Rob Walling

And there's more nuance than this, but fundamentally, that's how I think about a SaaS marketing department, especially in the early stage. So the question of how do you decide to DIY versus hire a growth agency is that as the founder, I would not try to outsource marketing strategy. And frankly, project management, maybe I would hire somebody to do it.

And there's more nuance than this, but fundamentally, that's how I think about a SaaS marketing department, especially in the early stage. So the question of how do you decide to DIY versus hire a growth agency is that as the founder, I would not try to outsource marketing strategy. And frankly, project management, maybe I would hire somebody to do it.

But realistically, marketing strategy, deciding what to do in what order, how many resources to put behind it, that's something that me as the founder, I would want to learn how to do. In the old days, when I was truly, truly bootstrapping and had almost no money, I then had to go learn the marketing approaches. So I also was the Google Ads person. I was the person doing SEO.

But realistically, marketing strategy, deciding what to do in what order, how many resources to put behind it, that's something that me as the founder, I would want to learn how to do. In the old days, when I was truly, truly bootstrapping and had almost no money, I then had to go learn the marketing approaches. So I also was the Google Ads person. I was the person doing SEO.

I was the person doing partnerships because that's what I had to do. Now, if I'd had any funding, I would have hired out those individual roles. And so these days, if you have any modicum of money... And you can pay someone who really knows Facebook ads or really knows Instagram ads or really knows Google ads or LinkedIn ads or Twitter ads.

I was the person doing partnerships because that's what I had to do. Now, if I'd had any funding, I would have hired out those individual roles. And so these days, if you have any modicum of money... And you can pay someone who really knows Facebook ads or really knows Instagram ads or really knows Google ads or LinkedIn ads or Twitter ads.

I like coming up with a strategy and then hiring someone to implement that specific approach. And the reason is, is that if you try to learn it and you try LinkedIn ads and they don't work, you don't know if you're not good at them or if they don't work for your business or your customer type.

I like coming up with a strategy and then hiring someone to implement that specific approach. And the reason is, is that if you try to learn it and you try LinkedIn ads and they don't work, you don't know if you're not good at them or if they don't work for your business or your customer type.

But if you hire someone who you think is pretty good and you get references and you pay them a couple grand a month for three months and they run them and it just doesn't work, you at least have some modicum of confidence that LinkedIn ads for now probably aren't the best fit for your business.

But if you hire someone who you think is pretty good and you get references and you pay them a couple grand a month for three months and they run them and it just doesn't work, you at least have some modicum of confidence that LinkedIn ads for now probably aren't the best fit for your business.

And so individual contributor marketing roles and sales roles, frankly, like SDR, BDR stuff, are things that I consider hiring out before, you know, a million, two million, three million. And when you're on a budget, let's say you're doing 20K a month, you don't have the money to hire an amazing growth marketer.

And so individual contributor marketing roles and sales roles, frankly, like SDR, BDR stuff, are things that I consider hiring out before, you know, a million, two million, three million. And when you're on a budget, let's say you're doing 20K a month, you don't have the money to hire an amazing growth marketer.

But you might have the ability to hire a freelancer who's good at SEO or a small micro agency who knows how to do Google ads or LinkedIn ads. Or you could hire a part-time biz dev person, which is like a head of partnerships, to handle those for 10 hours a week of work where they're focusing on doing that.

But you might have the ability to hire a freelancer who's good at SEO or a small micro agency who knows how to do Google ads or LinkedIn ads. Or you could hire a part-time biz dev person, which is like a head of partnerships, to handle those for 10 hours a week of work where they're focusing on doing that.

Now, that still means that you are saddled with the strategy and potentially the project management, but that's the way that I see it working. Trying to outsource marketing strategy when you haven't gone from zero to one yet. I mean, you've heard us talk on this podcast. I've talked with Derek Reimer. I've talked with Ruben Gomez. I've talked with Craig Hewitt. I've talked endlessly.

Now, that still means that you are saddled with the strategy and potentially the project management, but that's the way that I see it working. Trying to outsource marketing strategy when you haven't gone from zero to one yet. I mean, you've heard us talk on this podcast. I've talked with Derek Reimer. I've talked with Ruben Gomez. I've talked with Craig Hewitt. I've talked endlessly.

on this podcast solo. And it's just the pattern that I see. People aren't able to hire out sales and marketing before they get to a repeatable process. And usually that's when you're in seven figures of ARR. So thanks for that question, Miguel. I hope that was helpful. Are you drowning in challenging tech decisions? You should check out today's sponsor, TechStack.

on this podcast solo. And it's just the pattern that I see. People aren't able to hire out sales and marketing before they get to a repeatable process. And usually that's when you're in seven figures of ARR. So thanks for that question, Miguel. I hope that was helpful. Are you drowning in challenging tech decisions? You should check out today's sponsor, TechStack.

Unlike typical staffing agencies, these folks are startup specialists with over a decade of experience in startup software development. TechStack can help your startup build an MVP that's designed for explosive growth, rapidly expand your team for new features, or optimize your existing code base for peak performance.

Unlike typical staffing agencies, these folks are startup specialists with over a decade of experience in startup software development. TechStack can help your startup build an MVP that's designed for explosive growth, rapidly expand your team for new features, or optimize your existing code base for peak performance.