Chief Marketing Officer

Overview

You're building the entire marketing function for a Series A AI sales startup that's trying to create a new category: AI agents that replace human SDRs/BDRs. The product just launched publicly after a $30M Series A. You'll report to the CEO (Amanda Kahlow, 6sense founder) and need to figure out positioning, messaging, demand gen, and category creation simultaneously.

Role Snapshot

Company Context

Stage: Series A ($40M total raised, $30M Series A from Battery Ventures in Nov 2024)

Size: 95 employees

Growth: Very early - just launched publicly in Q4 2024. Hiring aggressively across GTM.

Market Position: Category creator in "AI sales agents" space. Competing against Conversica, Qualified, Exceed.ai, but positioning as more comprehensive (voice + video, joins actual calls vs just chat).

Product: AI "Superhumans" with face/voice that qualify leads on websites, join conference calls, run demos, work in deal rooms. Targets revenue teams looking to scale without headcount.

Founder: Amanda Kahlow built 6sense to unicorn status, so she has credibility and network in B2B sales tech.

GTM Reality

Current State:

• Product just launched, so GTM motion is being defined now
• Likely early customers are founder-led or from Amanda's network
• No established demand gen engine yet
• Competing in noisy "AI sales" category but trying to carve out unique position

Your Job:

• Figure out if this is "AI SDR replacement" or "AI sales assistant" or something else
• Build demand gen from scratch (what channels work for this buyer?)
• Support enterprise sales team with content, case studies, competitive intel
• Create category POV and thought leadership platform (Amanda is known executive, needs content engine)

Team You'll Build:

• Demand gen lead (likely first hire)
• Product marketing manager
• Content/brand person
• Potentially growth/performance marketer
• You'll probably stay lean (4-6 people) for first year

Competitive Landscape

Main Competitors:

• Conversica (established AI sales assistant)
• Qualified (conversational marketing/sales)
• Exceed.ai (outbound AI)
• Plus dozens of "AI SDR" startups launching monthly

How They Differentiate:

• Multimodal (voice + video, not just chat)
• Actually joins live calls vs async conversations
• More "replacement" vs "assistant" positioning
• Technical depth (can run custom demos, answer product questions)

Common Objections:

• "We tried AI chatbots, they don't work"
• "Our buyers want to talk to humans"
• "Too early, tech isn't there yet"
• "We already have SDRs/BDRs"

Win Themes:

• Scale instantly (no hiring, training, ramp)
• 24/7 coverage
• Consistent quality
• Founder credibility (Amanda built 6sense)

What You'll Actually Do

Time Breakdown

Strategy/Category Work (30%) | Demand Gen Build-Out (25%) | Sales Enablement (20%) | Team Building (15%) | Executive Alignment (10%)

Key Activities

• Category positioning: Spend hours on messaging - are you selling "AI SDR replacement" or creating new category? Test positioning with analysts, customers, prospects. This will define everything else.
• Demand gen from zero: Pick 2-3 channels to test (paid, content, events, partnerships). You won't have budget to do everything, so you'll need to make bets. Expect to spend a lot of time in spreadsheets proving CAC/LTV.
• Sales enablement: Enterprise sales team needs pitch decks, case studies, competitive battlecards, demo videos. You'll be creating a lot of this yourself early on.
• Thought leadership: Turn Amanda (and potentially other execs) into visible voices on AI + sales. This means podcasts, LinkedIn ghostwriting, event speaking, maybe a book. Lots of content creation.
• Website/brand: Current site probably needs overhaul. You'll work with design/dev to create homepage, product pages, demo videos, trust signals.
• Hiring: Source, interview, close your first 2-3 marketing hires. At Series A, you're doing a lot of this yourself.
• Exec meetings: Weekly strategy syncs with CEO and GTM leadership. They'll expect you to have POV on positioning, ICP, pricing, packaging.

The Honest Reality

What's Hard

• Category is undefined: No one searches "AI sales superhuman." You have to create demand, not capture it. This is much harder than marketing an established category.
• Product is brand new: Limited case studies, proof points, G2 reviews (only 4 reviews currently). Hard to build credibility when you just launched.
• Noisy market: 50+ "AI SDR" companies launched in past year. Breaking through requires exceptional positioning or massive spend.
• Building from zero: No team, no processes, no playbook. Everything is on you initially. If you like inheriting a machine to optimize, this isn't it.
• Founder expectations: Amanda built 6sense marketing engine. She'll have opinions and high bar. You need to be confident in your POV.
• Unproven product-market fit: Series A companies often pivot positioning 2-3 times. What you think you're marketing in month 1 might change by month 6.

What Success Looks Like

• Generate 100+ qualified pipeline opportunities per quarter by end of year 1
• Establish clear category POV that sales team uses consistently
• Build 3-4 person marketing team that doesn't need you in every decision
• Create thought leadership platform around Amanda that drives inbound
• Prove out 2-3 repeatable demand gen channels with clear ROI
• Support sales team to hit targets without constant fire drills

Who You're Working With

Internal Stakeholders:

• CEO (Amanda Kahlow - founder, expects 6sense-level execution)
• Head of Sales / Enterprise Sales Leads (need pipeline, enablement content)
• Head of Product (need PMM support, customer insights, positioning input)
• Chief of Staff (posted this role - likely your peer, handles ops/coordination)

Target Buyers for Your Marketing:

• VP/CRO at growth-stage B2B companies (your actual champions)
• Revenue operations leaders (technical buyers)
• Sales enablement / sales development leaders (users, but often not budget holders)

What They Care About:

• Proof it actually works (case studies, ROI data)
• How it integrates with existing stack (Salesforce, Outreach, Gong, etc.)
• Whether it replaces or augments human team
• Speed to value (how fast can they deploy?)

Requirements

• 10+ years marketing experience with at least 3-5 years leading marketing at B2B SaaS company
• Experience building marketing function from scratch (Series A/B stage)
• Deep understanding of sales tech / revenue tool buyers (have you sold to CROs before?)
• Comfort with ambiguity and rapid iteration - this is not an optimize-the-machine role
• Strong POV on AI's impact on B2B sales (they want "AI enthusiast" per post)
• Track record creating category positioning or thought leadership platforms
• Experience working with strong founder/CEO who has opinions
• Ability to do hands-on work (build decks, write copy, run campaigns) while also being strategic
• Located in North America time zones (team is US-based)