To say there are many SaaS CMOs and marketing leaders in transition right now is an understatement. Several transitioning marketing professionals are going the fractional route, while others are consultants, and some are looking to get out of the enterprise and shake it up at an early-stage company (or vice-versa).
Niloy Sanyal, CMO at LeanTaaS and former CMO at GE Digital, details the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to jumping ship at a large organization in favor of a startup or scale-up. If you are a marketing leader toying with this idea, this episode is for you.
How to make the startup transition seamless
Moving from a global enterprise to a startup is no small feat. Niloy emphasized that marketing professionals from enterprise environments must quickly prove they can thrive in an incredibly hands-on setting.
“You need to position yourself as a doer in the context of a startup. And that’s not an easy task to do when you’re transitioning from a large company to a smaller company,” said Niloy.
Bias against candidates from large corporations can be significant, with some startup hiring managers and colleagues assuming that enterprise leaders rely too heavily on extensive support systems. Many startups are indeed bootstrapped, meaning marketing leaders must rely on their generalist training.
Niloy encouraged marketing leaders to face these negative perceptions head-on. Talk to the hiring manager about why you’re a great fit for the startup. Then, draft a robust 30-60-90 day plan to win them over.
“Don’t go in with a chip on your shoulder and say, ‘Oh, I’m GE, oh, I’m Oracle, or I’m Salesforce…’ That doesn’t work,” said Niloy. “Someone who’s coming from a bigger company, you really have to convince them that you’re going to be able to pull up your sleeves.”
Find a mission that speaks to you
What drives you to get out of bed in the morning? What difference are you hoping to accomplish as a marketer or storyteller? Answers to these questions should lead you to the right company, according to Niloy.
“At the end of the day, if you don’t buy into the story of what your company and your product stand for, you’re going to fail,” Sanyal Niloy.
Furthermore, make sure you understand and vibe with your prospective employer’s culture. Understanding the background of the executive team and the perception of the company’s product among its customers can be indicators of the cultural fit and readiness for growth.
Rely on a modern marketer’s best friend: GenAI
MarTech stacks look much different now than 20 years ago — and that’s good. CRMs, automation and generative AI maximize the time and money marketers spend on accomplishing critical tasks. Niloy said that marketers entering the startup world need to use these tools as much as possible.
“Gen AI… will completely redefine, in my opinion, what go-to-market function looks like. Some in good ways, some in bad ways,” Niloy said. He stressed the importance of marketers staying ahead by experimenting with these tools. “If you’re a marketer… and you don’t know how to spell generative AI and how to experiment with it at scale… you’re not going to make it.”
For more of Niloy’s insights, listen to episode 377 of SaaS Half Full.