly crafted ChatGPT blog post from last quarter. It’s May 2025, and attention spans are shorter than ever. If you’re not showing up where the internet’s attention is, you’re invisible. That’s why more startups are learning to trend-jack with memes — and it’s working.
Jason Levin, founder of Memelord Technologies, turned this playbook into a seven-figure software business. His strategy? Ride the wave of internet trends the second they break and inject your startup’s voice into the mix — not with dry posts, but with fast, funny, and viral memes.
Why Memes Are the Secret Weapon for Startups
Take the recent “100 men vs 1 gorilla” trend. Before it had time to fade, brands from every industry — from crypto to SaaS — were already memeing their way into the conversation. And it’s not just legacy names like Wendy’s doing it. Today’s fast-growing companies like Polymarket, Ramp, and Beehiiv are building entire social strategies around memes.
Even government accounts are in on it.
So what makes memes so powerful for early-stage startups? Simple: they’re the fastest way to get attention — and attention is everything when you’re new and need traction. It’s the internet’s native format for virality. People don’t want another LinkedIn post explaining your B2B SaaS features. They want something funny. Something fast. Something that feels like it belongs on their feed.
Trend-Jack With Memes — Before The Trend Dies
Trend-jacking is easy to understand, hard to do well, and even harder to do quickly. It means inserting your brand into a viral moment while people still care. The window is small. You’ve got about 24 hours before that trend is old news.
Here’s how Jason did it: when “vibe coding” started bubbling up online, he didn’t write a thought piece. He dropped a meme. A dank one. It took seconds, earned thousands of impressions, and pulled in new followers — fast.
That’s the power of meme-speed marketing. You don’t need to overthink it. You just need to be early, clever, and plugged in.
Here’s the Formula That Works
From years of meme mastery, here’s the 3-part rule Jason swears by:
- Fast: You need to move within hours, not days. Memes go stale quickly.
- Fluent: Use current formats. If you’re still dropping 2012 memes, you’ll look out of touch.
- Fun: Don’t limit yourself to static images. Use video memes, AI face swaps, or even remix trends with your product baked in.
Do that well, and you’re not just gaining impressions — you’re building familiarity and staying top of mind. The more often people see your brand in their feed, the easier it becomes to build trust and recognition.
Ramp is a great example. It’s not just another finance software company anymore. Thanks to its sharp meme game, it’s become cool. Seriously.
Memes Alone Don’t Make Millions — But They Can Get You There
Let’s clear something up. A good meme won’t close a deal for you. No one’s going to buy your AI tool just because SpongeBob is in the punchline.
But what memes do is drive eyeballs. And if your product is already good, those eyeballs translate into signups, leads, and ultimately — revenue.
Need proof?
- Laskie, an AI hiring platform, generated $3M from meme-driven exposure.
- YC-backed 1up gets 33% of customers from memes.
- Momentic books 6-figure deals — all sparked by viral meme drops.
The key is using memes to boost distribution. In today’s noisy feed-driven world, distribution is the real moat. The best product doesn’t win. The best-known product does.
But here’s the warning Jason gives to every founder: if your product isn’t good yet, don’t waste time on memes. Focus on fixing the core offering. Memes aren’t magic. They won’t save a half-baked product.
However, if you’ve nailed your product and you’re struggling to get noticed? Memes are your shortcut to relevance — and relevance drives growth.
