Startups vs. Enterprises
I was laid off as a PMM (Product Marketing Manager) around end of May and have been interviewing non-stop for about two months. I probably submitted close to 120 applications, went through various stages of interview loops, 10 on-sites, and fortunately some offers during the recent weeks (along with lots and lots of crushing rejections). My applications targeted FAANG as well as other big-name tech companies (Datadog, Atlassian, Snowflake, Snap, Block, Dropbox, etc.) but I want to focus on startup side and the types of resources new job seekers can leverage to identify additional opportunities.
Needless to say, there are pros and cons of joining a startup vs. an established enterprise, but my belief is that younger professionals should at the very least have one startup experience in the first 5 years of their career. The velocity at which the business operates, the volume of hands-on opportunities, the potential to deliver impact, and the diversity of project involvement, are much higher in startups and this type of exposure can provide unparalleled professional growth.
Also, startups can pay just as much, if not more than enterprises, so the belief that startup pay is low should not be a deterrent for anyone.
Product Marketing in Startups
Typically, the product marketing function will be established during the series A->B phase, and a PMM is usually the second or third marketing hire as the VP/head of marketing onboards more people to their team. Of course, this might vary as I’ve seen A/B startups hire a PMM as their first marketing hire, and I’ve also seen startups define their product marketing function much later, around the series C raise.
I personally think the opportunity to work as the first product marketing for a company has tremendous upside as the new hire would build the foundations for the GTM motion (positioning/messaging, enablement, launches) and build the necessary framework to help the business scale more efficiently. However, the potential downside is just as significant. Poor product market fit and differentiation, rapid shifts in priorities, and misalignment across product/marketing/sales can be potential hurdles the PMM might face and more time could be spent putting out fires and refining the tactical elements than driving the strategic direction.
Resources for Finding Companies
Crunchbase - This is probably the most comprehensive startups-related database that aggregates latest funding rounds, money raised, investor participation, and other relevant news. As seen in the screenshot below, signing up for a one-week trial provides users access to filter by investment type (series A, B, C, etc.), and as mentioned earlier, the bulk of product marketing headcount becomes prevalent in the post-series B round.
2. Growjo - This is another fantastic database to leverage to identify high-growth startups. One major difference between Growjo and Crunchbase is that Growjo also tracks # of employee growth, which can be another leading indicator of how successful a company is performing. In addition, users can filter by industry types (adtech, analytics, devops, fintech, etc.) which provides more granularity. Fun fact: I actually found the opportunity at AnyRoad using Growjo.
3. Topstartups.io - This is more or less, similar to Growjo but there could be companies listed on this site that are not listed on Crunchbase or Growjo. Just an extra tool to consider using.
4. YC Companies - This might be less relevant for PMMs because YC focuses on seed investments, which is a stage where product marketing headcount is not prioritized. However, filtering by batch seasons that occurred few years ago ie. S20, W20, S19, etc. could surface companies that are experience high-growth and are hiring PMMs.
Resources for Preparation
Sharebird - Sharebird is a product marketing-specific forum that invites some of the product marketing industry veterans across Google, Airbnb, Hubspot, etc. to conduct AMAs where users can ask all types of questions related to product marketing. In my opinion, this is perhaps the most useful and insightful resource for PMMs because tips and advices are shared by leaders who have been there and done that. Reviewing AMAs from leaders at companies you are applying to, then extracting a framework to base your interview responses on could provide you with the edge over hundreds of other applicants.
Anecdotally, when I was interviewing for GitLab, I came across a recent AMA the VP of product marketing had conducted. One of the questions asked, “What are you looking for when hiring PMMs?” to which he responded, “here are some questions I ask,”
‘What is an example of messaging that you’ve developed that you are proud of. How did you develop it? Why did it work?’
‘What is an example of a product launch that you are particularly proud of? How did you work with your cross-functional team to bring the product to market?’
MISC. Notes
This is pretty random but here are some companies I’ve interviewed in the past and still remain super bullish: Lattice, Ironclad, Fivetran, Vanta. Most were pre-unicorns when I pursued opportunities with them and I’d certainly bet that every single one of them is going to exit. One additional thing to mention is make sure you feel like you will provide the necessary amounts of product marketing-related guidance, expertise, and knowledge from the hiring manager. Ideally, I’d want a manager that has years of product marketing experience, good reputation in the field, and is genuine and empathetic enough to teach you the skills you need to take your career to the next level. More so than the comp, product-market fit, trajectory of the business, the type of a person you will report to and the team dynamic will have the biggest impact on how much you can enjoy your job. This was certainly a requirement I prioritized when searching for my next role and I have a pretty good feeling of what’s to come ;)