Building With Buyers: Startup Marketing and Growth Fueled By Customers

*listeners: please fill out this short 3-min. survey to help me level up the show: https://forms.gle/iporNXSgtfuoHSPJA Guys, you're gonna love this episode. I finally got to bring on Pete Lorenco (VP of Marketing at Alyce) to join me on the show. I'm a big fan and you'll soon be too. Prior to Alyce, Pete was VP of Marketing at Avid Technology (a public company) and several other enterprise companies including Iron Mountain and EMC (prior to their acquisition by Dell). Alyce was founded in 2015, has 174 people and is based out of Boston, MA. They've raised Series B funding ($46M total). Alyce provides a better way to do outbound B2B marketing by transforming from transactional touch-points to delivering personal experiences using gifting, swag, and direct mail. Here's what we hit on: I had Dan Frohnen (former CMO at Sendoso) on the show, Episode 16, and we talked about gifting. There are other players in the space, how do you compete; How does gifting work effectively within the buyer journey; Some people will not agree with our POV and why that's a good thing; How is outbound broken today, and what should we do about it; Why certain goals matter in order to create an experience people will love, and what those goals should be; At Alyce you’re sourcing 70% of total new logo pipeline & revenue from inbound marketing - what's your 2022 marketing plan; What channels are you leaning into; How're you setting up effective ABM at Alyce, from your target list of accounts to winning deals; What are your top marketing challenges; What are the last 1-2 really good, creative marketing ideas you/your team has come up with. You can reach Pete on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/peter-lorenco Find out more about Alyce: www.alyce.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! People call me (Anna) the Marie Kondo of startup marketing because I help VC backed early stage startups clean up their marketing mess to uncover more joy (and revenue). For those startups that have already built their marketing foundation and have been testing different marketing plays but just aren't satisfied with the traction they're seeing, I created the Marketing Audit + Roadmap offering. At the end of your audit, you’ll get a custom Roadmap with improvement opportunities for the next 3-6 months. So that you can finally put the missing pieces in place to start seeing more traction and stop spending time and money on the wrong things. You can learn more about it by visiting my website: www.furmanovmarketing.com/pricing You can find me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

*listeners: please fill out this short 3-min. survey to help me level up the show: https://forms.gle/iporNXSgtfuoHSPJA Milestone Episode! I asked Gil Eyal (Founder of Stardust Ventures) to come back and talk with me on the show about startup celebrity partnerships which happens to be a very fascinating topic. In general we talk a lot about and even implement some of the (micro) influencer marketing strategies but I bet you never thought about working with a well-known celebrity to help grow your startup. Stardust invests in early stage consumer startups that want to leverage celebrities to grow their brand. Gil is a long-time friend I met back in business school and was my very first guest on the podcast (Episode 1!) so go back and listen to that one if ya missed it. It's still one of my more popular episodes. In THIS episode we hit on: What makes celebrity partnerships with startups so effective; How does it work; How much do startups pay celebrities; What KPIs are startups looking at; As a startup that wants to partner with a celebrity, where do you even start; In what ways does working with micro-influencers differ from a celebrity collaboration. You can reach Gil on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gileyal/ Check out Stardust Ventures: www.stardustventures.us 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! People call me (Anna) the "Marie Kondo of startup marketing" because I help VC backed early stage startups clean up their marketing mess to uncover more joy (and revenue). For those startups that have already built their marketing foundation and have been testing different marketing plays but just aren't satisfied with the traction they're seeing, I created the Marketing Audit + Roadmap offering. At the end of your audit, you’ll get a custom Roadmap with improvement opportunities for the next 3-6 months. So that you can finally put the missing pieces in place to start seeing more traction and stop spending time and money on the wrong things. You can learn more about it by visiting my website: www.furmanovmarketing.com/pricing You can also find me regularly posting on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

*listeners: please fill out this short 3-min. survey to help me level up the show: https://forms.gle/iporNXSgtfuoHSPJA Here's a TikTok video I made for LinkedIn this week, also sharing with my listeners on here. I'm launching the new EdTech Founders Go-To-Market bootcamp next week (together with Dano who I worked with previously) in case you're an EdTech founder and listening and interested. Companies like Seesaw, Branching Minds, Pear Deck, Yoga Ed, Thimble, Graspable Math, Marker Learning and more have loved the program but it was very sales-focused so now we're adding the marketing side to round it out. Classes start Sept 14th, running for 7 weeks.  90-min sessions plus 1 on 1 time.  You'll get homework and resources. You can learn more and apply by going to the website.  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! People call me (Anna) the "Marie Kondo of startup marketing" because I help VC backed early stage startups clean up their marketing mess to uncover more joy (and revenue). For those startups that have already built their marketing foundation and have been testing different marketing plays but just aren't satisfied with the traction they're seeing, I created the Marketing Audit + Roadmap offering. At the end of your audit, you’ll get a custom Roadmap with improvement opportunities for the next 3-6 months. So that you can finally put the missing pieces in place to start seeing more traction and stop spending time and money on the wrong things. You can learn more about it by visiting my website: www.furmanovmarketing.com/pricing You can also find me regularly posting on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Happy Labor Day to my US listeners! *listeners: please fill out this short 3-min. survey to help me level up the show: https://forms.gle/iporNXSgtfuoHSPJA On this episode I invited Frankie Scerbo (co-founder and CMO at Elude) to join me to talk about the cool travel startup he's helping to grow, their 2022 marketing plan, creative ideas, some challenges, and favorite places to travel. Prior to Elude, Frankie was West Coast Regional Director for EON, a hardware accessory company for the gaming tech industry. Elude was founded in 2019, has 21 people and is based out of CA. They've raised Seed funding ($7.1M total). Elude is the app that helps you wander more and wonder less. You might be wondering “where could we go for $600?” and the app helps you answer that question with a personalized trip list based on your travel preferences and goals. Here's what we hit on: Where did the idea for the startup come from; 10K+ followers on Instagram and 25K+ downloads in the app store within your first 2 weeks of launching – how’d you do that; What did your social media look and feel like; 2022 Marketing Plan - where are you putting your dollars (HINT: downloads and revenue comes much easier from Instagram and email and WOM - events); Our influencer strategy and what content they're sharing; Top marketing challenges; Creative marketing ideas ("The Boring Campaign); Favorite places to travel; Goals that Frankie wants to accomplish this year; Frankie asked me a question to round out the conversation. You can reach Frankie on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/frankie-scerbo-bba2ba81/ Find out more about Elude: https://elude.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! People call me (Anna) the Marie Kondo of startup marketing because I help VC backed early stage startups clean up their marketing mess to uncover more joy (and revenue). For those startups that have already built their marketing foundation and have been testing different marketing plays but just aren't satisfied with the traction they're seeing, I created the Marketing Audit + Roadmap offering. At the end of your audit, you’ll get a custom Roadmap with improvement opportunities for the next 3-6 months. So that you can finally put the missing pieces in place to start seeing more traction and stop spending time and money on the wrong things. You can learn more about it by visiting my website: www.furmanovmarketing.com/pricing You can find me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

*listeners: please fill out this short 3-min. survey to help me level up the show: https://forms.gle/iporNXSgtfuoHSPJA I asked Christopher Lochhead (3X Silicon Valley public company CMO) to come back and talk with me on the show about the things we did not get to cover last time, so here's round 2! Christopher makes content (podcasts, books, newsletters) for entrepreneurs and marketers with a different mind. He's got a newsletter called "Category Pirates" and podcasts (Follow Your Different, Lochhead On Marketing) and books (Play Bigger, Niche Down). Last time he was on the show was last summer! Episode 44. We talked about “Why 98% Of Startups (And Marketers) Waste Their Time”, how companies that lead with category design are valued at 5x more, what makes a legendary entrepreneur, and how to explain category design to a 7-year old. This is still one of my most popular episodes. In THIS episode we hit on: Given all that's happening in the world, is this still an amazing time to be an entrepreneur;  Some startup marketing leaders that have done it are saying you shouldn't create a category! Why are they saying this, what's your take; What's the best way to scale your business fast (HINT: category design, understand the power of WOM and super consumer and having a strong POV); How does one actually go about creating legendary content; What's the difference between obvious vs. non-obvious content; Why solopreneurs (versus corporate) are actually really good at putting out great content; How to generate non-obvious ideas. You can reach Christopher on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/christopherlochhead/ Check out the website: www.categorypirates.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! People call me (Anna) the Marie Kondo of startup marketing because I help VC backed early stage startups clean up their marketing mess to uncover more joy (and revenue). For those startups that have already built their marketing foundation and have been testing different marketing plays but just aren't satisfied with the traction they're seeing, I created the Marketing Audit + Roadmap offering. At the end of your audit, you’ll get a custom Roadmap with improvement opportunities for the next 3-6 months. So that you can finally put the missing pieces in place to start seeing more traction and stop spending time and money on the wrong things. You can learn more about it by visiting my website: www.furmanovmarketing.com/pricing Don't forget to follow me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

*listeners: please fill out this short 3-min. survey to help me level up the show: https://forms.gle/iporNXSgtfuoHSPJA I had Terri Avnaim, CMO at Boulevard, on the show and we talked about how her experience as Chief Customer Officer (CCO) has impacted the way she runs marketing, her 2022 marketing plans plus biggest learnings in B2B marketing tech from 25+ years experience. Prior to Boulevard, Terri was Chief Customer and Marketing Officer at Sauce Labs ($151M funded SaaS).  Boulevard was founded in 2016, has ~309 people, and is based out of CA. They've raised Series B ($38M total). Boulevard is a platform that’s helping to streamline the operations of appointment-based self-care businesses (e.g. salons, spas, barbershops). From a customer: “Boulevard is the Apple of salon software.” Here's what we hit on: Terri's background as Chief Customer Officer and how that impacts her approach to marketing; 2022 marketing plan during the downturn (HINT: we tripled our marketing team in 6 months); What marketing channels are you leaning into; What marketing content are you leaning into; Top marketing challenges (HINT: this is a very emotionally charged industry); Biggest learning from 25+ years in B2B marketing tech; What has changed with marketing and what do marketing leaders need to do to adapt to this change (HINT: the best marketing is invisible, but make sure your effort doesn't disappear); Some goals you want to accomplish (personal, professional) in 2022; Terri asked me a question to round out the conversation. You can reach Terri on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/terriavnaim Find out more about Boulevard: www.joinblvd.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! People call me (Anna) the Marie Kondo of startup marketing because I help VC backed early stage startups clean up their marketing mess to uncover more joy (and revenue). For those startups that have already built their marketing foundation and have been testing different marketing plays but just aren't satisfied with the traction they're seeing, I created the Marketing Audit + Roadmap offering. At the end of your audit, you’ll get a custom Roadmap with improvement opportunities for the next 3-6 months. So that you can finally put the missing pieces in place to start seeing more traction and stop spending time and money on the wrong things. You can learn more about it by visiting my website: www.furmanovmarketing.com/pricing You can find me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

*listeners: please fill out this short 3-min. survey to help me level up the show: https://forms.gle/iporNXSgtfuoHSPJA In this episode I’m getting interviewed by Spyros Tsoukalas (Head of BD at GrowthMentor) and we talk through how to navigate through marketing chaos by prioritizing marketing efforts for early stage startups. I've been a mentor on GrowthMentor for 8 months and have really enjoyed having 1:1 conversations with founders and marketers that have very specific marketing and growth questions related to what they're building and I can spend 30 minutes just helping them out. It's a wonderful community and I highly recommend it whether you're a founder/marketer looking for help or a mentor looking to help. Main topics we cover: The problem with startups' approach to marketing efforts; What to do instead, how to prioritize your marketing; What types of things should be done first, second, etc; How marketing buzzwords confuse founders and marketers and how to think about it instead. The original podcast show notes appear here: www.growthmentor.com/podcasts/prioritizing-marketing-efforts/ GrowthMentor's website: www.growthmentor.com/ My profile on GrowthMentor: app.growthmentor.com/mentors/anna-furmanov 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! People call me (Anna) the Marie Kondo of startup marketing because I help VC backed early stage startups clean up their marketing mess to uncover more joy (and revenue). For those startups that have already built their marketing foundation and have been testing different marketing plays but just aren't satisfied with the traction they're seeing, I created the Marketing Audit + Roadmap offering. At the end of your audit, you’ll get a custom Roadmap with improvement opportunities for the next 3-6 months. So that you can finally put the missing pieces in place to start seeing more traction and stop spending time and money on the wrong things. You can learn more about it by visiting my website: www.furmanovmarketing.com/pricing You can also connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

*listeners: please fill out this short 3-min. survey to help me level up the show: https://forms.gle/iporNXSgtfuoHSPJA A bit of a different flavor for this episode! I had my friend Lina Erez on the show, she works with brands and people that are pushing for positive change, to design their story and spark action. Lina's got a whole slew of clients including Adler Planetarium, BallotReady and Birthright Israel. Here's what we hit on: When you say “pushing for positive change” what does that actually mean (aren't we all pushing for positive change); How do you help brands design their story for action, what’s your process; What do many companies get wrong when it comes to brand design (HINT: a lot of times they're looking for BIG and BOLD but that's actually not what you want to do, you want to think about your BIG idea); What has been your favorite project; Goals for this year. You can reach Lina on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/linaerez/ Check out her website: www.talinadesign.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! People call me (Anna) the Marie Kondo of startup marketing because I help VC backed early stage startups clean up their marketing mess to uncover more joy (and revenue). For those startups that have already built their marketing foundation and have been testing different marketing plays but just aren't satisfied with the traction they're seeing, I created the Marketing Audit + Roadmap offering. At the end of your audit, you’ll get a custom Roadmap with improvement opportunities for the next 3-6 months. So that you can finally put the missing pieces in place to start seeing more traction and stop spending time and money on the wrong things. You can learn more about it by visiting my website: www.furmanovmarketing.com/pricing You can also connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov Thanks for listening and don't forget to leave a review!

*listeners: please fill out this short 3-min. survey to help me level up the show: https://forms.gle/iporNXSgtfuoHSPJA I'm such a big fan of April Dunford. I've read her book "Obviously Awesome - How to Stand Out in Noisy Crowded Markets" and consider her the startup positioning pro. April Dunford is founder and CEO of Ambient Strategy, a consulting firm that specializes in positioning for tech companies. April has worked with 200+ companies across the globe. For early stage startups her focus is on GTM strategy, she also works with large companies on new product intros and market positioning. Prior, April held executive roles in a series of successful startups as CEO, COO, VP Marketing and VP Marketing and Sales. Here's what we hit on: Where most companies go wrong with their positioning; April's approach to positioning for early stage startups (HINT: ask customers to "take me back before you bought our stuff, what was the trigger"); There's a handful of things that are important early stage when you only have your first few customers; After you get your first customers that love you and learn more about why, then start working on your GTM strategy; What are your top challenges, what are you trying to figure out these days. You can reach April on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ Check out her website: www.aprildunford.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! People call me (Anna) the Marie Kondo of startup marketing because I help VC backed early stage startups clean up their marketing mess to uncover more joy (and revenue). For those startups that have already built their marketing foundation and have been testing different marketing plays but just aren't satisfied with the traction they're seeing, I created the Marketing Audit + Roadmap offering. At the end of your audit, you’ll get a custom Roadmap with improvement opportunities for the next 3-6 months. So that you can finally put the missing pieces in place to start seeing more traction and stop spending time and money on the wrong things. You can learn more about it by visiting my website: www.furmanovmarketing.com/pricing You can also connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

I invited Lee Anne Grant, Chief Growth Officer at babylist, onto the show and we unpacked some very cool stuff happening at their startup. Prior to babylist, Lee Anne held sales roles at Google, AOL, POPSUGAR and Brandless. Babylist was founded in 2011, has 212 people, and is based out of CA (also remote). They've raised Series C ($40.7M total). Babylist is the leading vertical marketplace and commerce destination for baby, driving purchase decisions for more than 8 million people each year! Babylist is way more than a baby registry and we talk about those different revenue streams. Here's what we hit on: You’ve been in sales for much of your career and now you’re CGO. What does that mean, what are you in charge of, and how does that impact how you lead; Babylist is a commerce company that has a media business - tell me more about how this works and how that affects your marketing decisions (HINT: having 3 revenue streams is incredibly intellectually interesting); Tell me more about your growth strategy during this downturn, where are you putting your dollars, what marketing channels are you leaning into; Their Halsey influencer story and how that has impacted their growth; What kinds of marketing content are you leaning into; What are the last 1-2 really good, creative marketing ideas you’ve come up with (HINT: in-person plays plus the metaverse); What are your top marketing challenges; Some goals you want to accomplish (personal, professional) in 2022; Lee Anne asked me a question to round out the conversation. You can reach Lee Anne on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/leeannegrant/ Find out more about babylist: www.babylist.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! People call me (Anna) the Marie Kondo of startup marketing because I help VC backed early stage startups clean up their marketing mess to uncover more joy (and revenue). For those startups that have already built their marketing foundation and have been testing different marketing plays but just aren't satisfied with the traction they're seeing, I created the Marketing Audit + Roadmap offering. At the end of your audit, you’ll get a custom Roadmap with improvement opportunities for the next 3-6 months. So that you can finally put the missing pieces in place to start seeing more traction and stop spending time and money on the wrong things. You can learn more about it by visiting my website: www.furmanovmarketing.com/pricing You can find me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov