Who gets hired first at the typical climate tech startup? 👨💼 👩💼
When I look at startups that have been in the game for a few years, here are examples of what I see as the first hires they made for each department:
🛠 Product: Head of Product
👩🔬 Engineering: Senior Engineer
💰 Sales: Head of Sales
📈 Accounting: Chief Financial Officer
📆 Operations: Director of Operations
And then, wait for it . . .
Marketing: Marketing Manager
Notice anything strange? Marketing is almost always THE only department where the first hire is a mid-level role.
In climate tech startups, we seem to demand everything about the business be built by senior-level experts at the peak of their careers.
And yet, we’re willing to put the crucial task of building a startup’s foundational marketing strategy in the hands of 20-somethings who’ve worked in marketing for 3-5 years.
(Scratch that. We rarely build a marketing strategy. The founders just give the first hire a random list of marketing activities they believe will work.)
Other times, I’ve seen climate tech startups years down the road who have still NEVER hired anyone in marketing. They’ve piled marketing responsibilities onto people in Sales or Special Projects.
All of this means the marketing program won’t grow to be as strong, effective, and intentional as the other programs.
It’s time for climate tech startups to recognize the value of having seasoned marketing leaders from the start — experienced career marketers who know how to build a brand from the ground up, drive meaningful engagement, and contribute to long-term lead and revenue generation.
If hiring a full-time marketing leader truly just is not in the budget (which I question the larger business strategy if marketing hasn’t been accounted for as a key need, even early on), then the rise in contractors like climate tech-focused marketing consultants and fractional CMOs still makes it possible for startups to tap into senior-level marketing expertise from the start.
Investing in senior-level marketing talent early on isn’t just a good idea for climate tech startups.
It’s just as essential as investing in senior-level leadership for all the other areas of the business we know are critical for long-term success of the company.