Leadership
The CMO Job Has Two Modes: Build and Scale
Building a marketing function and scaling one are different jobs. Most CMOs are good at one. Know which you are.
The CMO job at a Series A startup and the CMO job at a 200M ARR scale-up are two different jobs that share a title. Build mode is about creation: invent the function, hire the first 3-5 people, define the playbook from scratch. Scale mode is about systems: hire 20-50 people, build repeatable programs, manage agencies, optimize at the margin.
Most CMOs are excellent at one mode and mediocre at the other. Builders get bored when there is a system to manage. Scalers get overwhelmed when there is no system to inherit. Founders who hire a builder for a scale job (or vice versa) usually realize the mismatch in 12-18 months and are forced into a transition.
If you are a CMO, know your mode. Be honest about which one you are best at, and be honest with founders during the interview. The right match makes both sides successful. The wrong match wastes 18 months and a lot of equity.
If you are a founder hiring a CMO, the interview question that exposes the mode is: 'Walk me through the last function you inherited vs the last one you built from scratch. Which energized you more?' The answer is rarely ambiguous. Match it to the mode of your company.