Thrills and Chills: Establishing Product Marketing | Sisu's VP of Marketing, Grant Shirk

Grant joined Sisu as their first Marketing hire when they had 9 employees and zero customers. Those numbers would have some people running for the hills, but not him. In this episode, Grant will elaborate on the criterion he used to assess the opportunity at Sisu, where he steered his focus during different growth stages, and what skills he built upon when considering making the jump from director to VP.

Show Notes

Connect with Grant on LinkedIn.
Join Grant on Sharebird. 

What is Thrills and Chills: Establishing Product Marketing ?

“The company story is the company strategy.”
— Ben Horowitz, Partner and Co-founder, Andreessen Horowitz

For many startups, marketing isn’t important—until it is. This hasn’t always been the case. For the past decade, everyone was obsessed with finding a “growth hacker.” But now, product marketers are in high demand as companies realize their value. Startups are now asking: when should I hire a product marketer? Should my first marketing hire be a product marketer?

Lots of people want to be the first product marketer, but only a few make the leap. They’re the builders. The fixers. The risk-takers. They embrace the chaos. They’re comfortable being uncomfortable.

This is a journey into their world. It’s about sharing the thrills and chills of being the first product marketer at a startup. Along the way we’ll meet some amazing people. You’ll hear engaging stories about imperfect product launches. The challenges and nuances of everyday work. The skills needed to succeed. And of course, fresh perspectives on what it really takes to be a company’s first product marketer.

The only way to be on this journey is to begin. Let’s go.