At $1–2M ARR, your brand exists, at least aesthetically. Redesigning your logo or tweaking colors won’t generate pipeline. What you need is someone who can shape your story, define your ICP, and generate real demand.

That means your first hire should be product marketing-leaning or performance-oriented, not brand.

Founders often fall into the trap of title inflation: giving a “CMO” title to their very first marketing hire. But that usually backfires—you’ll need to hire over them in 12 months.

Instead, target candidates who:

• Have seen high growth before (manager → director during a scale-up).
  
  
• Can act as a player-coach: hands-on enough to execute, strategic enough to prioritize.
  
  
• Are hungry to do it again and entrepreneurial by nature.

A “Marketing Manager → Director” trajectory is often the sweet spot.

Early marketers love to show off traffic numbers, MQLs, or vanity KPIs. Resist it. Your marketing hire should be laser-focused on pipeline and revenue.

Set expectations that:

• Marketing is accountable for sales-qualified opportunities and revenue impact.
  
  
• MQLs and website visits are only leading indicators, not the end goal.
  
  
• Collaboration with sales is part of their job, not a handoff.

Most founders aren’t marketing experts. That’s okay—you don’t need to be. What you do need is a process to evaluate whether a candidate is both capable and hands-on.

Use the STAR framework (Situation, Task, Action, Result):

• “Tell me about a time a campaign produced unexpected results.”
  
  
• “What was your role? What did you do? What were the outcomes?”

Look for candidates who:

• Explain clearly what they did and why.
  
  
• Talk in numbers, not just activities.
  
  
• Can show curiosity and continuous learning (“What’s the last skill you learned?”).

Not every marketer who interviews well is the right fit. Watch out for:

• Agency-only backgrounds (great exposure, but little ownership).
  
  
• Early-stage job hoppers (love the chaos, never stayed to scale).
  
  
• Resumes without numbers (means they don’t own results).
  
  
• First instinct = hire an agency (a sign they lack hands-on skills).

You want someone who rolls up their sleeves first, then looks for leverage.

The right hire should energize you, not drain you. You should find yourself saying, “That’s awesome, I didn’t even think of that.”

Signs of a good fit:

• They bring a 7-day and 30-day plan without being asked.
  
  
• They ask curious, forward-looking questions.
  
  
• They’re self-starters who create momentum.

If you’re spending more time managing than learning from them, you’ve made the wrong hire.

Don’t overvalue industry logos. A marketer from Google AdWords or Salesforce may look impressive, but they’re unlikely to thrive in your scrappy $1–5M ARR startup.

What matters more:

• Experience with your sales model (PLG vs. sales-led).
  
  
• Comfort juggling short-term pipeline needs with long-term system-building.
  
  
• A proven ability to learn a new ICP quickly.

Stage match > domain expertise.

Your first marketing hire sets the foundation for how you’ll scale to $10M. Get it wrong, and you’ll spend a year backtracking. Get it right, and you’ll have a partner who builds pipeline, tells your story, and earns you the breathing room to focus on product and sales.

Hire for growth experience. Interview for clarity and accountability. Hold them to revenue. And above all—look for someone who makes you say, “That’s awesome. I didn’t even think of that.”