Emily Kramer

Guest: Emily Kramer - Co-founder of MKT1. Emily has led marketing teams at Asana, Carta, Ticketfly, and Astro, and is known for her strategic approach to building marketing functions from the ground up. Key Takeaways: Fuel and Engine Framework: Marketing should be viewed as needing both "fuel" (content, copy, design) and an "engine" (distribution channels, tracking, ops). Identify which is your current bottleneck to decide your marketing focus. Hiring First Marketer: Consider hiring a "pie-shaped" marketer—someone with expertise in one area (e.g., product marketing) and proficiency in another (e.g., growth marketing). Avoid hiring overly specialized or senior people from large companies. Product vs. Marketing Collaboration: Establish clear ownership and responsibilities using tools like Asana’s Areas of Responsibility (AOR) list. Ensure seamless handoffs between marketing and product to maintain a consistent user experience. Impact-Focused Marketing: Effective marketing teams focus on impact rather than activity. They should have clear goals, understand conversion rates across the funnel, and be able to articulate their big bets and foundational projects. Leveraging Expertise in Investing: Use your functional expertise to add value as an angel investor. Be clear about how you can help startups, which can also help you gain access to deals. Topics Covered: Fuel and engine framework, hiring marketing roles, product-marketing collaboration, impact-focused marketing, angel investing with functional expertise.