Lead product marketing strategy for an early-stage startup by developing foundational positioning, messaging architecture, category narrative, urgency frameworks, customer proof programs, and executive storytelling. Partner cross-functionally with product, sales, executives, analysts, influencers, and customers to establish market credibility, communicate business value, and support go-to-market growth from early adopters to mainstream buyers.
About the Role
We're
at an inflection point. Our Series A funding gives us the runway to move from
early adopters to mainstream market—but only if we can articulate why our
solution matters, why it matters now, and why prospects should choose us over
doing nothing at all.
As our Director of Product
Marketing, you'll be the architect of how the world understands our value. This
isn't about polishing existing messaging or running campaigns someone else
conceived. You'll build the foundational narrative framework that everything
else—sales conversations, content, partnerships, product roadmap—will be built
upon. You're joining early enough to shape our market category, define our
positioning, and create the storytelling that turns skeptics into believers and
believers into advocates.
What You'll Own
Foundational
Messaging & Positioning
- Build from the ground up: Develop our core messaging framework, value propositions, and competitive positioning that will serve as the foundation for all go-to-market motions
- Define the category: Articulate not just what we do, but what market category we compete in and how we reshape customer expectations within it
- Create messaging architecture: Establish tiered messaging for different personas, use cases, and stages of awareness—from "I don't know I have this problem" to "I'm evaluating solutions"
- Own the narrative: Craft the overarching story of why our company exists, the future we're building toward, and the transformation we enable for customers
Creating Urgency
- Identify forcing functions: Uncover and amplify the market shifts, regulatory changes, competitive pressures, and emerging trends that make solving this problem urgent today rather than next quarter
- Build the case for change: Develop compelling business cases and ROI frameworks that quantify the cost of inaction and make the status quo untenable
- Strategic narrative development: Create storylines around market timing—why the convergence of technology, buyer behavior, and market conditions creates a unique window of opportunity
- Fear of missing out (FOMO) frameworks: Design messaging that positions early movers as market leaders while creating clear consequences for late adoption
Building Social Proof
- Design the social proof engine: Create systematic frameworks for capturing, packaging, and amplifying customer success stories, case studies, and testimonials
- Cultivate customer champions: Develop programs to identify and nurture vocal advocates who can speak credibly about our impact
- Third-party validation strategy: Build relationships with analysts, industry influencers, and media to establish credibility beyond our own voice
- Proof point portfolio: Build a comprehensive library of metrics, outcomes, and customer evidence that sales can leverage at every stage of the funnel
- Early adopter storytelling: Transform our first customers into category pioneers whose stories inspire others to follow
Strategic Storytelling
- Craft transformational narratives: Build stories that don't just explain features but paint vivid pictures of the before-and-after customer experience
- Develop messaging for every journey stage: Create story arcs that move prospects from awareness through consideration to decision, each chapter building on the last
- Executive storytelling: Craft narratives that resonate at the C-suite level—connecting our solution to business outcomes, competitive advantage, and strategic initiatives
- Simplify the complex: Take technical complexity and translate it into clear, memorable narratives that any buyer can understand and repeat
- Case study excellence: Transform customer successes into compelling stories with clear heroes, challenges, and triumphant outcomes
Requirements
Experience
& Background
- 7+ years in product marketing with at least 3 years in strategic positioning and messaging roles
- Series A-C startup experience where you built foundational GTM frameworks from the ground up
- Category creation or redefinition experience: You've helped define how a market talks about a problem and solution
- Proven storytelling track record: Portfolio of messaging, case studies, and narratives that moved markets and closed deals
- Cross-functional leadership: Experience partnering with product, sales, and executive teams to align on narrative and strategy
Skills & Capabilities
- Strategic messaging architect: You can take complex products and distill them into simple, compelling narratives that stick
- Market psychology expertise: Deep understanding of buyer behavior, decision triggers, and what creates urgency vs. paralysis
- Story crafting mastery: You write and think in narratives—every project becomes a story with tension, resolution, and transformation
- Customer empathy: Exceptional ability to step into customer shoes and understand their world, challenges, and aspirations
- Data-informed creativity: You balance art and science—using customer research, win/loss data, and market insights to inform creative messaging
- Executive presence: Comfortable presenting to C-suite and board, defending strategic choices with conviction
- Scrappy and resourceful: Comfortable building from zero with limited resources, knowing when to polish and when to ship
You Might Also Have
- Background in journalism, creative writing, or content strategy
- Track record of building customer advisory boards or advocacy programs
- Experience working with sales teams to improve messaging adoption and effectiveness
- Public speaking or thought leadership experience
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