When to hire your first marketer
Hire your first marketer when there is a product people keep using and at least one way of finding customers that works a little, so marketing has something to scale.
The role in one sentence
Before writing a job post, say the role in one sentence. If you cannot, the role is not clear enough to hire for.
"We need a first marketer: B2B SaaS, writes well, has grown one channel from nothing to a real share of pipeline, and does the work alone."
Change the details to yours. In Evander this sentence is enough to create the job post, interview stages and scorecards as drafts; see how it works.
Job description template
[Company] sells [product] to [customer]. You would be the first marketing hire. You find out which channels can bring us customers, do the work yourself, and measure what it produces.
What you will do
- Sharpen who we sell to and how we describe the product.
- Pick two or three channels, run them yourself and drop what does not work.
- Write: website, launch posts, emails, case studies.
- Set up simple measurement from first touch to revenue.
- Work with the founders and sales on what buyers ask.
What we look for
- You have grown at least one channel from zero to meaningful pipeline or sign-ups, and can show the numbers.
- You write clearly without an agency or an editor.
- You have worked at an early-stage B2B company.
- You are comfortable with numbers and with being wrong quickly.
Add the location, the pay range and equity, and how the interview process runs. Several US states require a pay range in the post, and EU rules require telling candidates the range before the first interview.
Screening brief
A screening brief says who should get an interview. Use it yourself or give it to AI screening.
Must-haves
- Has personally built one channel that produced measurable pipeline or sign-ups, because there is no team to direct.
- Strong writer, shown by samples, because most early marketing is writing.
- Has worked in B2B with a similar buyer or deal size, because consumer tactics rarely transfer.
Either of these profiles works
- Generalist who was marketer number one or two at a startup.
- Specialist in content, product marketing or demand generation with visible range.
Bonuses
- Has done launches.
- Can build pages and automations without engineering help.
- Knows your buyer.
Interview plan
| Stage | What it tests |
|---|---|
| Intro call (30 min, founder) | What they built, with numbers. What they want to own. |
| Work review (60 min) | Two pieces of work in depth: the goal, what they did themselves, the result. |
| Written exercise (paid, 2 hours) | A one-page plan for your first 90 days, or a rewrite of one page of your site. Tests thinking and writing. |
| Founder conversation and references (60 min) | How they choose what to do, and what they stop doing. |
Scorecard
Rate each criterion from 1 to 4 with a written example, before the debrief and without seeing other ratings. More in interview scorecards.
| Criterion | What strong looks like |
|---|---|
| Positioning | Can say who the product is for and why, in plain words. |
| Writing | Samples are clear, specific and free of filler. |
| Channel skill | Deep, hands-on knowledge of at least one channel. |
| Measurement | Ties work to pipeline or revenue and knows the limits of the data. |
| Prioritization | Proposes a small number of bets and explains what they would skip. |
Interview questions
- Which channel did you build from nothing? What were the numbers at the start and a year later?
- Show me something you wrote that worked, and something that did not.
- How would you describe our product to a buyer in two sentences?
- What would you do in your first 30 days here, and what would you not do?
- Tell me about a campaign you stopped. How did you decide?
Common mistakes
- Hiring a head of marketing who has only managed teams and agencies.
- Expecting one person to cover brand, content, paid, events and product marketing.
- Hiring before you know who the customer is.
This kit is also available as Markdown, free to copy and adapt, in the hiring-templates repository on GitHub.
Questions
When should a startup hire your first marketer?
Hire your first marketer when there is a product people keep using and at least one way of finding customers that works a little, so marketing has something to scale.
What should a job description for your first marketer include?
A short summary of the company and the role, four or five things the person will do, three or four requirements that can be checked, the location, the pay range and equity, and the interview process. Start from one sentence, for example: "We need a first marketer: B2B SaaS, writes well, has grown one channel from nothing to a real share of pipeline, and does the work alone."
What interview questions should I ask your first marketer?
Which channel did you build from nothing? What were the numbers at the start and a year later? Show me something you wrote that worked, and something that did not. How would you describe our product to a buyer in two sentences?
What are common mistakes when hiring your first marketer?
Hiring a head of marketing who has only managed teams and agencies. Expecting one person to cover brand, content, paid, events and product marketing. Hiring before you know who the customer is.