Building With Buyers: Startup Marketing and Growth Fueled By Customers

Krish Ramineni, Co-Founder and CEO at Fireflies, discusses growing from Seed to Series A, differentiation in a crowded space, and top focus areas for growth. They also explore marketing strategies, balancing problem education with talking about solutions, and the importance of understanding the 'why' behind marketing decisions.

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

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

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

Devin Reed, Head of Content at Clari, discusses the role of content in sales, the importance of building trust with the audience, finding a balance between creativity and process in marketing, writing his new playbook 'Content That Converts', and the power of content marketing in generating leads.

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

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

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

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

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