Early-stage traction is no guarantee of long-term success.

There’s a common misconception that you don't need marketing if you have a good product. That’s not true. To make it in the long run, you need the ability to honestly assess your company’s needs and deep knowledge of your product and consumer. That’s where real marketing comes in: market research, data gathering, and studying user behaviour.

Today I’m excited to share my conversation with marketing expert Gary Briggs, the first CMO of Facebook and an experienced senior executive and board member at multiple companies leading the tech space.

In this episode, Gary and I talk about the elements of a promising idea, why passion is essential, how to sustain early success, what founders need to understand about marketing, challenges faced by Caribbean founders, the best way to manage your time as a founder, and so much more.

Enjoy the episode!

About Gary Briggs

Many marketing leaders would be thrilled to rise to the top of one heralded brand - today's guest Gary Briggs has done so at over six companies. In his early days, he directed brand strategy at PepsiCo and IBM. Later, he led the marketing charge at eBay, PayPal, Google, Motorola Mobility, and Facebook, where he was the first Chief Marketing Officer. These days, Gary sits on the boards of Etsy and Petco while serving as a Senior Advisor at McKinsey and Company.

Highlights

The critical elements to coming up with a great idea

What Petco, eBay, and Etsy showed Gary about the value of passion

CEOs need to understand the nuances of the business and its customers deeply

How to sustain early success

“When things get hard, we work harder through them.” - Mark Zuckerberg

Every single company needs marketing

What founders need to understand about marketing

Why you need a data scientist more than a CMO

Few zip codes are benefiting from the wealth and opportunities created by technology

Challenges faced by Caribbean founders around access to talent and capital

Tapping into a community of people outside your company

Figuring out compensation structures for yourself and your team

Communication is at the core of building a great company culture

Your role as a founder and how to create a healthy dynamic with the board

Managing your time as a founder

Lessons from Larry Page of Google and Reed Hastings of Netflix

The best companies make decisions faster and learn faster

Your job as a marketer is to manage the conversations about your brand

Why it’s still worth it to utilise non-digital platforms

Don’t chase the tactic; chase the conversation

Surrounding yourself with the right people

The importance of having a supportive life partner

Mentioned in this episode

Gary Briggs on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/garysbriggs/

Gary Briggs on Twitter https://twitter.com/gbriggs

Gary Briggs’ Commencement Speech King School 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMKORKtdmzo

Ready to level up?

Apply to be a member of the next cohort of RevUP Caribbean, the Caribbean’s first virtual business incubator for high-growth start-ups, at https://www.revupcaribbean.com/

Composer: Seretse Small, Founder, Avant Academy of Music