What Does it Feel Like to be the First Marketing Hire in a Startup?
True Story: What it feels like to be the first marketing hire in a startup and why you should never go at it alone.
I didn’t know what my first job after University would be but I surely didn't expect it to be the first marketing hire in an early-stage startup - and the first female in the business team.
While writing this, I closed my eyes for a minute and did a bit of time travel. I imagined that I became wildly successful as Sam Altman and a journalist asked me if there was anything I’d change in my story. I said none and added a tech broish speech about how everything led me to this path.
But the truth is, if possible, there are a handful of things I’d change. And that’s the goal of the newsletter. To tell you as quickly as possible my experience as the first marketing hire without prior experience - well except for my Hubspot’s content marketing courses - and what I’d have done differently.
Let’s begin.
First what does it feel like being responsible for a startup’s marketing when you’ve never done it before?
Self-doubt, Self-doubt X2, and More Self-doubt
Maybe it’s a woman thing [research shows women are more likely to have self-doubt than men] or maybe it’s a me thing but you’re going to spend a large chunk of your time believing that you don’t know what you’re doing. You come to that point where you realize painfully, that your courses - though helpful - don’t compare in any way to doing the actual work
This is why I advise people I mentor to do a real project. Are you learning content writing? Set up a blog or newsletter and try to grow it. Are you learning social media management? Set up a social media account focused on any niche of your choice and try to grow it. Though nothing can compare with doing “real work”, having your project will cushion the effect of jumping from theory to practice.
I remember the first time I presented my content strategy to the team, I went home convinced that it was absolute rubbish. I was depressed for days before I finally summoned the courage to ask the founder what he thought of it. Turns out that he didn't think that it was that bad.
I don’t know but I think the self-doubt is normal [hopefully, or so far it doesn't get as extreme as mine]. You’re doing something for the first time and there is nobody to show you the ropes. Worse, there is no one to tell you how you’re doing. Trying to juggle these two large balls - doing something for the first time without guidance and having no one to tell you how you’re doing + how to improve - is enough to make anyone overwhelmed.
You’ll be submerged in the trough of sorrow
I think it’s Paul Graham of YC that popularized this term the trough of sorrow. He used it to describe a startup founder’s journey from pre-PMF to PMF. I wish Paul Graham knew that the trough of sorrow is not only for founders. You as an early career professional in an early-stage startup will have an unfair share of it.
The interesting thing about this stage is, you may be doing the right thing but you just don’t know. For instance, how long does it take to see results from SEO? Is the growth too slow or is it normal? What should you measure to show progress? Am I even measuring the right thing? Does [insert founder’s name] value me? OMG, everybody is adding value except me! On and on you go until the sorrow becomes part and parcel of your existence.
What I’d Change About This
I’ve written an article titled Should you take the role of first marketing hire in a startup? I’d suggest you read it. There, I did my best to paint an honest picture of what your life would be like if you took the role of a first marketing hire in a startup [without prior experience].
I am not exactly going to say that if things ever changed, I’d choose a traditional career or maybe work in another startup with marketing leadership. That wasn’t my reality and it may not be yours too. But what I’d have done better is to handle effectively the hand I’ve been dealt. Here’s how to do that:
Read up on what to do when you are responsible for marketing in an early-stage startup. This is critical. For instance, if you knew content writing, you’d jump into content writing once you joined the team. You probably won't do in-depth/broad audience research, figure out your marketing engines, and fuel [yep. Borrowed this word from the MKT1 newsletter.] Simply put, you won't do the foundational work every marketing team needs to do to succeed. And it's not your fault. You just don't know. So your first line of action is to go learn what you should know. I’d recommend the entire MKT1 newsletter for this.
Don’t do so much at once. You’d be tempted to after all, how else will you prove your value? They may want you to do a whole lot at once - after all, everyone thinks everything in marketing is simple and can be done in a blink. But if you do too much at once, you won'tdo a very good job [that you’d be proud of] and you won't have time to double down and get tangible results. SO define 2-3 areas of focus and stick to it.
P.S. It won’t be easy to do this and I honestly wish I could tell you how but I’m still struggling with this 🙂
Don’t do it alone. This is the most important advice and should have come first. Don’t isolate yourself. Don’t think your courses and articles will save you. Find an active community of early career marketers and join. Ask questions. Ask for help. I know for a fact that my life would have been easier if I had done this from the start. Instead, I did it 3 years later. You’d be amazed at how much people are willing to help. I’ve been a recipient of such help. Strangers from the communities I am active on have had 2hours long calls with me on weekends to help me figure stuff out. They’ve responded to my questions with helpful suggestions that changed my work. So, yes, join a community.
If you’re looking for a community for early-career marketers like you, you’re in the right place.
When I started this newsletter, my goal was simple: share everything I’ve learned working in early-stage startups. My hope was and still is to give early-career marketers a resource that will make their jobs easier and make them happier.
Late last year, I read Deb Liu’s newsletter, Perspectives. She wrote about the importance of having your personal board of directors. After reading that, I had the idea to build this community as an extension of the newsletter. My goal is simple: bring early career marketers in early-stage startups together so they can meet other marketers and help each other succeed at their jobs through peer mentorship.
There are tons of marketing communities out there. I know because I am part of some. But this is different because
It is built specifically for early-career marketers in early-stage startups who need help to achieve their marketing goals.
It is a community run by a marketer - me - who has been and is still in your shoes. I am not going to outsource it to a community manager who will post Monday motivation and TGIF stuff. While they are enjoyable, I know that’s not your priority right now.
I am intentional about peer mentorship because I’ve been a recipient and I know it works. We have a channel where you can drop your request, like a journo request and someone or people can set up a meeting and help you with what you're struggling with.
I am intentional about growth. Every month, we’ll have a fireside chat where we will discuss a marketing topic in depth - it could be SEO, growth, or messaging. You leave with new knowledge you need to succeed at your job.
I’m determined to make it easy for you to make friends in the industry. The fireside chats and the 1:1 requests are opportunities to meet people. But I’ll take it a step further with physical hangouts every quarter so you can meet your friends in Slack in real life.
To achieve all these, I am intentionally keeping the group small. Once we hit 100, I’ll stop accepting membership and focus on making our small community tight knight. Become a member here.
If you know any marketer who will benefit from this community, please share this newsletter with them.