Modern Startup Marketing Anna Furmanov

Happy Memorial Day!!!

I asked Chris Walker to join me for a second round on the show. Last time he was on was Episode 35 (called “Over-prioritizing sales is your SaaS startup’s biggest mistake”) and that was also a really good one. Towards the end of the episode, Chris has some great questions for me to answer.

Chris is Founder and CEO at Refine Labs. Prior, Chris was the Dir. of Mktg at Eversound, a wellness startup. And prior to that he was at Vapotherm, a global medtech startup that IPO’d in 2018. He's got 128k followers on LI and he's the host of the Revenue Vitals podcast (formerly State of Demand Gen).

Refine Labs is a demand strategy and research firm focused on growth-stage B2B SaaS companies.

In this episode we talk about:

What does "creative" mean to you;

When have you personally been the most creative;

What's your advice for startups that want to experiment more;

How should startups think about creating the best marketing content;

What's your stance on category design, is it worth the effort;

Chris asks me some of his questions.

You can find Chris on LinkedIn >> www.linkedin.com/in/chris-walker-41597028/

Check out Refine Labs >> www.refinelabs.com/

This episode is sponsored by 43North, a seed-stage startup accelerator that's on the hunt for its next cohort. This year, 43North will make five $1 million dollar investments, each at 5% equity. Visit 43North.org to learn more. Applications close on June 23rd, so get on it!

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Startup marketing strategy, execution and advising (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. Sign up to get my monthly newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn every week: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov


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There's been a lot of buzz around PLG vs. Sales-led GTM models. Companies that started with one GTM method are exploring others. So I thought this conversation would be super interesting for many as they're thinking about a more blended approach.

Sei Suriyakumar is Head of Marketing at Superhuman. Prior, Sei was Director of Product Marketing at Dropbox and prior to that he held marketing leadership positions at HelloSign (acquired by Dropbox).

About Superhuman:


Founded 2015
100+ people
Funding: Series C ($108M total)
Description: Superhuman is the fastest email experience ever made. Customers fly through their inbox twice as fast as before and save an average of three hours every week. More than half hit Inbox Zero within 4 hours of starting. They've recently expanded from an individual product (B2C) to one that's optimized for teams (B2B).

In this episode we talk about:

How Superhuman has a part PLG + part sales-led model;

How that model started with humans and evolved over time;

First 90 days at Superhuman;

What's working well, what's not;

Sei's thoughts on category creation;

One big thing Sei learned from his experience at Dropbox that he's bringing into his role at Superhuman.

You can find Sei on LinkedIn >> https://www.linkedin.com/in/seiyonne/

Check out Superhuman >> https://superhuman.com/

This episode is sponsored by 43North, a seed-stage startup accelerator that's on the hunt for its next cohort. This year, 43North will make five $1 million dollar investments, each at 5% equity. Visit 43North.org to learn more. Applications close on June 23rd, so get on it!

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Startup marketing strategy, execution and advising (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. Sign up to get my monthly newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn every single week: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov/message

Obaid Durrani is Head of Content at HockeyStack. He's also Creator Advisor at Cognism (a Series C startup) and he's the co-host of the Cheat Codes podcast with Todd Clouser who I also had on the show (check out Ep. 148).

Prior, Obaid was Associate Creative Director at Refine Labs. Prior to that he bootstrapped a 5-person content + animation team to $420k ARR.

In this episode we cover:

What does “creative” mean to you;

When Todd was on the show with me (Ep. 148) he talked about 3 content types. Can you help me understand what else is part of your "Easy Mode" framework to build a marketing content engine;

Top 1-2 creative marketing ideas from your past experience;

Where do you get your creative ideas.

You can find Obaid on LinkedIn >> www.linkedin.com/in/obaid-khan-durrani

Check out HockeyStack >> https://hockeystack.com

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Startup marketing strategy, execution and advising (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. Sign up to get my monthly newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn every single week: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov/message

I asked Jay Acunzo to join me (again) on the show because he's a writer and content creator and I believe that we (startup marketers) can learn a lot from people that focus on creative work.

Jay is a writer, podcast host, speaker, and lifelong storyteller on a mission to help you make what matters most. Here's what Jay is up to:


Host of the podcast Unthinkable
Newsletter “Playing Favorites” that's helping people push themselves creatively
Co-Founder of the Creator Kitchen, a membership program helping people push themselves creatively 

Prior, Jay worked in marketing and media roles at Google, HubSpot, ESPN, and VC firm NextView.

Also check out Ep. 99 “What Does It Really Take To Resonate With People?” where we talk about resonance as a top marketing skill, how to write stories that people connect with emotionally, why great marketing is not about who arrives but rather about who stays, how to tie storytelling concepts to the startup world and how can marketers level up (HINT: marketers create a lot of stuff but it’s not gripping).

In this episode we cover:

What does “creativity” mean to you;

Some of the unfortunate impacts of tools like ChatGPT on content creation (HINT: AI is just your intern);

You should care about the results from your content but you also need a space to get better;

Where do many people get stuck in the creative process and what to do about it;

How can marketers bring more of themselves into the work that they’re putting out;

What are you reading and listening to;

Jay asks me his burning question.

You can find Jay on LinkedIn >> www.linkedin.com/in/jayacunzo

Check out his website >> https://jayacunzo.com/

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Startup marketing strategy, execution and advising (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. Sign up to get my monthly newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn every single week: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov/message

I got connected to David through Gidi Pridor (Workvivo) who I super respect, David and Gidi both worked at TravelPerk and Gidi raved about David so of course I wanted to bring him onto the show.

(Check out Ep. 146 where I talk to Gidi about why many startups stop being exciting too early and the advantages of hiring a Creative Director early. Workvivo just got acquired by Zoom.)

David Hooker is Brand Lead at Printify. Prior, David was Head of B2B Content at Gett (a Series F startup). David also built Prezi’s Evangelism and Creative Services teams and he built the Brand and PR function at TravelPerk.

About Printify:


Founded 2015
Funding: Series A ($54.1M total according to Crunchbase)
Description: Create and sell custom products. The tech platform that's made it possible for millions to become global entrepreneurs selling high-quality merch online.

In this episode we talk about:

What does “creative” mean to you;

Top 1-2 creative marketing ideas at Printify;

What makes for an awesome Creative Director / Head of Brand;

What’s your advice for startups that want to push more on the creative side.

You can find David on LinkedIn >> www.linkedin.com/in/hookerdj

Check out Printify >> https://printify.com/

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Startup marketing strategy, execution and advising (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. Sign up to get my monthly newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. Sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn every single week: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov/message

There is so much I love about Goodles and so much that both B2C and B2B startups can learn from them.

So I brought on Paul Earle because he was very deeply involved in Goodles' creative work. Paul works with brands on their creative and he teaches innovation, new ventures, and new brand creation at the Kellogg School of Management (go Kellogg!!).

Prior, Paul was the co-founder and executive director of global creative agency Leo Burnett’s “Farmhouse” (its innovation and new venture center).

Jen Zeszut (Co-Founder and CEO at Goodles) joined me for Ep. 95 “This Is Huge: How To Take On Billion Dollar Companies When You're Small” so listen to that one too.

About Goodles: founded in 2021, based out of Santa Cruz (CA) and has 42 people now! (was 24 people last episode). Funding: Seed ($10.2M total). Goodles is noodles, gooder. PROTEIN-PACKED, VEGGIE-BOOSTED mac n' cheese. Yum.

In this episode we cover:

Why the brand name is such pure magic;

Why companies that succeed do so because there's this intense emotional connection created with people;

Why large companies have a hard time launching new products and being creative;

How did you make the Goodles creative so amazing;

What’s your advice for startups that want to push more on the creative side (HINT: great creative pulls your product development forward).

You can find Paul on LinkedIn >> https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulearle/

Check out Goodles >> https://www.goodles.com/

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review!

And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. I can be your startup's fractional head of marketing (25+ happy clients and mentees) >> www.furmanovmarketing.com

2. You can sign up to get my monthly newsletter where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes that will make you smile guaranteed >> https://share.hsforms.com/1cP1V40x7RGes5gHk1XNgNw47lba

3. You can sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov

You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn every single week: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov




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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-furmanov/message