The Exit Five CMO Podcast (Hosted by Dave Gerhardt)

Scaling B2B Marketing at an AI Startup: Channels, Strategy, and Team Ops with Holly Xiao

Aug 4, 2025
Holly Xiao is the Head of B2B Marketing at HeyGen, an AI video generation platform. She discusses the four key channels her lean team focuses on for driving enterprise pipeline and shares insights on using AI video for event marketing and sales enablement. Holly explains the dynamics of running marketing without a CMO and the benefits of adopting a sprint-cycle approach. With practical tips for leveraging AI in marketing, she encourages marketers to rethink team structures and strategies to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape.
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ANECDOTE

Marketing Ops Career Origin

  • Holly discovered her passion for marketing ops by solving real problems at a residential solar company.
  • Creating automated customer email triggers led to positive feedback and became a career turning point.
INSIGHT

Unique AI Startup Marketing Structure

  • HeyGen splits marketing between creator-focused growth and enterprise B2B sales.
  • Holly leads enterprise marketing without a CMO, reporting directly to the CEO with an engineering mindset.
ADVICE

Focus on Key Marketing Channels

  • Focus marketing bets on channels like paid social, account-based marketing, webinars, and field events.
  • Be selective with marketing engines especially as a startup to maximize impact.
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