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Modern Startup Marketing

Modern Startup Marketing

By Anna Furmanov

If you’re at an early stage startup, you're in the right place. Every startup begins bootstrapped/pre-seed/seed and that's such an exciting time but also really challenging. 50%-90% of early stage startups don't make it. A lot of stuff out there focuses on the WHAT (tactics) and is not tailored to your critical early stage so you're not sure what to do. If you do try some things, you're not sure WHY you're doing them. Welcome to Season 4 where I'll be asking WHY to help bring more clarity to the messy world of early stage startup marketing. Learn more about the host at furmanovmarketing.com.
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76 - BONUS 20-Minute Unfiltered Solo Episode With Anna (10 Marketing Questions From Tech CEOs Answered)

Modern Startup MarketingFeb 25, 2022

00:00
21:59
198 - Impressions vs. Engagement: Why Partnering With Smaller Creators Can Actually Be More Effective (Emily Steele, Co-Founder & CEO at Hummingbirds)

198 - Impressions vs. Engagement: Why Partnering With Smaller Creators Can Actually Be More Effective (Emily Steele, Co-Founder & CEO at Hummingbirds)

I’ve often wondered about how influencer partnerships work. I've been involved in a couple, so I get to see examples from the inside. But I wanted to see more examples, so I brought on Emily Steele, Co-founder and CEO at Hummingbirds (Seed funded).


She’s actually built a business around helping brands discover and work with hyper-local content creators. Some of these brands are working with 50-100 creators at once. A lot of what we talk about is very relevant for B2B influencer partnerships.


What does a good partnership look like? How do you know it’s working? Do you need to partner with people that have huge followings? And what are some of the best content creators doing really well?


We also cover:

Hummingbirds' positioning in sales conversations (it's not what you think);

The nuances of measuring the impact of influencer partnerships;

What differentiates an amazing content creator from just a mediocre one;

What marketing big bets are you taking in 2024 and why;

AMA: Emily asks me her burning question.


About Hummingbirds:

  • Founded: 2022
  • Funding: Seed ($4.4M)
  • Description: Grow your business with hyper-local content creators.


You can find Emily on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/emilysteele12

Learn more about Hummingbirds: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.thehummingbirds.co⁠


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building and how it's going >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Mar 25, 202444:35
197 - The Number One Thing Early Stage Startups Need To Do For SEO To Work (Gaetano DiNardi, Growth Advisor)

197 - The Number One Thing Early Stage Startups Need To Do For SEO To Work (Gaetano DiNardi, Growth Advisor)

Gaetano DiNardi is the Growth Advisor for 10 B2B startups. Something you may not know about him is that he spent 5 years as a music producer & songwriter in NYC.


I first learned about Gaetano back in 2020 when he was doing Demand Gen Live sessions with Chris Walker. What I love about his content on LinkedIn is that it’s not fluffy and he's honestly trying to be helpful.


We cover:

Gaetano's past life as a music producer and songwriter;

The MaaS Method (Marketing as a System) has 10 steps, or 3 parts. What do you think early stage startups should focus on out of these 3 parts;

Define lead gen vs. demand gen and pitfalls you see with lead gen strategies;

Advice for early stage startups that are prioritizing SEO as part of their content strategy;

AMA: Gaetano asks me his burning question.


Find Gaetano on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/officialg

His website: https://officialgaetano.com

Link to the LI posts I mentioned in this episode: This post and This post


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:


1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Mar 18, 202453:09
196 - What B2B Startups Can Learn From The Hit Series "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"

196 - What B2B Startups Can Learn From The Hit Series "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"

It doesn’t take magic to make content that resonates. You just have to be real. Show your audience that you get them by understanding their cares, frustrations, and the reality of their day-to-day lives. But to do this, you really have to know your audience and their life experiences.


I was invited onto the Remarkable! podcast to share B2B content lessons from Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It's a children’s book series about a boy named Greg Heffley. More than 290 million copies have been sold globally. 


So what can B2B startups learn from Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Keep listening to find out. It’s pretty remarkable.


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:


1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building and how it's going >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Mar 11, 202446:12
195 - BONUS: Founders That Are Not Bought-In To Marketing Aren't Worth My Time

195 - BONUS: Founders That Are Not Bought-In To Marketing Aren't Worth My Time

Mar 08, 202402:10
194 - Clear Signals That Prove The Impact of Brand on Business Growth (Ari Yablok, Head of Brand at Island)

194 - Clear Signals That Prove The Impact of Brand on Business Growth (Ari Yablok, Head of Brand at Island)

Ari Yablok is Head of Brand at Island (Series C). He joined Island in the very early days, back when they didn’t even have their name out in public. His job was to build the brand from zero.


You rarely get the chance to pitch to a CIO/CISO (their target buyer) so the founders knew they needed to enter that world in a way that sent a very clear signal that this is actually a new conversation. 


How do you send that signal? What kind of message did they use? How do you attract the C-Level with your product when they're so hard to reach? Why did they need to go against all the playbooks in the industry? How do you prove the impact of Brand on business growth? We tackle these important questions with Ari.


We also cover:

What did Ari work on as Head of Brand early stage;

Who was on the GTM team early stage;

Their unique approach to hiring salespeople;

How Island's brand has evolved over the years;

Why building a new category meant they spent more time educating and less time pushing the product;

What marketing big bets they're taking in 2024 and why;

Why they spent years ignoring Demand Gen;

How sales and marketing can play nice and respect their differences;

AMA: Ari asks me his burning question which I will answer in the next BONUS episode.


About Island:

  • Founded: 2020
  • Funding: Series C ($385M total)
  • Description: The Island Enterprise Browser has all the core security IT and productivity needs of the enterprise built into the browser, so work is naturally smooth and secure.


You can find Ari on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ariyablok

Learn more about Island: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.island.io


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building and how it's going >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Mar 04, 202448:35
193 - BONUS: The Problem With Over-Relying On AI At Your Startup

193 - BONUS: The Problem With Over-Relying On AI At Your Startup

In a world where using AI to do more, automate more, get more leads (more more more!) is celebrated, one thing that early stage startups have as the upper hand over larger companies is the permission and ability to do those things that don’t scale. Build community and relationships in unique ways (like with events), be creative, test wild ideas, learn and pivot quickly, etc.


Why might a focus on doing more with AI and automation actually hurt early stage startups?


That's the focus of my conversation with Corrina Owens (Chief Evangelist Officer at Purple Cork). Corrina worked at Gong where she focused on ABM programs and on a Super Bowl ad. Now she's the GTM Advisor for companies like Navattic, GTM Partners, Aptivio and Postal.io.


Purple Cork helps B2B companies create polished events that drive revenue through virtual wine tastings.


We also cover:

The nuances of when it's appropriate to use AI so that you still stand out;

Which AI tools Corrina has been using;

When GenAI tools overpromise but underdeliver;

AMA: Corrina asks me her burning question.


You can find Corrina on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/corrina-owens

Learn more about Purple Cork: ⁠⁠⁠www.purplecork.wine

Direct w/ Corrina and Taylor podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/direct-with-corrina-taylor/id1688175099


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing frameworks, insights, cracking some jokes and keepin' it real


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Mar 01, 202424:44
192 - How And When To Run Scrappy ABM At Your Early Stage Startup (Mason Cosby, Founder of Scrappy ABM)

192 - How And When To Run Scrappy ABM At Your Early Stage Startup (Mason Cosby, Founder of Scrappy ABM)

ABM often gets a bad rap, especially with early stage startups. People think ABM means you’re just running ads to a list of people, or that you need really expensive tech.

A couple of weeks ago I had Trinity Nguyen (VP of Marketing at UserGems) on the podcast and we talked about how she joined an early stage startup and decided to go the route of Scrappy ABM which ended up being super successful for them (90% of their pipeline was generated from this play).

There’s something about ABM when you run it scrappy and Mason Cosby (Founder of Scrappy ABM) joined me on the show to explore.


We cover:

What is Scrappy ABM;

Where does it fit in your business strategy;

When’s the best time to run a scrappy ABM program;

Multiple examples from Mason and from me;

How to create new ABM ideas;

Why did Mason decide to focus on Scrappy ABM instead of Scrappy Marketing or Scrappy Sales;

AMA: Mason asks me his burning question.


You can find Mason on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/masoncosby

Learn more about Scrappy ABM: https://scrappyabm.com/


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Feb 26, 202449:56
191 - Why Your CEO Hates The Marketing Content You're Producing And How To Fix It (John Bonini, Founder of Some Good Content)

191 - Why Your CEO Hates The Marketing Content You're Producing And How To Fix It (John Bonini, Founder of Some Good Content)

Happy Presidents Day 🇺🇸 🎉


Does your CEO like the content your marketing team is producing? Does your CMO? Does your head of Sales? Do you know the answer for sure? Does it matter?


John Bonini (Founder of Some Good Content) has been meeting with founders and marketing execs that have said some variation of the following regarding their content marketing: “We’re doing SEO, but the content is not good, and it’s just not working very well anymore.”


So what’s broken with our content efforts? And how can we fix it? How do you ensure that your content isn’t just being created for the sake of content, but that it actually produces pipeline and revenue?


We also cover:

John's Content Motivation Framework that focuses on buyer motivation instead of a company's funnel;

AMA: John asks me his burning question.


You can find John on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jbonini

Learn more about Some Good Content: www.somegoodcontent.com

John's podcast: Louder Than Words


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Feb 19, 202426:25
190 - I Got Impatient With The Hubspot Playbook And Tried This Instead (Trinity Nguyen, VP of Marketing at UserGems)

190 - I Got Impatient With The Hubspot Playbook And Tried This Instead (Trinity Nguyen, VP of Marketing at UserGems)

Picture this. You’re the first business hire at a 4-person early stage startup. Head of Marketing. So you get hired, and you’re trying to follow the Hubspot Playbook. The problem is, it’s taking too long. You’re impatient. The founders are impatient. You want to see something faster. You need to prove yourself. How do you cut through the noise? How do you get your target buyer to pay attention?


Trinity Nguyen (VP of Marketing at UserGems) was in exactly this situation and shares what happened next. And how what happened next was tied to more than 90% of their pipeline in those early days. 


We also cover:

What was the turning point from Seed to Series A;

Why early stage you need to loosen up your attribution model to get big wins;

Why does marketing fail at the early stage;

AMA: Trinity asks me her burning question. Here's a helpful resource that my SEO expert sent me after this episode was recorded.


About UserGems:

  • Founded: 2019
  • Team: 80 people
  • Funding: Series A ($20M)


You can find Trinity on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/trinitynguyen

Learn more about UserGems: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.usergems.com


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Feb 12, 202451:49
189 - BONUS: What’s My Take On Positioning vs. Strategic Narrative vs. Category Design

189 - BONUS: What’s My Take On Positioning vs. Strategic Narrative vs. Category Design

Happy Friday ya'll.

I just finished a 3-part series of episodes where I explored 3 topics:

  1. positioning
  2. strategic narrative
  3. category design

I hear these concepts being thrown around all the time but I wanted to get to the heart of them. What are the key differences? When should you use one approach over another? And finally, what’s my take? Which one do I think is actually the most helpful for me and WHY? That's what I'm covering in this BONUS episode.


Check out the prior episodes where I actually went through each of these approaches and tried to apply them to my own business.


What’s your take? If you listened to this BONUS episode I’d love to hear from you. Leave me a message on Spotify or shoot me a DM on LinkedIn.


Subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcast.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Feb 09, 202407:39
188 - If I Were To Category Design My Own Business, What Would That Look Like?

188 - If I Were To Category Design My Own Business, What Would That Look Like?

This episode is the 3rd in a 3-part series of episodes where I explore 3 topics:


  1. Positioning (two episodes ago)
  2. Strategic Narrative (last episode)
  3. Category Design (this episode)


I hear these concepts being thrown around all the time but not always fully understood.


What are the key differences? 

When should you use one method over another?

What’s my take on them? Which one do I think is actually the most helpful and WHY? That's comin' in a BONUS episode this Friday.


This episode was recorded for the Category First podcast. Josh Lowman (Founder and CCO at Gold Front) invited me on the show to literally help me category design my business. I love this episode because we are going deep on internal strategy. So I take a first pass and Josh has so much feedback for me, you gotta hear it.


Also in this episode:

Gold Front’s category strategy;

The unique problem my business solves;

Giving the problem a name that CEOs and Founders will connect with;

How to get more specific with language.


You can find Josh on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/joshlowman

Check out Gold Front: www.goldfront.com

Category First podcast: ⁠⁠⁠https://pod.co/category-first


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcast.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Feb 05, 202436:14
187 - I Grilled Andy Raskin On Strategic Narrative And He Was Totally Cool With It

187 - I Grilled Andy Raskin On Strategic Narrative And He Was Totally Cool With It

Hiya! This episode is the 2nd in a 3-part series of episodes where I explore 3 topics:


  1. Positioning (last episode)
  2. Strategic Narrative (this one)
  3. Category Design (next time)


I hear these concepts being thrown around all the time but not always fully understood.


What are the key differences? 

When should you use one method over another?

What’s my take on them? Which one do I think is actually the most helpful and WHY?


Andy Raskin is the master of strategic narrative. He helps CEOs align their teams around a strategic narrative to power success in sales, marketing, fundraising, product and recruiting. Clients include VC-backed companies funded by top VC firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, Google Ventures, and First Round Capital.


Also in this episode:

Quick review of strategic narrative;

What's the best way to write it down;

Strategic narrative is one story to rule it all, from the old way to the new way, but in many cases there are multiple new ways, so how do you convince someone that your way is the best new way;

Investors and employees love old game vs. new game thinking and creating a movement but do prospects actually get it in a sales meeting;

Should you position yourself as an expert and "teach" on a sales call;

Why don’t more companies adopt the Strategic Narrative mindset;

What’s the difference between Strategic Narrative and Category Design;

Andy asks me his burning question.


You can find Andy on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/andyraskin

Andy's website: andyraskin.com

Andy's podcast: andyraskin.com/podcast


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcast.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Jan 29, 202450:10
186 - Why Your Sales Calls End In No Decision And What To Do About It (April Dunford, Positioning Master)

186 - Why Your Sales Calls End In No Decision And What To Do About It (April Dunford, Positioning Master)

Happy New Year! I'll keep saying that until we're well into February. Winter is so much easier when there's something to celebrate!


This episode kicks off a series of episodes where I’m going to explore three topics in-depth:


  1. Positioning
  2. Strategic Narrative
  3. Category Design


I hear these concepts being thrown around all the time but not always fully understood.


What are the key differences? 

When should you use one method over another?

What’s my take on them? Which one do I think is actually the most helpful and WHY?


We start off with Positioning. I am a huge fan of April Dunford and the work that she does so I asked her to come back on the podcast for Round 2. This time we talk about how your Positioning feeds smoothly into your Sales Pitch.


Also in this episode:

April talks about her recent experience launching a podcast;

The goal of a great sales pitch;

What do great sales calls have in common;

How to structure your sales pitch so that prospects are confident making choices;

WHY does structuring your sales pitch in this way work better than other approaches out there;

Applying the Sales Pitch process to my own business;

Why companies hire April (HINT: alignment).


You can find April on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford

April's website: www.aprildunford.com

April's podcast: Positioning with April Dunford


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Jan 22, 202456:47
185 - BONUS: Which Marketing Plays Are Startups Underutilizing?
Jan 19, 202408:21
184 - Two Seed Startup CEOs Talk Marketing Bets In 2024 (Merci Grace and Derek Osgood)

184 - Two Seed Startup CEOs Talk Marketing Bets In 2024 (Merci Grace and Derek Osgood)

Happy MLK Day!


So I did this once before where I had a couple of startup founders join me on the show (check out Ep. 168) and I super loved the dynamic (listeners did too!) so I did it again. 


These are a couple of companies that, at first glance, look and seem similar. They’ve got similar sized teams. They both talk about Growth or GTM which are seemingly similar concepts. But after digging deeper, I realize that they’ve got a bunch of differences. Who they’re for, what they do for their target buyer, pricing structures, etc.


So one of the big takeaways from this episode is I ask a lot of clarifying questions. This is a helpful process, to bring in someone that doesn’t live and breathe your startup, tell them who you’re for and what you’ve built, and then see how much they understand.


We also cover:

Who's on their GTM team and hiring their first marketer;

Why did they decide to go Freemium or Self-Serve right from the start; 

What marketing big bets are they taking in 2024 and why;

What's been the hardest thing about marketing;

Why aren’t prospects inspired to take action, how do you get people to care about what you’re building;

Merci and Derek ask me their burning questions and I'll answer them in this week's BONUS episode.


About Panobi:

  • Founded: 2022
  • Funding: Seed
  • Description: The platform for growth. Metrics, experiments and reports in one place.


About Ignition:

  • Founded: 2021
  • Funding: Seed
  • Description: The GTM Ops platform. AI-powered Research, Roadmapping, and GTM Enablement.


You can find Merci on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/merci

Learn more about Panobi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.panobi.com⁠

You can find Derek on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/derekosgood3

Learn more about Ignition: www.haveignition.com

Link to MKT1 marketing org hiring article that I talk about: https://newsletter.mkt1.co/p/marketing-org-chart


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Jan 15, 202455:32
183 - If Your Startup Can't Win On GTM, We Won't Invest (Emily Kramer, Co-Founder at MKT1)

183 - If Your Startup Can't Win On GTM, We Won't Invest (Emily Kramer, Co-Founder at MKT1)

Happy New Year! I'll keep saying that until we're well into February, and you can't stop me.


I feel like I could talk to Emily for hours every time she comes on the pod. Emily Kramer is Co-Founder at MKT1. MKT1 helps founders and marketers build and scale their marketing functions through investing (MKT1 Capital fund) and advising. Emily was on the pod before, listen to Ep. 141 “Mistakes To Avoid When Hiring Your First Head of Marketing.” It’s a Top 5 most listened to episode of all time.


In this episode:

What are some warning signs you look for before you invest in or advise an early stage startup;

What does "win on GTM" actually mean;

GTM strategy is more than just marketing so why'd you decided to focus all your energy on positioning around "marketing excellence" when you communicate your positioning and messaging and content with MKT1;

I wanted to dig into the MKT1 Capital Fund, specifically return on investment expectations with this fund and what makes you different from other funds;

AMA - Emily asks me her burning question.


You can find Emily on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/emilykramer

Learn more about MKT1: www.mkt1.co


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com/⁠⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Jan 08, 202452:15
182 - Happy New Year! Top Learnings From 3 Years Of Podcasting
Jan 01, 202406:04
181 - BONUS: Do You Know How To Answer "What's The ROI On This?"

181 - BONUS: Do You Know How To Answer "What's The ROI On This?"

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to ⁠⁠⁠https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna⁠⁠⁠ and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.


OK, final episode of 2023! I swear this time, this was just too important to leave until next year.

Just coming off the last episode with Natalie Marcotullio (Navattic) we talk a lot about measuring our marketing efforts. Huge challenge for marketers and founders and will continue to be a huge challenge because the methods we use for marketing continue to change over time: is the stuff we’re doing actually working? Should we start this marketing effort? Should we keep doing this marketing program?


A lot of times we hear the question: "What's the ROI on this?" If you’re hearing that question and it makes you cringe, you’re not alone.


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com/⁠⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Dec 29, 202307:11
180 - Podcast, Ads, Positioning: What's The ROI? (Natalie Marcotullio, Head of Growth & Ops at Navattic)

180 - Podcast, Ads, Positioning: What's The ROI? (Natalie Marcotullio, Head of Growth & Ops at Navattic)

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.


Merry Christmas! You can snuggle up to the fireplace with this final episode of 2023.


I’ve been working with the Navattic team for 1+ years now as an advisor, great team and super love the space they're playing in and the problem they're solving.


I’ve had Natalie on the show before, check out Ep. 139 “To Be The Company That Seems To Be Everywhere, You Need To Eliminate The Funnel Mindset.”


This time we focused on the loaded question "what's the ROI?" on various marketing initiatives.


About Navattic:

  • Founded: 2020
  • Funding: Seed ($5.4M total)
  • Description: Create interactive product demos to let prospects get hands-on with your product (without bugging engineering).

In this episode:

Why did you podcast; Why did you stop; Will you start back up again with the podcast; LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads vs. traditional paid ads and top learnings; The interactive demo space is so competitive, how’re you thinking about your positioning;

AMA - Natalie asks me her burning question.


You can find Natalie on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-marcotullio/⁠

Learn more about Navattic: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.navattic.com/

Check out their podcast Revenue on the Rocks: https://pod.co/revenue-on-the-rocks


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com/⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Dec 25, 202348:12
179 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #10: GTM Strategy

179 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #10: GTM Strategy

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.


It's Season 4 of the Modern Startup Marketing podcast and this episode is me continuing to share ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MaaS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Marketing as a System) which is the systematic approach to marketing that I built over almost 4 years of working with VC-backed early stage startups.


In this episode I cover Step 10: GTM Strategy including what it is, why it's important, who should own this work, and how to do it right. This is the last step of the MaaS process! Let me know if you ever want to dig deeper into any of the steps #1-#10, happy to do that.


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing and advising for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Dec 18, 202311:32
178 - Why Your Logical Marketing Content Is Creating More Doubt Than Trust (Peter Light, Co-Founder & CEO at Lumen Energy)

178 - Why Your Logical Marketing Content Is Creating More Doubt Than Trust (Peter Light, Co-Founder & CEO at Lumen Energy)

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to ⁠⁠⁠https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna⁠⁠⁠ and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.


Peter Light is Co-Founder and CEO at Lumen Energy. Peter and I worked together back in 2021 and at that time Lumen was just a handful of people and they were building out their GTM strategy, positioning, messaging, and team.


About Lumen Energy:

  • Founded: 2020
  • Funding: Series A ($15.3M total)
  • Description: Lumen enables commercial buildings to generate new income from clean energy.

In this episode:

The early days of Lumen Energy (Seed stage) - who did you bring onto the GTM team, what was your GTM strategy;

How did you build trust with prospects as an early stage startup;

What were the high points and what were the struggles at Seed stage;

How much advice did you follow from your early investors;

Why is marketing important and why do you think marketing can be so misunderstood;

AMA - Peter asks me his burning question.


You can find Peter on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/pelight/

Learn more about Lumen Energy: https://getlumen.com/


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov⁠⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Dec 11, 202341:37
177 - BONUS: Why Happiness Is So Misunderstood In Business (Josh Lowman, Founder at Gold Front)

177 - BONUS: Why Happiness Is So Misunderstood In Business (Josh Lowman, Founder at Gold Front)

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to ⁠⁠https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna⁠⁠ and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.


Josh Lowman (CCO and Founder at Gold Front) joined me on the show for the second time for this BONUS episode. Check out Ep. 84 “What I've Learned From Category Designing 50+ Startups” where Josh shares how he's helped startups like Robinhood, Newsela, Uber, Bizzabo, and Clari create and own their category.


In this episode:

Why we leave happiness out of the business equation;

Why happiness matters;

Josh shares two mind tools that can help;

Tying it back to category design (HINT: the world is telling us to be reasonable);

Josh and I category design my own business.

You can find Josh on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/joshlowman

Learn more about Gold Front: www.goldfront.com


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show!


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing and advising for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠


2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov⁠⁠


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello >> ⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Dec 08, 202328:44
176 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #9: Case Studies

176 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #9: Case Studies

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.


It's Season 4 of the Modern Startup Marketing podcast and this episode is me continuing to share ⁠⁠⁠⁠MaaS⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Marketing as a System) which is the systematic approach to marketing that I built over almost 4 years of working with VC-backed early stage startups.


In this episode I cover Step 9: Case Studies including what it is, why it's important, who should own this work, and how to do it right. I'll be mixing in some more ⁠⁠⁠⁠MaaS⁠⁠⁠⁠-focused episodes over the course of the season.


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! I would love that so much.


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing and advising for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠


2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov⁠⁠⁠⁠


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Dec 04, 202309:57
175 - How The Things You Do Early Stage Scale As You Grow (Krish Ramineni, Co-Founder and CEO at Fireflies)

175 - How The Things You Do Early Stage Scale As You Grow (Krish Ramineni, Co-Founder and CEO at Fireflies)

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to ⁠⁠https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna⁠⁠ and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.


This episode is also sponsored by PDCflow, payment management made easy. Visit ⁠⁠pdcflow.com/flow-billing⁠⁠ to learn more.


Krish Ramineni is Co-Founder and CEO at Fireflies.ai and he joined me in this episode to dig into growing from Seed to Series A, top focus areas for growth, their PLG approach from the early days, differentiation in a crowded space, and more.


About Fireflies:

  • Founded: 2016
  • Funding: Series A ($19M total)
  • Description: Automate your meeting notes. Transcribe, summarize, search, and analyze voice conversations.

In this episode:

The early days of Fireflies.ai (Seed stage) - who was on the team, what was your GTM strategy;

What were the high points and what were the struggles at Seed stage;

How do you differentiate from other players in a crowded space (what if your competition can build a better product with better features);

Top 3 things that you focused on to get you from Seed to Series A;

Why is marketing important;

How do you balance talking about the problem (education) vs. talking about your solution with your marketing content;

Why do you think marketing can be so misunderstood;

AMA - Krish asks me his burning question.


You can find Krish on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/krishramineni/

Learn more about Fireflies: https://fireflies.ai/


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! I would love that so much.


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov⁠⁠


3. ⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Nov 27, 202353:20
174 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #8: Designing Other Website Pages

174 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #8: Designing Other Website Pages

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to ⁠⁠⁠https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna⁠⁠⁠ and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.


This episode is also sponsored by PDCflow, payment management made easy. Visit ⁠⁠⁠pdcflow.com/flow-billing⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.


It's Season 4 of the Modern Startup Marketing podcast and this episode is me continuing to share ⁠⁠⁠MaaS⁠⁠⁠ (Marketing as a System) which is the systematic approach to marketing that I built over almost 4 years of working with VC-backed early stage startups.


In this episode I cover Step 8: Designing Other Website Pages including what it is, why it's important, who should own this work, and how to do it right. I'll be mixing in some more ⁠⁠⁠MaaS⁠⁠⁠-focused episodes over the course of the season.


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! I would love that so much.


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing and advising for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠


2. ⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov⁠⁠⁠


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello >> ⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Nov 20, 202311:57
173 - Using Story To Switch From Just A Vitamin To The Painkiller Customers Need (Brad Pedersen, Co-Founder at Lomi)

173 - Using Story To Switch From Just A Vitamin To The Painkiller Customers Need (Brad Pedersen, Co-Founder at Lomi)

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to ⁠https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna⁠ and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.


This episode is also sponsored by PDCflow, payment management made easy. Visit ⁠pdcflow.com/flow-billing⁠ to learn more.


Brad Pedersen is Co-Founder and Chairman at Lomi and Pela. We're focusing on Lomi in this episode (B2C). I always get so many takeaways from talking to B2C startups that I can carry over into B2B, and that's why I love this convo.


About Lomi:

  • Founded: 2022
  • Funding: crowdfunding using Indiegogo ($7.2M!) and then got VC backed
  • Description: electronic device which turn your food scraps, organic waste, compostable packaging and home bioplastics into compost (plant food); they've already shipped 20,000+ units

In this episode:

Why does story matter with your marketing;

How to listen for the problem your customers actually want to hear about;

What is marketing and why does it work;

Why do superfans love Lomi and how do you further leverage that to create more superfans;

What can B2B early stage startups learn from the way that Lomi approaches marketing;

AMA - Brad asks me his burning question.


You can find Brad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-pedersen-77075012/

Check out his book coming out in November: https://startupsantabook.com/

Learn more about Lomi: https://lomi.com/

Learn more about Pela: https://pelacase.com/


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! I would love that so much.


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠


2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov⁠


3. ⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Nov 13, 202352:49
172 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #6 + #7: Homepage Wireframe + Design

172 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #6 + #7: Homepage Wireframe + Design

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to ⁠⁠https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna⁠⁠ and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.


This episode is also sponsored by PDCflow, payment management made easy. Visit ⁠⁠pdcflow.com/flow-billing⁠⁠ to learn more.


It's Season 4 of the Modern Startup Marketing podcast and this episode is me continuing to share ⁠⁠MaaS⁠⁠ (Marketing as a System) which is the systematic approach to marketing that I built over almost 4 years of working with VC-backed early stage startups.


In this episode I cover Step 6 + 7: Homepage wireframe + design including What it is, Why it's important, Who should own this work, and How to do it right. I'll be mixing in some more ⁠⁠MaaS⁠⁠-focused episodes over the course of the season.


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! I would love that so much.


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing and advising for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠


2. ⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov⁠⁠


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello >> ⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Nov 06, 202312:33
171 - Here's What Happens When You Emphasize Content Versus Product (Devin Reed, Head of Content at Clari)

171 - Here's What Happens When You Emphasize Content Versus Product (Devin Reed, Head of Content at Clari)

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to ⁠https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna⁠ and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.

This episode is also sponsored by PDCflow, payment management made easy. Visit ⁠pdcflow.com/flow-billing⁠ to learn more.


Devin Reed is the Head of Content at Clari. Devin was also at Gong for almost 5 years and what's interesting about Devin's background is that he's got both the deep Sales (AE) + Marketing (Content) experience which made for a really great convo.


In this episode:

From AE to Head of Content at Gong, how were you using content as part of your role as an AE in those early days;

What have you learned as an AE that you’re bringing into the way you approach Content (HINT: nobody cares about your product);

How late is too late to talk about your product;

Why you don't need the product to enjoy content and advice;

What scrappy things did you pull off at Gong that worked to drive pipeline and revenue;

How do you think about the interplay of Process for sales plus the Creativity of marketing;

Why is one marketing approach better than another given your company size, team skills, industry, audience, etc;

Why did Devin write his new digital playbook Content That Converts (use the code ANNA for a discount!);

AMA - Devin asks me his burning question.


You can find Devin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinreed/

Learn more about Clari: https://www.clari.com/

The Reeder: https://thereeder.co/

Content That Converts playbook: https://convert.thereeder.co/ Use the code “ANNA” for a discount! 


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! I would love that so much.


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing and advisor for early stage startups >> ⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠


2. ⁠sign up to get my monthly startup marketing newsletter⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov⁠


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me which episodes you've listened to >> ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Oct 30, 202351:44
170 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #4 + #5: Brand Design Guide + Mood Boards

170 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #4 + #5: Brand Design Guide + Mood Boards

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to ⁠https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna⁠ and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.


This episode is also sponsored by PDCflow, payment management made easy. Visit ⁠pdcflow.com/flow-billing⁠ to learn more.


It's Season 4 of the Modern Startup Marketing podcast and this episode is me continuing to share ⁠MaaS⁠ (Marketing as a System) which is the systematic approach to marketing that I built over 3+ years of working with early stage startups.


In this episode I cover Step 4 + 5: Brand Design Guide + Mood Boards including What it is, Why it works, Who should own this work, and How to do it right. I'll be mixing in some more ⁠MaaS⁠-focused episodes over the course of the season. Here's the link to a sample Brand Design Guide, you can make a copy and edit for your own company.


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! I would love that so much.


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠


2. ⁠sign up to get my monthly startup marketing newsletter⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov⁠


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello >> ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Oct 23, 202312:13
169 - BONUS: How To Take Bites Of A Conference Instead of Diving All In And Still Convert Into Opportunities (Daniel O'Reilly, Fuel Sales)

169 - BONUS: How To Take Bites Of A Conference Instead of Diving All In And Still Convert Into Opportunities (Daniel O'Reilly, Fuel Sales)

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to ⁠https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna⁠ and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.

This episode is also sponsored by PDCflow, payment management made easy. Visit ⁠pdcflow.com/flow-billing⁠ to learn more.


I’d just like to take a brief moment of silence to remember those innocent lives that have been lost during the terrorist attacks committed by Hamas in Israel. Especially the children, babies, and families that were asleep in their homes. For all the victims of unspeakable terror, let’s please take a moment.


Daniel O’Reilly (CEO and Founder of Fuel Sales and FuelK12) joined me on the show for the second time for this BONUS episode. Dano is an edtech sales guru and my partner in crime for the Edtech GTM Bootcamp we run for edtech startup founders. I’ve had Dano on before, you should also check out Ep. 117 “Marketing & Sales: Show Some Respect.”

In this episode:

Why does fully understanding your buyer’s pain matter so much for salespeople AND marketers;

How do you know if you really do understand your buyer’s pain;

What results should you expect from a conference if you’re an early stage startup, and should conferences even be part of your GTM strategy;

When is the right time to bring in SDRs versus Head of Sales at your early stage startup;

AMA - Dano asks me his burning question.


You can find Dano on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danoreilly/

Learn more about Fuel Sales including the GTM Bootcamp: https://gofuelsales.com/


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! I would love that so much.


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠


2. ⁠sign up to get my monthly startup marketing newsletter⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov⁠


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me which episodes you've listened to >> ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Oct 20, 202330:54
168 - Technical Seed Startup Leaders Put Their Marketing Hats On + AMA (Tyler Wells and Natan Yellin)

168 - Technical Seed Startup Leaders Put Their Marketing Hats On + AMA (Tyler Wells and Natan Yellin)

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna and use the code MSM23 for 15% off. This episode is also sponsored by PDCflow, payment management made easy. Visit pdcflow.com/flow-billing to learn more. I’d just like to take a brief moment of silence to remember those innocent lives that have been lost during the terrorist attacks committed by Hamas in Israel. Especially the children, babies, and families that were asleep in their homes. For all the victims of unspeakable terror, let’s please take a moment. I ran a bit of an experiment and decided to have two guests on the show with me this time, and learned twice as much. Tyler Wells (Co-Founder and CTO at Propel) and Natan Yellin (CEO at Robusta) joined me on the show. About Propel: Founded: 2021 Funding: Seed Description: Analytics Platform as a Service (APaaS) About Robusta: Founded: 2021 Funding: Seed Description: For DevOps to Monitor their cloud and kubernetes so they can respond faster. In this episode: We all define what is marketing from our POVs; Tyler talks about Propel's most recent conference experience; People don't realize how hard it is to create good content; Why do marketing at all; What has been the hardest thing about marketing; On measuring your content efforts; AMA - both Tyler and Natan ask me their burning questions. You can find Tyler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerswells/ Learn more about Propel: https://www.propeldata.com/ You can find Natan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natanyellin/ Learn more about Robusta: https://home.robusta.dev/ For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! I would love that so much. And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you: 1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> www.furmanovmarketing.com 2. sign up to get my monthly startup marketing newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes 3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me which episodes you've listened to >> www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov


Oct 16, 202359:06
167 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #3: Keyword Research

167 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #3: Keyword Research

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.


This episode is also sponsored by PDCflow, payment management made easy. Visit pdcflow.com/flow-billing to learn more.


It's Season 4 of the Modern Startup Marketing podcast and this episode is me continuing to share MaaS (Marketing as a System) which is the systematic approach to marketing that I built over 3+ years of working with early stage startups.


In this episode I cover Step 3: Keyword Research including What it is, Why it works, Who should own this work, and How to do it right. I'll be mixing in some more MaaS-focused episodes over the course of the season.


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! I would love that so much.


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> www.furmanovmarketing.com


2. sign up to get my monthly startup marketing newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello >> www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Oct 09, 202313:23
166 - How Much To Invest In Crazy Marketing Ideas Versus "Boring Marketing" (Mary Keough, Head of Marketing at Map My Customers)

166 - How Much To Invest In Crazy Marketing Ideas Versus "Boring Marketing" (Mary Keough, Head of Marketing at Map My Customers)

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.

This episode is also sponsored by PDCflow, payment management made easy. Visit pdcflow.com/flow-billing to learn more.


Mary Keough (Head of Marketing at Map My Customers) joined me on the show. Season 4 I’m bringing on mostly startup founders but with Mary I made an exception and you'll understand why when you listen. She's the solo marketer at a Seed stage startup.


About Map My Customers:

  • Founded: 2015

  • Team: 24 people

  • Funding: Seed ($2.9M)

  • Description: The mobile-first CRM loved by outside sales teams.

In this episode:

What did you prioritize as the new head of marketing when you started;

How Mary's strategic marketing approach happens to align with mine;

How Mary measures their marketing strategy while still staying creative and without getting bogged down in attribution;

How to plan for and how much time to invest in “marketing moonshots” or those crazy wild ideas vs. things you kinda know will work aka "boring marketing";

The importance of Time and Effort at an early stage startup;

With marketing, why do some people get it while others don’t;

AMA - Mary asks me her burning question.


You can find Mary on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-keough-437824a2/

Learn more about Map My Customers: https://mapmycustomers.me/


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! I would love that so much.


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> www.furmanovmarketing.com


2. sign up to get my monthly startup marketing newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me which episodes you've listened to >> www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Oct 02, 202347:46
165 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #2: Marketing Foundation Deck

165 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #2: Marketing Foundation Deck

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.


This episode is also sponsored by PDCflow, payment management made easy. Visit pdcflow.com/flow-billing to learn more.


It's Season 4 of the Modern Startup Marketing podcast and this episode is me continuing to share MaaS (Marketing as a System) which is the systematic approach to marketing that I built over 3+ years of working with early stage startups.


In this episode I cover Step 2: Marketing Foundation Deck including What it is, Why it works, Who should own this work, and How to do it right. I'll be mixing in some more MaaS-focused episodes over the course of the season.


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! I would love that so much.


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> www.furmanovmarketing.com


2. sign up to get my monthly startup marketing newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello >> www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Sep 25, 202313:37
164 - Why Do Marketing? Plus AMA (Hayes Davis, Co-Founder and CEO at Gradient Works)

164 - Why Do Marketing? Plus AMA (Hayes Davis, Co-Founder and CEO at Gradient Works)

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.

This episode is also sponsored by PDCflow, payment management made easy. Visit pdcflow.com/flow-billing to learn more.

I'm welcoming my first guest for Season 4 of the show, Hayes Davis (Co-Founder and CEO at Gradient Works). I had Jenn Davis (Co-Founder and CMO at Gradient Works) on the show (Ep. 137 - “Pitfalls to Avoid When Designing Your Startups New Category) so check that out if you haven't yet.

About Gradient Works:

  • Founded: 2020

  • Team: 16 people

  • Funding: Seed ($4.25M)

  • Description: Right rep, right account, right time. Dynamic sales book management software to help sales manage their territories.

In this episode:

Why do so many people love Gradient Works;

Why do marketing at all;

AMA - Hayes gets to ask me his burning question;

We talk about Market Map which is something new the Gradient Works team has built to help sales.

You can find Hayes on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayesdavis 

Learn more about Gradient Works: https://www.gradient.works 


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! I would love that so much.


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> www.furmanovmarketing.com


2. sign up to get my monthly startup marketing newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me about which episodes you've listened to >> www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Sep 18, 202328:55
163 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #1: Voice Of Customer Research

163 - MaaS (Marketing as a System) Step #1: Voice Of Customer Research

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.


This episode is also sponsored by PDCflow, payment management made easy. Visit pdcflow.com/flow-billing to learn more.


It's Season 4 of the Modern Startup Marketing podcast and this episode is me kicking off MaaS (Marketing as a System) which is the systematic approach to marketing that I built over 3+ years of working with early stage startups.


In this episode I cover Step 1: Voice of Customer Research including What it is, Why it works, Who should lead it, and How to do it right.


You can get the link to the playbook I mention in the episode here and I'll be mixing in some more MaaS-focused episodes over the course of the season. Next time I do, I’ll talk about MaaS Step 2: Marketing Foundation Deck which includes the persona(s), messaging, positioning, competitive landscape, and more.


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! I would love that so much.


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> www.furmanovmarketing.com


2. sign up to get my monthly startup marketing newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes


3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello >> www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Sep 11, 202315:59
162 - Kicking Off Season 4!

162 - Kicking Off Season 4!

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna and use the code MSM23 for 15% off.


This episode is also sponsored by PDCflow, payment management made easy. Visit pdcflow.com/flow-billing to learn more.


Happy Labor Day to my listeners in the US!! Hope you're enjoying the time off. Great day to sneak in a little Modern Startup Marketing :)


Welcome to Season 4 of the Modern Startup Marketing podcast. I’m so happy you decided to join me and hear more about where this season is going.


This episode is just me. I do a quick look-back on prior seasons and ask some really important questions to kick things off for Season 4. Let's go!


For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review. I would love that so much.


And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> www.furmanovmarketing.com


2. sign up to get my monthly startup marketing newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba


3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov


You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello >> www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Sep 04, 202311:52
161 - BONUS Customer Conversation (Christina Pawlikowski, CEO and Co-Founder at Causal)
Jul 07, 202314:10
160 - Season 3 Wrap Up!
Jul 03, 202301:08
159 - Podcast Guests Ask Anna Their Burning Questions

159 - Podcast Guests Ask Anna Their Burning Questions

Usually I'm asking my guests all the questions, but sometimes they have a question for me. So I created an episode that’s just guests asking me their burning question and then I answer their question. Some really great, thought-provoking questions in here. People do not hold back.

Here's the full list of people that had questions for me (in order) along with the episode number in case you want to jump back and listen to the full episode:

Jun 26, 202301:01:59
158 - BONUS Customer Conversation (Tyler Wells, CTO and Co-Founder at Propel)

158 - BONUS Customer Conversation (Tyler Wells, CTO and Co-Founder at Propel)

Sprinkling in another customer conversation (love doing these) I asked Tyler Wells (CTO and Co-Founder at Propel) to join me on the show so we could talk about what they're building, what stage they're at, the value they've gotten from working with me as their fractional head of marketing, and how they're ramping their marketing efforts.

Tyler is also the host of the podcast "Data Chaos!" so check that out.

About Propel:

  • Founded in 2021
  • Funding: Seed ($4.6M)
  • Description: 99% of product dev teams waste their time and money when they plan, build and support customer dashboards. Propel helps you ship your customer-facing analytics without hiring more people. Beyond dashboards, they're an API platform to build data applications.

We discuss:

Why'd the team decide to work with me, what were they looking for help with;

What are some of the marketing plays you're running now and how's it going;

Why'd you decide to start the podcast;

How are you thinking about category design for Propel.

You can find Tyler on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tylerswells 

Check out Propel: www.propeldata.com

This episode is sponsored by 43North, a seed-stage startup accelerator that's on the hunt for its next cohort. This year, 43North will make five $1 million dollar investments, each at 5% equity. Visit 43North.org to learn more. Applications close on June 23rd, so get on it!

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Startup marketing strategy, execution and advising (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. Sign up to get my monthly startup marketing newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn >> www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Jun 23, 202322:38
157 - How LASSO Makes Time For Play While Driving Revenue (Drew Brucker, VP of Growth at LASSO)

157 - How LASSO Makes Time For Play While Driving Revenue (Drew Brucker, VP of Growth at LASSO)

Happy Juneteenth to all my listeners!

Drew Brucker (VP of Growth at LASSO, first marketing hire) has been a longtime listener of the podcast and he's one of the people that's given me some great feedback about the show. I decided to invite him on to talk about what he's been building, creative marketing plays, and more.

Prior to LASSO, Drew was the first marketing hire at Fullsteam (a tech payments company) and prior to that he was Head of Brand and Digital at Rubicon (had a successful unicorn exit).

About LASSO:

  • Founded in 2014, based out of Nashville, 80 people
  • Funding: Series A ($7.5M total)
  • Description: all-in-one project and workforce management platform where event and entertainment companies work.

In this episode we talk about:

Unpacking this simple equation: Marketing = Creative + Revenue and what does a bowl of cereal have to do with it;

What does "creative" mean to you;

Top 1-2 creative marketing ideas at LASSO (HINT: using AI, podcast, video);

Drew asks me his burning questions.

You can find Drew on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/drewbrucker/ 

Check out LASSO: www.lasso.io/

This episode is sponsored by 43North, a seed-stage startup accelerator that's on the hunt for its next cohort. This year, 43North will make five $1 million dollar investments, each at 5% equity. Visit 43North.org to learn more. Applications close on June 23rd, so get on it!

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Startup marketing strategy, execution and advising (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. Sign up to get my monthly startup marketing newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn >> www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Jun 19, 202328:59
156 - Gong's Marketing Evolution From Early Stage To Unicorn (Udi Ledergor, Chief Evangelist at Gong)

156 - Gong's Marketing Evolution From Early Stage To Unicorn (Udi Ledergor, Chief Evangelist at Gong)

Udi Ledergor is Chief Evangelist at Gong. He went from marketer #1 to Gong's Chief Marketing Officer and has been there for over 6 years. Udi led the creation of the Revenue Intelligence category, and led the company from zero to hundreds of millions in revenue. He's a 5X marketing leader in B2B startups AND he's also really good at playing the piano.

About Gong:

  • Founded in 2015, based out of SF, 1300+ people

  • Funding: $583M total 

  • Hit unicorn status August 2020

  • Description: The revenue intelligence platform. Gong unlocks reality to help people and companies reach their full potential.

In this episode we talk about:

What does "creative" mean to you;

When have you personally been the most creative (HINT: finding creative ways to solve challenges);

How did you run marketing and create content in the very early days at Gong;

How do you know that your content is actually good;

Are you thinking about content monetization;

How do you balance creativity with results;

Things you focused on as Marketer #1;

On hiring great people to compensate for your weaknesses;

When, why, and how did you decide to define your new category Revenue Intelligence;

How long does it take to build a new category.

You can find Udi on LinkedIn >> www.linkedin.com/in/udiledergor

Check out Gong >> www.gong.io

This episode is sponsored by 43North, a seed-stage startup accelerator that's on the hunt for its next cohort. This year, 43North will make five $1 million dollar investments, each at 5% equity. Visit 43North.org to learn more. Applications close on June 23rd, so get on it!

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Startup marketing strategy, execution and advising (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. Sign up to get my monthly newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn >> www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Jun 12, 202350:45
155 - Anna SOLO episode on productizing my knowledge to help early stage startups (MaaS)

155 - Anna SOLO episode on productizing my knowledge to help early stage startups (MaaS)

I’ve cracked the nut on exactly what early stage startups need help with from a marketing and business perspective, and I wanted to share it with you in this episode. I built a systematic approach, and what’s cool is I can use the system I’ve built over and over in many different contexts.

For example:

  • client work
  • GrowthMentor calls
  • friend calls
  • VC calls
  • accelerator workshops
  • EdTech GTM bootcamp sessions
  • high school presentations (yep, I’ve done this a couple times too)

I always wanted to “productize” my knowledge. So now I’ve got a product and it's called Marketing as a System (MaaS). I just want more early stage startups to apply this system as they're building their companies. Because the results will be MaaSive. Yea. I did that.

Here is MaaS in a nutshell:

  1. Voice of customer research
  2. Marketing foundation deck
  3. Keyword research
  4. Brand/design guide
  5. Mood boards
  6. Homepage wireframe with copy
  7. Homepage design
  8. Other website pages
  9. Case studies
  10. GTM strategy
  11. GTM execution

In this episode, I dive into each part of the system.

This episode is sponsored by 43North, a seed-stage startup accelerator that's on the hunt for its next cohort. This year, 43North will make five $1 million dollar investments, each at 5% equity. Visit 43North.org to learn more. Applications close on June 23rd, so get on it!

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Startup marketing strategy, execution and advising (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. Sign up to get my monthly newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn every week: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Jun 05, 202326:45
154 - To Push Into Creativity, Remove Constraints That Drag You Down (Chris Walker, Founder and CEO at Refine Labs)

154 - To Push Into Creativity, Remove Constraints That Drag You Down (Chris Walker, Founder and CEO at Refine Labs)

Happy Memorial Day!!!

I asked Chris Walker to join me for a second round on the show. Last time he was on was Episode 35 (called “Over-prioritizing sales is your SaaS startup’s biggest mistake”) and that was also a really good one. Towards the end of the episode, Chris has some great questions for me to answer.

Chris is Founder and CEO at Refine Labs. Prior, Chris was the Dir. of Mktg at Eversound, a wellness startup. And prior to that he was at Vapotherm, a global medtech startup that IPO’d in 2018. He's got 128k followers on LI and he's the host of the Revenue Vitals podcast (formerly State of Demand Gen).

Refine Labs is a demand strategy and research firm focused on growth-stage B2B SaaS companies.

In this episode we talk about:

What does "creative" mean to you;

When have you personally been the most creative;

What's your advice for startups that want to experiment more;

How should startups think about creating the best marketing content;

What's your stance on category design, is it worth the effort;

Chris asks me some of his questions.

You can find Chris on LinkedIn >> www.linkedin.com/in/chris-walker-41597028/

Check out Refine Labs >> www.refinelabs.com/

This episode is sponsored by 43North, a seed-stage startup accelerator that's on the hunt for its next cohort. This year, 43North will make five $1 million dollar investments, each at 5% equity. Visit 43North.org to learn more. Applications close on June 23rd, so get on it!

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Startup marketing strategy, execution and advising (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. Sign up to get my monthly newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn every week: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

May 29, 202342:53
153 - How Superhuman Is Changing Habits Using Part PLG & Part Sales (Sei Suriyakumar, Head of Marketing at Superhuman)

153 - How Superhuman Is Changing Habits Using Part PLG & Part Sales (Sei Suriyakumar, Head of Marketing at Superhuman)

There's been a lot of buzz around PLG vs. Sales-led GTM models. Companies that started with one GTM method are exploring others. So I thought this conversation would be super interesting for many as they're thinking about a more blended approach.

Sei Suriyakumar is Head of Marketing at Superhuman. Prior, Sei was Director of Product Marketing at Dropbox and prior to that he held marketing leadership positions at HelloSign (acquired by Dropbox).

About Superhuman:

  • Founded 2015
  • 100+ people
  • Funding: Series C ($108M total)
  • Description: Superhuman is the fastest email experience ever made. Customers fly through their inbox twice as fast as before and save an average of three hours every week. More than half hit Inbox Zero within 4 hours of starting. They've recently expanded from an individual product (B2C) to one that's optimized for teams (B2B).

In this episode we talk about:

How Superhuman has a part PLG + part sales-led model;

How that model started with humans and evolved over time;

First 90 days at Superhuman;

What's working well, what's not;

Sei's thoughts on category creation;

One big thing Sei learned from his experience at Dropbox that he's bringing into his role at Superhuman.

You can find Sei on LinkedIn >> https://www.linkedin.com/in/seiyonne/

Check out Superhuman >> https://superhuman.com/

This episode is sponsored by 43North, a seed-stage startup accelerator that's on the hunt for its next cohort. This year, 43North will make five $1 million dollar investments, each at 5% equity. Visit 43North.org to learn more. Applications close on June 23rd, so get on it!

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Startup marketing strategy, execution and advising (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. Sign up to get my monthly newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn every single week: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

May 22, 202326:42
152 - Simple Frameworks To Define Good Content & Create A Memorable Experience (Obaid Durrani, Head of Content at HockeyStack)

152 - Simple Frameworks To Define Good Content & Create A Memorable Experience (Obaid Durrani, Head of Content at HockeyStack)

Obaid Durrani is Head of Content at HockeyStack. He's also Creator Advisor at Cognism (a Series C startup) and he's the co-host of the Cheat Codes podcast with Todd Clouser who I also had on the show (check out Ep. 148).

Prior, Obaid was Associate Creative Director at Refine Labs. Prior to that he bootstrapped a 5-person content + animation team to $420k ARR.

In this episode we cover:

What does “creative” mean to you;

When Todd was on the show with me (Ep. 148) he talked about 3 content types. Can you help me understand what else is part of your "Easy Mode" framework to build a marketing content engine;

Top 1-2 creative marketing ideas from your past experience;

Where do you get your creative ideas.

You can find Obaid on LinkedIn >> www.linkedin.com/in/obaid-khan-durrani

Check out HockeyStack >> https://hockeystack.com

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Startup marketing strategy, execution and advising (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. Sign up to get my monthly newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn every single week: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

May 15, 202329:37
151 - Are You Spending Enough Time At The (Creative) Gym? (Jay Acunzo, Content Entrepreneur)

151 - Are You Spending Enough Time At The (Creative) Gym? (Jay Acunzo, Content Entrepreneur)

I asked Jay Acunzo to join me (again) on the show because he's a writer and content creator and I believe that we (startup marketers) can learn a lot from people that focus on creative work.

Jay is a writer, podcast host, speaker, and lifelong storyteller on a mission to help you make what matters most. Here's what Jay is up to:

  • Host of the podcast Unthinkable
  • Newsletter “Playing Favorites” that's helping people push themselves creatively
  • Co-Founder of the Creator Kitchen, a membership program helping people push themselves creatively 

Prior, Jay worked in marketing and media roles at Google, HubSpot, ESPN, and VC firm NextView.

Also check out Ep. 99 “What Does It Really Take To Resonate With People?” where we talk about resonance as a top marketing skill, how to write stories that people connect with emotionally, why great marketing is not about who arrives but rather about who stays, how to tie storytelling concepts to the startup world and how can marketers level up (HINT: marketers create a lot of stuff but it’s not gripping).

In this episode we cover:

What does “creativity” mean to you;

Some of the unfortunate impacts of tools like ChatGPT on content creation (HINT: AI is just your intern);

You should care about the results from your content but you also need a space to get better;

Where do many people get stuck in the creative process and what to do about it;

How can marketers bring more of themselves into the work that they’re putting out;

What are you reading and listening to;

Jay asks me his burning question.

You can find Jay on LinkedIn >> www.linkedin.com/in/jayacunzo

Check out his website >> https://jayacunzo.com/

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Startup marketing strategy, execution and advising (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. Sign up to get my monthly newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn every single week: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

May 08, 202354:42
150 - Emotion Is Still The Single Most Powerful Thing That Will Get People To Use Your Product (David Hooker, Brand Lead at Printify)

150 - Emotion Is Still The Single Most Powerful Thing That Will Get People To Use Your Product (David Hooker, Brand Lead at Printify)

I got connected to David through Gidi Pridor (Workvivo) who I super respect, David and Gidi both worked at TravelPerk and Gidi raved about David so of course I wanted to bring him onto the show.

(Check out Ep. 146 where I talk to Gidi about why many startups stop being exciting too early and the advantages of hiring a Creative Director early. Workvivo just got acquired by Zoom.)

David Hooker is Brand Lead at Printify. Prior, David was Head of B2B Content at Gett (a Series F startup). David also built Prezi’s Evangelism and Creative Services teams and he built the Brand and PR function at TravelPerk.

About Printify:

  • Founded 2015
  • Funding: Series A ($54.1M total according to Crunchbase)
  • Description: Create and sell custom products. The tech platform that's made it possible for millions to become global entrepreneurs selling high-quality merch online.

In this episode we talk about:

What does “creative” mean to you;

Top 1-2 creative marketing ideas at Printify;

What makes for an awesome Creative Director / Head of Brand;

What’s your advice for startups that want to push more on the creative side.

You can find David on LinkedIn >> www.linkedin.com/in/hookerdj

Check out Printify >> https://printify.com/

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Startup marketing strategy, execution and advising (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. Sign up to get my monthly newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn every single week: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

May 01, 202331:20
149 - How To Build A Fanbase Like Taylor Swift When You're A Small Startup (Paul Earle, Entrepreneur and Educator)

149 - How To Build A Fanbase Like Taylor Swift When You're A Small Startup (Paul Earle, Entrepreneur and Educator)

There is so much I love about Goodles and so much that both B2C and B2B startups can learn from them.

So I brought on Paul Earle because he was very deeply involved in Goodles' creative work. Paul works with brands on their creative and he teaches innovation, new ventures, and new brand creation at the Kellogg School of Management (go Kellogg!!).

Prior, Paul was the co-founder and executive director of global creative agency Leo Burnett’s “Farmhouse” (its innovation and new venture center).

Jen Zeszut (Co-Founder and CEO at Goodles) joined me for Ep. 95 “This Is Huge: How To Take On Billion Dollar Companies When You're Small” so listen to that one too.

About Goodles: founded in 2021, based out of Santa Cruz (CA) and has 42 people now! (was 24 people last episode). Funding: Seed ($10.2M total). Goodles is noodles, gooder. PROTEIN-PACKED, VEGGIE-BOOSTED mac n' cheese. Yum.

In this episode we cover:

Why the brand name is such pure magic;

Why companies that succeed do so because there's this intense emotional connection created with people;

Why large companies have a hard time launching new products and being creative;

How did you make the Goodles creative so amazing;

What’s your advice for startups that want to push more on the creative side (HINT: great creative pulls your product development forward).

You can find Paul on LinkedIn >> https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulearle/

Check out Goodles >> https://www.goodles.com/

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. I can be your startup's fractional head of marketing (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. You can sign up to get my monthly newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. You can sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn every single week: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov


Apr 24, 202324:50