Should Early-Stage DeFi Projects Still Invest in Community Marketing?

I’m advising an early-stage DeFi project in India with under $2M TVL. The founders are debating whether to hire a community marketer or just focus on dev and audits until mainnet.

Their worry: marketing without a live product looks “empty,” but waiting too long might kill early momentum. In a market where post-airdrop fatigue is real, does community marketing still drive meaningful traction for small DeFi teams?

Or should we wait until the protocol has real liquidity depth before investing in Discord, quests, and ambassadors? What kind of KPIs actually prove ROI in such an early phase?