Today is an exciting day for me – it’s my first day as VP of Marketing for metadata.io, and my first time leading an entire marketing function! And what an interesting time to start a new role like this… There are so many things in my head right now – I’ll keep this article to a higher-level summary and will be writing more in the weeks and months to come.
Why I joined!
I’ve worked with metadata.io in an advisory role for the last 6 months and have had an opportunity to get to know the customers, employees, and product incredibly well, which made this an easy decision for me. On the Customer side, we’re working with some of the most well known B2B brands like Zoom and G2, and some of the smartest early adopters like Fivetran and Engagio. On the Employee side, we have an amazingly diverse workforce, even winning a recent award for Best Tech Workplace for Diversity! The CEO, Gil Allouche, and I have a great relationship and our President, Olivier L’Abbe is an amazing sales and customer success leader.
But the Product was really what attracted me to this position. I always told myself that the first time I ran an entire marketing function for a company, it would need to be for a product that I believed in, in a category I have experience with, that brings customers real value, with an ROI that’s easy to prove. I found it!
But why now?
I’ve asked myself that more than once in recent weeks! I’m leaving an amazing, established company (Thank You, Workfront!) for a true, pre-series-A technology startup, in one of the most uncertain times in recent memory.
So here’s why: I am a problem solver and this product presents a never-before-seen need and now, companies will need our product more than ever.
Some of the most incredible innovations can arise when constraints are present. For example, no one ever becomes more efficient when they have all the resources they thought they needed to accomplish a goal. It’s when we have less than we think we need that true innovation happens. And right now we have lots of constraints. We’re probably going to spend less money on marketing, but I’ll hold myself to the same goals I had before. The innovation will happen when I hit the same goal with fewer resources AND, you can be with me every step of the way.
What’s next
My plan is to take people on this journey of marketing a Saas startup at a time when buyer behavior and attitudes are rapidly changing. There will be highs and lows, successes and failures, but most of all, lots of learning.
I’m really looking forward to this! Thanks for reading…
-Jason-