40 - When do you need a truly strategic marketing leader?

Today’s topic comes from a user question on the T2D3 office hours voting app.“What should you look for in a new marketing leader? When should you bring marketing resources in house as you scale and at what level of seniority? […] When do you bring on the strategic marketing resource who helps you develop a true go to market?” It’s hard to bring on a marketing leader for an early stage (MVP) SaaS company. In the beginning, when getting to MVP, you need to answer critical strategic questions: What is your positioning? Who is your product for, and what is your product for? And more. These are questions your founder should ideally address. If you need to pull in outside help though, you must find someone who’s done it before; someone who understands the go-to-market options you have, and is strategic in thinking. Over time, as your growth stage changes, your marketing leader will change too. Once you’ve moved past MVP and are looking to get to PMF, the marketing leader you need is much more tactical. Then, once you’re looking for T2D3 growth, your leader should be strategic again. Today, we discuss all this, and go deep on how to hire the right people for your stage, including what interview questions to ask them, what they should know, and what they should do.  If you like this topic, check out a similar episode, episode 13. PMF checklist