A startup should hire its first CMO when the business starts scaling quickly and the founding team no longer has time to run marketing. For most of the startups we work with, that’s after Series A funding, at around 50 to 100 employees. The exception is a tech-led founding team with no marketing experience, where a CMO can be one of the first two or three hires.
Doug Bates, Director at Intelligent People, has spent 24 years recruiting marketing and product leaders. In the video below he answers the questions founders ask us most often about that first CMO hire.
When does a startup need its first CMO?
It depends on the founders’ skill set. If the founder comes from tech and has built the product but doesn’t have marketing expertise, a CMO is arguably one of the first two or three hires.
If one of the founders has a marketing background, they can usually run marketing themselves while the business finds product-market fit or gets an MVP out. At that stage there’s no real need for a CMO.
That changes once the startup starts scaling or expanding rapidly. As Doug puts it: “It’s not necessarily then about expertise. It’s about time.” Whoever has been running marketing from the founding team won’t have the hours to keep doing it alongside everything else.
Is 50 to 100 employees the right time to hire a CMO?
For most startups, yes. We typically see companies hire their first CMO after Series A funding, when they have 50 to 100 people and need to move quickly into new territories and grow to 200 or 300 people.
Smaller businesses can have a very hands-on senior marketer. At 15 to 20 people, though, that person is usually called a head of marketing or marketing director rather than a CMO.
Is it too early for us to hire a CMO?
The real question is whether you’re ready for a C-suite. A CMO sits alongside a CTO, a CPO and a CRO, and founders typically step back once that leadership team is in place. The order varies, but most founders start building it at around 50 to 100 employees.
It’s also worth knowing that the C-suite often changes after the first round of funding. The people who take a business from 50 to 200 employees aren’t necessarily the right people to take it from 200 to 500, or from 500 to 1,000. Candidates know this too. Many senior marketers like working at a particular stage of growth and don’t want to stay past it, so be clear about which stage you’re hiring for.
Should a startup hire a marketing director or a CMO first?
Often a marketing director. As a specialist marketing recruiter, Intelligent People places more marketing directors than CMOs, because a marketing director will usually stay hands-on. A CMO who joins without a team will typically want to build one straight away, and that isn’t always right for a startup of that size.
The pattern we see most is that founders hire a team of directors first. Those directors then either grow into C-suite roles or are joined by C-suite hires at the next stage of growth.
What should a startup’s first CMO be responsible for?
Growth. The first CMO should own lead generation, the marketing funnel and the brand. Their job is to build an automated marketing machine and put best practice and process in place.
How can a specialist recruiter help you hire your first CMO?
Intelligent People has recruited marketing leaders for 24+ years, from marketing directors to CMOs, for startups and scale-ups. If you’re weighing up your first senior marketing hire, see how we approach chief marketing officer recruitment, or talk to our team about whether a marketing director or a CMO is the right hire for your stage.
Executive search London: frequently asked questions
What size should a startup be before hiring a CMO?
Most startups hire their first CMO at around 50 to 100 employees, typically after Series A funding, when they need to scale into new territories and grow to 200 or 300 people. Businesses of 15 to 20 people usually hire a head of marketing or marketing director instead.
Should a tech founder hire a CMO earlier?
Yes. If the founder comes from a tech background and doesn’t have marketing expertise, a CMO can be one of the startup’s first two or three hires. Founders with a marketing background can usually run marketing themselves until the business starts scaling.
What is the difference between a CMO and a marketing director at a startup?
A marketing director usually stays hands-on, while a CMO will typically want to build a team straight away. That’s why Intelligent People places more marketing directors than CMOs at startups, with C-suite roles following at the next stage of growth.
Will a startup’s first CMO stay as the company grows?
Not always. Startups often change their C-suite after the first round of funding, because the leaders who grow a business from 50 to 200 employees aren’t necessarily right for the move to 500 or 1,000. Many senior marketers prefer working at one particular stage of growth.
