Jul 12 min read

Series A Businesses Don’t Need CMOs. Prove Me Wrong...

Below is how I see a CMO's first year tenure at a Series A tech business...

🕒 The First Three Months

This is where most of the value is delivered. A high-performing marketing leader should be able to make a huge impact straight away by:

Deep Marketing Audit - Evaluating existing marketing efforts, identifying gaps, and setting benchmarks.
Strategy Creation and Buy-In - Developing a comprehensive marketing strategy and ensuring alignment with the leadership team.
Establishing a High-Performance Marketing Team - Hiring the right talent, firing under-performers, and coaching/mentoring the team to ensure high productivity.
Executing Core and Exploratory Activities - Implementing immediate corrective measures and exploring new marketing channels and strategies.

Graph showing a decreasing trend a CMO spends on high value work — Time a startup CMO spends on high value tasks

💨 Beyond the Initial Phase

There will be moments in the year where a CMO’s skills are needed, such as:

Course Corrections: Adjusting strategies based on performance data.
Re-budgeting: Reallocating resources to maximise ROI.
Cost-Cutting Exercises: Finding efficiencies to reduce expenses without sacrificing growth.

However, unless Series B is imminent, a CMO quickly becomes an expensive marketing manager. Simple businesses with one scalable distribution channel, one geography, and under 100 employees just don’t warrant a full-time CMO. ✅

✂️ Interim, Fractional, or Advisory Role

For Series A businesses, these roles are more appropriate:

Interim CMO - Leading the initial setup and strategic direction on a contract basis.
Fractional CMO - Providing ongoing strategic oversight without the full-time cost.
Advisory Role - Offering expertise and guidance as needed, ensuring the marketing team operates efficiently and effectively.

⚖️ The Current Investment Market

The investment climate today does not allow for slack. VCs and founders must have the right conversations about the necessity and role of a CMO. From my experience, there’s a gap in understanding the optimal use of marketing leadership at this stage.

🧠 What Do You Think?

Do you agree with this perspective? How have you seen CMOs impact Series A businesses differently? Share your thoughts and experiences.

✋Founders, VCs - Get in touch!

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