BUILD with Blake Bartlett OpenView Venture Partners

Patrick says work-life balance is the wrong framework. It’s more about work-life fit and finding what suits you best. This is especially true for startup founders, where your work is often all-consuming.

Episode Highlights
[00:32 - 02:30] Thoughts on work/life balance
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Culture at a startup is always tricky, but there’s one common mistake founders should avoid at all costs. It’s the desire to make everyone happy all the time. Patrick says this leads to a “culture of accommodation” which ultimately ends up not working for anyone. Hear Patrick’s journey as a founder to define the culture at ProfitWell, and how you can do the same at your startup.

Episode Highlights
[00:03 - 01:31] Episode intro: Patrick Campbell[01:59 - 04:04] What is the role and importance of company culture in today's market environment?[06:39 - 10:26] The culture of ProfitWell and the journey to get there[12:15 - 16:26] The most charitable interpretation[17:23 - 20:08] ProfitWell values and four principles[20:21 - 23:16] Speaking their mind, being human in the most charitable way[21:11 - 23:16] Values and principles must have trade-offs[23:16 - 25:41] Here's how we operate, transparency in hiring[25:46 - 32:10] Advice for making culture something more than theoretical, a real experience
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Every startup wants to create a category. This is often a mistake. Or at least it’s prioritized too early by many founders and marketers. Ryan Carlson, longtime CMO at Okta, explains why this falls flat with customers and what to do instead.

Key Takeaways:
[00:31 - 01:53]  A noted skeptic on category creation[01:54 - 02:15] Everybody wants to be a category creator[02:16 - 03:19] Focus on how they're better than the alternative
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Ryan Carlson, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at Wiz
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Okta’s CMO for 5+ years, Ryan Carlson, says marketing’s guiding light should be the company mission and values. Marketing’s job is to tell the story of the company, not to merely promote the product or drive leads into the top of a funnel. Authentic marketing is rooted in the BIG questions. Why does this company exist? Who should care about that and why?Today’s episode will help you:
Understand this strategic approach to marketingSee the impact strategic marketing has on your audienceHow to hire mission/values-aligned marketersLeverage Ryan’s playbook for company storytelling by working directly with customers
Key Takeaways:
[00:19 - 03:37] Introduction to Ryan Carlson, and thoughts on company culture in the world of marketing[03:44 - 06:53] What should define culture is the mission, values, and vision[06:54 - 10:00] Imparting importance, and showing why culture mattered at Okta[10:02 - 13:32] Authenticity, avoiding hyperbole and marketing BS[13:43 - 16:10] Who do you hire to marketing leadership to operate more authentically?[16:13 - 18:18] Hiring true believers, and avoiding a "customer's wrong" mentality with product market fit[19:26 - 22:45] Understanding why people like the product and the people behind it[22:48 - 25:40] Combining pen to paper with mission, values, and vision[25:42 - 28:27] Storytelling and presentations, how they impact retention[28:30 - 32:26] Story and history of your company is different[32:32 - 35:37] Figuring out if a company operates by its values as a candidate
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Ryan Carlson, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at Wiz
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Raj says that most of the PLG advice out there today is missing a key foundational point: data. Many PLG companies still rely on traditional sales & marketing software that keeps data in silos. The key to winning in PLG starts with your data infrastructure, and wiring it up early helps you scale later.

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Raj Sarkar, CMO & Advisor
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B2B marketers usually overlook brand in their marketing mix. Brand marketing is only for CPG companies, right? Raj makes the case that brand marketing is not optional, if you want to win your category.

But brand marketing isn’t just buying a Super Bowl ad. Before you think about channels, you need to define your brand identity and build awareness. Done right, brand marketing can become an infinitely scalable strategy to drive growth.

Key Takeaways:
[01:19 - 04:05] What exactly is brand marketing? And why is it important?[04:06 - 05:41] Why we should dive deep into brand[05:41 - 07:36] Differentiation in branding, infinitely scalable[07:39 - 11:38] When to start thinking about brand, SEO, and the funnel[13:36 - 15:36] Determining your mission and values, brand attributes[15:36 - 17:26] Speaking ways that is consistent with identity[17:28 - 19:45] Balancing different brand attributes in messaging[19:47 - 21:04] House of brands or a branded house[22:08 - 25:31] Amplifying brand marketing and the channels of choice[25:38 - 28:58] Tracking efficacy in print and non-digital formats with modern tools[28:58 - 30:47] Where to take action on Raj's advice
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Raj Sarkar, CMO & Advisor
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