As Axl Rose might say, "Welcome to the PLG Jungle."

In the jungle, many startups have solid products but little experience in acquiring customers. 

In general, PLG models almost always look attractive on paper. While there is nothing wrong with trying the strategy out, most companies eventually turn to traditional sales and marketing tactics to acquire customers for a reason.  

Yes, PLG models tend to work better for developer-focused products and solutions, but even then, most companies eventually turn to traditional revenue-generating tactics.

Why does this happen so often in the startup community? The answer is a combination of investor pressure, company leadership, and nominal custom acquisition experience.

Remember that a PLG model is just a fancy way of saying “Word of Mouth.” Ask yourself how much time and financial resources your company has for word of mouth to take hold.

Ultimately, if you find yourself at a startup and your company is going to market, I recommend running both a PLG model and traditional sales and marketing tactics to get your product to market.

The age-old saying that time is money certainly applies here.