Having a communications expert in the executive team provides valuable insights and perspectives.
The timing of hiring a communications person depends on the company's needs, with consumer companies benefiting from earlier hires.
The first communications hire should possess curiosity, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking, and their role is to identify compelling stories within the organization.
Deep dives
Importance of Communications in Marketing
Communications should not be seen as a separate entity from marketing, but rather as a crucial component. While marketing focuses on value propositions and selling services, communications professionals excel at identifying and addressing issues. Having a communications expert in the room can provide valuable insights and perspectives.
When to Hire a Communications Person
The timing of hiring a communications person depends on the company and its specific needs. Generally, consumer companies benefit from hiring a communications person earlier, while B2B SaaS companies may wait until they have reached a larger size. The first communications hire should be an industrious individual who can unearth stories within the company and build relationships with reporters.
The Role of a First Communications Hire
The first communications hire acts as an archaeologist, digging for stories within the organization. They must establish relationships with customers, marketing teams, and product teams to identify compelling stories. This person should possess curiosity, intellectual horsepower, and problem-solving skills. While tactical abilities like media relations and writing are important, critical thinking and pattern recognition are key qualities to look for in an interview.
Creating Simple and Seamless Loan Processes
The podcast episode discusses how Square, a financial services company, streamlines the loan process by using algorithms to analyze payment volume and determine payment terms. When businesses receive loans, their customers' credit card payments are automatically deducted to repay the loan over time. This approach eliminates monthly payment fees and simplifies the repayment process.
Opening Up Access to the Financial System
Square aims to provide economic empowerment by opening up access to the financial system for those who are typically excluded. They believe that many people are unfairly denied credit and the ability to accept credit cards. By offering easy access to loans and payment processing, Square helps businesses and individuals participate in the financial system, supporting their mission of economic empowerment.
After a comms career at Google, Aaron joined Square in 2011 to lead corporate communications. He went on to join the exec team, reporting directly to Jack Dorsey and leading the comms strategy for Square’s IPO in 2015. In an interesting move, he also took on leading the people organization as well, running both orgs up until he left in late 2020. In addition to lecturing at UC Berkeley's School of Law, Aaron now runs Background Partners, a communications consulting firm.
In today’s conversation, we dive deep into what founders need to know about both external and internal comms. Aaron shares more on:
Why comms deserves its own spot on the exec team and why most founders shouldn’t hire PR agencies.
The jobs-to-be-done of the comms function in the early days of a startup — and why it’s not a good customer acquisition strategy.
A 3-question framework for simplifying your company message early on.
How to prep for interviews and deal with difficult lines of questioning.
How to think about commenting on events in the news, or message layoffs to the team.
Given how much the media landscape has changed in recent years, and how many founders are grappling with internal comms issues these days, Aaron’s advice makes for a valuable listen.
We also recommend checking out his two excellent Medium posts:
