What if we're consumer, not B2B?

The generalist principle still holds, but the profile shifts: growth-oriented marketer with paid acquisition and lifecycle depth, comfortable running experiments at low CAC targets. Content and product marketing are less central than in B2B; performance marketing and retention are more so.

Head of Marketing vs Director vs Senior Manager?

Title matters less than scope and comp. Most first hires are 'Head of Marketing' or 'Director of Marketing' — reflecting that they own the function but will grow into a VP or hire above them later. Naming someone VP first can create issues when a more experienced VP is later needed above them.

How do we measure them in year 1?

Pipeline contribution (marketing-sourced and marketing-influenced), CAC by channel, website conversion rate, content-attributed inbound. Avoid vanity metrics (impressions, followers). Baseline everything at day 1 so trajectory is measurable at day 180.

Startup First Marketing Hire: Profile, Comp, and 90-Day Plan

The first marketing hire at a startup should be a T-shaped generalist who can write, do demand gen, run product marketing, and manage vendors.

Your First Marketing Hire: Generalist Athlete Beats Specialist, Every Time

Startups regularly hire a specialist (SEO expert, paid ads manager, PR person) as their first marketer and then wonder why marketing isn't producing pipeline. Early-stage marketing is a generalist function — the first hire needs to write positioning, produce content, run experiments across 3-5 channels, work with product on launches, and manage external vendors. Specialists at this stage optimize a small slice while the rest of marketing goes unattended.

The right profile

T-shaped: broad exposure across content, demand gen, product marketing, and lifecycle, with one area of genuine depth. 4-8 years of experience, typically at a startup that scaled from your current stage to 3-5x your current stage (so they've done the work you need done next). Strong writer — this is non-negotiable, because everything else follows from clear positioning. Comfortable with being measured on pipeline contribution, not vanity metrics.

What they should own in year 1

(1) Positioning and messaging refresh, tested with customers. (2) Website that converts (homepage, ICP-specific landing pages, pricing page). (3) 2-3 demand gen channels tested with real budget, one scaled. (4) Content engine producing 4-8 pieces per month with SEO and distribution. (5) Product launch process. (6) Basic lifecycle and email marketing. Explicitly not in year 1: brand campaigns, PR agency, events beyond one flagship, complex marketing automation.

Compensation

Typical first marketer at Series A B2B: $140-190K base, $150-210K OTE if variable is included (often 100% base at this stage), 0.20%-0.40% equity. Reporting to the CEO for the first 12 months minimum. Comp plan should not have quota-style variable — marketing at this stage is too dependent on product, sales, and market factors outside the marketer's control to make quota-based comp fair.

First 90 days

Days 1-30: customer interviews (10+), competitive teardown, audit of everything currently in market, sit in on 20+ sales calls. Days 30-60: new positioning draft, website audit and priorities, demand gen experiments defined, first content pieces shipping. Days 60-90: positioning live, website updates shipped, first channel experiments running with real budget, monthly reporting cadence established. If they're still 'getting up to speed' at day 90, it's usually a hiring mistake.

The specialist trap

The most common failure: 'we need SEO/PR/paid ads, let's hire someone great at that.' The specialist arrives, does great work in their slice, and pipeline doesn't move because the other 80% of marketing isn't happening. The fix is sequencing — hire the generalist first (who will figure out which specialists to hire and when, and who will manage vendors in the meantime), then layer in specialists as specific channels prove out. Reverse the order and you get orphaned specialists.

Frequently asked questions

What if we're consumer, not B2B?: The generalist principle still holds, but the profile shifts: growth-oriented marketer with paid acquisition and lifecycle depth, comfortable running experiments at low CAC targets. Content and product marketing are less central than in B2B; performance marketing and retention are more so.
Head of Marketing vs Director vs Senior Manager?: Title matters less than scope and comp. Most first hires are 'Head of Marketing' or 'Director of Marketing' — reflecting that they own the function but will grow into a VP or hire above them later. Naming someone VP first can create issues when a more experienced VP is later needed above them.
How do we measure them in year 1?: Pipeline contribution (marketing-sourced and marketing-influenced), CAC by channel, website conversion rate, content-attributed inbound. Avoid vanity metrics (impressions, followers). Baseline everything at day 1 so trajectory is measurable at day 180.

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