B2B SaaS founders are typically driven by product innovation and business growth. They launch companies to solve pressing customer problems and capture new markets, which makes achieving product-market fit and scaling revenue top priorities. In founder surveys, hiring the right team consistently ranks as a major concern – for example, First Round Capital found that recruiting great talent “tops the list of founder concerns”. Early-stage founders juggle challenges like securing funding, beating competitors, and managing cash flow, all while trying to rapidly grow their customer base.
Customer acquisition is a paramount focus. In one startup poll, customer acquisition was the #1 marketing challenge, followed by generating leads. High growth is essential, yet costly – 14% of startups fail due to poor marketing and another 14% fail from prohibitively high customer acquisition costs. This underscores why founders care deeply about marketing outcomes (new users, revenue) even if they don’t always emphasise marketing methods early on. Many technical founders initially minimise marketing, treating it as “only about communication” and avoiding uncomfortable market questions. This can lead to missteps – over half of startup failures are linked to not connecting product to market needs, essentially marketing issues in disguise. Savvy founders recognise that marketing strategy underpins product success, ensuring customers know a product exists and understand its value.
Founders’ vision for marketing can vary widely. Some integrate marketing into their business DNA from day one, while others delay it to focus on product-led growth. Example: Slack reached a $1B valuation with virtually no marketing team at first – CEO Stewart Butterfield relied on product virality and word-of-mouth, hiring the first CMO only after Slack had 50+ employees and “hockey stick” user growth. This reflects an early-stage mindset of prioritising product-market fit before formal marketing. In contrast, HubSpot’s founders built marketing into their vision from the start: they coined the term “inbound marketing” and ran a popular blog before even launching a product, which helped pull in customers through valuable content. These examples show that when marketing aligns with the founder’s vision (as at HubSpot), it becomes a growth engine, whereas when it’s deprioritised (as initially at Slack), growth comes from product-led tactics until marketing ramps up.
Marketing Perceptions Across Growth Stages
Founders’ expectations of marketing – and of a Chief Marketing Officer – evolve dramatically from early startup stages to scale-up to enterprise. Company stage and funding level strongly influence how founders view the marketing function:
Early Stage Startups
In the seed to product launch phase (pre–product/market fit), marketing is often scrappy and founder-led. Many startups don’t even have a dedicated marketing team early on – one study found only 56.9% of startups had a marketing team, while 15% relied entirely on the founder as the sole marketer. At this stage, the founder’s view of marketing is typically tactical and immediate: they need to create initial awareness and get their first handful of customers fast. The marketing leader (if one exists) must “wear multiple hats – part strategist, part doer” to validate the market and acquire early users. Often the CMO-equivalent works as an extension of the founder’s vision, closely collaborating on messaging and even helping shape the product based on market feedback
Early-stage founders tend to prioritise activities that drive short-term results (lead generation, product launches, PR buzz) over long-term brand building. In fact, many startups delay hiring a true CMO; venture advice suggests focusing on a VP of Marketing to run demand generation until the company is larger. As SaaStr’s Jason Lemkin notes, until you have a well-known brand (often not until ~$20M ARR), it’s wise to hire a marketing lead whose “#1 job is demand gen,” ensuring all marketing activity is focused on building pipeline. Founders at this stage expect marketing to prove its worth quickly by delivering traction (signups, MQLs, demos) on a lean budget.
Growth Stage / Scale Ups
Once a startup finds product-market fit and raises Series A/B funding, the founder’s perception of marketing shifts from “can we acquire customers at all?” to “how do we scale this efficiently?”. With a viable product and some revenue, scaling becomes the focus. At this stage (say, $5M–$20M ARR), founders typically bring in more experienced marketing leadership. The CMO (or VP Marketing) is expected to amplify what works and build a repeatable engine. That includes scaling up customer acquisition, optimising the funnel, and starting to build out a team to handle increasing complexity. Founders in scale-ups often view marketing as a growth driver that must be data-driven and accountable: there’s pressure to deliver pipeline and ROI to justify larger marketing budgets. One industry playbook notes that the marketing leader’s role becomes more tactical and team-oriented – taking proven channels and pouring fuel on the fire. For example, by Series B a SaaS founder might expect their CMO to establish a reliable lead generation machine (e.g. content marketing, paid acquisition, webinars), develop the company’s brand messaging, and support sales with enablement and campaigns. The funding stage can influence timing – a well-funded startup might hire a CMO sooner to accelerate growth, whereas a bootstrapped founder will hire more gradually. (Bootstrapped companies often delay C-level hires; however, even for them the CMO tends to be the first executive hire once affordable, around the time they approach ~$15M ARR. By the end of the scale-up phase, founders expect marketing to not only bring in leads, but also to position the company in the market and fuel the sales pipeline to hit aggressive revenue targets.
Enterprise Stage Businesses
In later-stage and enterprise SaaS (post-IPO or $50M+ ARR), marketing is viewed as a critical strategic function at the leadership table. Founders/CEOs of large SaaS companies want their CMO to act as a seasoned business leader – someone who can manage large teams and budgets, guide high-level strategy, and protect and expand the company’s market position. At this stage, expectations broaden: the CMO is responsible not just for lead gen, but for brand leadership, market expansion, and customer lifetime value. As one guide describes, the CMO must transition from hands-on marketer to a seasoned leader who can manage large teams, drive strategic initiatives like pricing, distribution, and global expansion, and maintain a laser focus on customer retention and LTV. Enterprise founders often emphasise alignment and consistency: marketing should work in lockstep with sales and product to present one unified strategy. There’s also a greater focus on market share and category dominance – hence CMOs at this level spend more effort on thought leadership, PR, analyst relations, and defining the company’s story. Marketing is expected to support customer success and retention as well. In SaaS, recurring revenue is king, and even retention has become a marketing priority. Many founders now want their CMOs to partner with customer success on engagement and upsells (reflecting the blurred boundaries between acquiring and keeping customers). In fact, keeping existing customers happy and renewing is now “top of mind for many CMOs”, whereas historically that wasn’t in marketing’s purview. In summary, an enterprise-stage founder views marketing as a holistic growth engine – from awareness to acquisition to expansion – and expects their CMO to steward the company’s reputation and revenue growth on a large scale.
Business model and market context shape expectations
Founders consider their go-to-market model when hiring a CMO. For instance, a product-led growth (PLG) SaaS founder (offering a self-serve freemium product) may expect marketing to drive viral user adoption and low-touch digital campaigns, whereas a founder with an enterprise sales model will expect account-based marketing and sales enablement. The competitive landscape matters too.
In a mature, crowded market, a founder needs a CMO skilled in demand capture – standing out from competitors and grabbing inbound buyers. “The CMO for a competitive market needs to be an expert in demand capture… making sure your solution stands out as the clear choice,” advises one SaaS marketing guide.
Conversely, in a nascent market where customers don’t yet realise a solution exists, founders expect marketing to focus on demand generation and category education. In such cases, the right CMO must “educate [the market] on the key problems… and solutions they need” to create demand from scratch. Additionally, if the company’s growth strategy involves new product lines or global expansion, founders will want a CMO who has experience launching products or entering new regions.
Funding stage can influence how marketing is viewed as well: venture-backed founders often feel pressure to grow fast and may task the CMO with aggressive pipeline targets to satisfy investors, whereas a more conservatively funded business might emphasise efficient growth and marketing ROI. Despite these nuances, across all contexts the trend is that as a SaaS company matures, the founder’s trust in and reliance on marketing increases – moving from a support role to a central, strategic leadership role.
CMO Expectations & Outcomes
When founders bring on a Chief Marketing Officer, they have clear outcomes in mind. At the highest level, founders expect their CMO to drive business growth in measurable ways. In a 2023 survey of 75 SaaS CMOs, the top five priorities were:
- increasing pipeline,
- optimising the marketing budget,
- improving conversion rates,
- boosting average revenue per user and
- improving customer retention
These priorities mirror what founders demand from marketing leadership – more revenue, more efficiency, and more customer value. Founders want a CMO who will deliver tangible results: a bigger sales pipeline, higher ROI on campaigns, and strong retention of the customer base. Simply put, the CMO is expected to be the architect of scalable growth. One big shift in recent years is holding marketing accountable for revenue pipeline. Whereas in the past a CMO might be evaluated on soft metrics or lead volume, today there’s a “growing demand for marketing departments to bear the brunt of pipeline generation targets”. Founders and boards now often give CMOs revenue or bookings goals, not just MQL goals, indicating a significant increase in responsibility. Alongside growth, founders are laser-focused on marketing ROI. Especially in tighter economic conditions, every dollar spent must count. CMOs are under pressure to justify budgets, and boardroom reviews of marketing spend are “rigorous evaluations of performance metrics”. A SaaS founder typically expects their CMO to be very data-driven – tracking what works, cutting what doesn’t, and continuously optimising the mix (often with the help of analytics and AI tools to find efficiencies.
Beyond these top-line outcomes, founders have specific skills and qualities they look for in a marketing leader. Some of the key expectations and traits include:
Strategic Vision & Alignment
A CMO must understand the founder’s vision and translate it into marketing strategy. Founders want a marketing chief who can see the “big picture” and position the company for long-term success while executing short-term tactics. This means defining the brand narrative, identifying target segments, and shaping go-to-market strategy in line with the business goals. Crucially, the CMO needs to align tightly with other execs – working “in lockstep” with product, sales, and customer success teams to drive the company forward. Founders expect their CMO to be a bridge between the product and the market, ensuring that what the company builds is effectively communicated and delivered to customers. In practice, this might involve everything from pricing strategy to channel partnerships – modern CMOs often contribute to decisions beyond just advertising, acting as a strategic advisor on market direction.
Growth & Demand Gen Expertise
Especially in B2B SaaS, a top expectation is that the CMO will be a growth driver. Founders want a leader who deeply understands digital marketing, lead generation, and funnel optimisation. The CMO should have a playbook for acquiring customers at scale – whether through content marketing, SEO, paid ads, events, virality, or all of the above. In early and growth stages, the CMO is often essentially a “VP of Demand Gen” in practice, tasked with building a repeatable engine for inbound leads and MQLs that turn into revenue. Even at later stages, the growth mandate remains: pipeline creation is the #1 priority cited by CMOs heading into 2024, reflecting that founders are still counting on marketing to keep the sales pipeline full. A great CMO is expected to bring innovative growth ideas (account based marketing (ABM), community building, product led growth (PLG) techniques, etc.) and not rely on “business as usual.” Founders also value customer insight as part of growth – the CMO should obsess over the target customer’s needs and buying journey to unlock new acquisition and conversion strategies.
Accountability & Decision Making
A successful marketing leader in the eyes of a founder is one who measures what matters. Founders expect CMOs to establish clear KPIs (pipeline dollars, CAC, LTV, conversion rates, brand awareness metrics) and report on them transparently. The era of vague marketing impact is over – as noted, CMOs are now often on the hook for concrete metrics like pipeline and retention. Financial acumen is increasingly desired: according to executive recruiters, some SaaS CMOs even take on P&L responsibilities or revenue targets. Even if they don’t own a sales quota, the CMO is expected to optimise the marketing budget like an investment portfolio, doubling down on high-ROI programs and trimming waste. Founders also want timely intelligence: rather than waiting for quarterly results, today’s CEOs appreciate marketers who provide real-time data and insights to inform agile changes. In short, the CMO is expected to prove marketing’s impact through data. This emphasis on accountability can be seen in how only 24% of CMOs in one Gartner study felt they had sufficient budget – indicating that most are constantly pressured to do more with less and justify spend. The founder’s ideal CMO embraces this challenge, using analytics to continually improve efficiency.
Leadership & Team Building
As a company grows, the CMO must scale the marketing organisation. Founders expect their marketing head to be a strong leader and recruiter who can build a high-performing team. This includes hiring specialists (for content, product marketing, demand gen, etc.), mentoring talent, and structuring the team for growth. One founder priority is getting the right people in the right roles – a mis-hire in marketing can be costly in lost time and budget. Given that hiring is a top founder concern, they rely on the CMO to attract and retain top marketing talent who fit the culture and can execute the strategy. Additionally, the CMO should be an effective cross-functional leader, advocating for marketing internally and fostering tight collaboration with Sales, Product, and Engineering. For example, if Sales and Marketing are misaligned (a common pain point), the founder will look to the CMO to partner with the Head of Sales to fix lead handoffs, coordinate campaigns, and present a united front on revenue goals. In enterprise settings, the CMO may oversee large global teams and agencies, so leadership and communication skills are paramount. Ultimately, founders want a self-sufficient leader – someone who can “own” the marketing function entirely so that the founder can focus on other areas of the business.
Agility & Innovation
The best CMOs impress founders with their ability to adapt and innovate. Startups operate in fast-changing markets; a tactic that worked last quarter might stall this quarter. Therefore, founders highly value traits like curiosity, flexibility, and a test-and-learn mindset in their marketing head. As one hiring guide advises, “beyond experience, look for traits like curiosity and agility. The best CMOs are always learning and adapting… able to pivot quickly and experiment with new tactics”. In practical terms, this means if a marketing channel is underperforming, the CMO proactively explores alternatives; if a new social platform or trend emerges (e.g. short-form video, AI-driven content), the CMO is willing to run pilot programs to see if it can provide an edge. Founders don’t want a rigid plan that never changes – they want a responsive strategy that can capitalise on opportunities and navigate disruptions. The past few years have tested this agility (think of rapid shifts to virtual events, then back to hybrid, etc.). A common founder gripe is that marketing can become too slow or complacent; thus a CMO who stays agile, keeps a pulse on the industry, and continuously brings fresh ideas will earn a founder’s confidence.
Customer Centric Approach
Finally, many founders expect their CMO to champion the voice of the customer within the company. Marketing sits at the intersection of the product and the market, so the CMO is expected to deeply understand customer pain points, buyer personas, and feedback trends. This insight is vital for refining messaging and even informing product development. Some founders themselves act as the “first CMO,” especially if they are particularly close to the customer problem. As one B2B marketing expert noted, the best founders-turned-CMOs make sure to feed customer insights into the product roadmap and craft positioning that highlights competitive differentiators. When a dedicated CMO comes on board, the founder will hand over this torch and expect the CMO to be the expert on the market. A customer-centric CMO will ensure that marketing programs resonate with real needs and that the company’s brand earns trust by addressing what customers care about. This also extends to customer retention marketing – founders increasingly want CMOs to engage customers through communities, advocacy programs, and educational content, turning buyers into loyal fans. For instance, Slack’s first CMO Bill Macaitis famously focused on “creating the customer experience people love” and optimising for word-of-mouth referrals, not just the initial sale. That kind of post-sale marketing focus is now a common expectation in SaaS, where renewal and expansion revenue are just as important as new sales
Challenges & Friction Points
Misaligned Expectations
Despite these high expectations, there are known challenges and friction points between founders (or CEOs) and CMOs. A frequent issue is misaligned expectations – in many companies there’s “a mismatch between the job description, CEO expectations, and CMO authority,” which can set the CMO up for failure. For example, a founder might expect the CMO to magically produce results without investing in support or might define success in vague terms. To avoid this, experts urge CEOs to clearly define “what business challenge are we solving for” with the CMO role and what specific outcomes are needed.
Timeline Tension
Another challenge is timeline tension: founders, used to the rapid pace of product development, often expect marketing initiatives to yield immediate growth. In reality, marketing can take time to ramp up (SEO content might take months to rank, brand perception can take years to build). Many CEOs “expect immediate changes when they hire a new CMO,” but it’s crucial to set realistic timelines for impact. Otherwise, impatience can lead to disappointment and premature firing of the CMO. This may explain why the average CMO tenure is only about 3 years – the shortest in the C-suite – often due to a combination of miscommunication and perceived underperformance. Founders and boards will replace a CMO if they feel results aren’t coming fast enough, but frequently the underlying cause is lack of upfront alignment on goals and what “success” looks like.
Appropriate Authority
Communication and trust are therefore key in the founder–CMO relationship. Founders must grant the CMO appropriate authority and resources to execute the agreed strategy. If a CMO is hired to drive growth but isn’t empowered to adjust pricing or increase budget for a promising channel, they will struggle. Similarly, the CMO must keep the founder informed and educated on marketing’s impact (no “mystery marketing”). Regular updates with data, candid discussions about what’s working or not, and being willing to adjust strategy help build trust. It’s also important that the CMO integrates with the company’s culture – a flashy big-company marketer may flounder in a scrappy startup if they can’t roll up their sleeves. This is why founders often emphasise finding a CMO who “fits” their stage and values. If the company is, say, developer-focused and product-led, the CMO should appreciate that ethos and not push purely traditional marketing. When there is a strong vision alignment (the CMO truly believes in the founder’s mission) and clarity of roles, the partnership flourishes. We see this in success stories like Salesforce, where founder Marc Benioff – a marketer at heart – worked closely with his CMOs on groundbreaking campaigns to build the SaaS category, or in companies like HubSpot where the founders and CMO were philosophically in sync about educating the market.
Market Maturity and Trends
Expectations are shifting with market maturity and trends. Modern B2B SaaS founders expect their marketing leaders to be more technically savvy (understanding marketing automation, CRM, data analytics) and more adaptable to new trends (like account-based marketing, community-led growth, or AI tools) than in the past. There’s also a trend toward full funnel responsibility: the CMO is increasingly involved at every stage of the customer lifecycle, from initial awareness to expansion and advocacy. As noted, retention and customer marketing are now often part of the CMO’s charter.
Category Creation
Another evolving expectation is – many founders want to “create a movement” or define a new category (as Snowflake did in data warehousing or HubSpot did with inbound marketing). This requires a CMO who can lead thought leadership and differentiate the brand in a crowded SaaS landscape. Additionally, given the proliferation of tools and channels, founders appreciate CMOs who can cut through complexity and focus on strategies that truly move the needle, rather than chasing vanity metrics. The pressure to demonstrate impact in hard numbers will likely continue, and the best founder–CMO relationships are those where both parties agree on the metrics that matter (e.g. pipeline, CAC:LTV ratio, NRR) and work collaboratively towards them.
Key Takeaways for SaaS Founders & CMOs
Align with Founder’s Vision Early
Founders should explicitly discuss with their CMO how marketing will drive the company’s mission. Whether the goal is rapid user acquisition, category leadership, or customer retention, both sides must agree on the marketing North Star metrics (pipeline, growth rate, NRR, etc.). This ensures the CMO focuses on what the business values most. For instance, if the founder’s vision is product-led viral growth, the CMO might prioritise community and word-of-mouth programs over heavy paid advertising – a strategic choice that needs founder buy-in. Clear alignment prevents the common “mismatch in expectations” that often plagues CMO hires.
Hire for the Right Stage and Skills
The needs of a $1M ARR startup versus a $100M ARR enterprise are very different. Founders should seek a marketing leader suited to their growth stage. Early-stage startups might opt for a versatile “builder” CMO who can do a bit of everything and thrive with limited resources. Scale-ups require a CMO who has experience scaling demand and building a team, someone tactical and data-driven to amplify what’s working. At enterprise level, a strategic leader who can manage large budgets, orchestrate global campaigns, and drive cross-functional initiatives is key. Don’t hire a corporate brand expert when you really need a lead gen scrapper (or vice versa). Evaluate if the candidate has navigated similar challenges to your current stage. As a rule of thumb, delay hiring a heavyweight CMO until the foundation (demand gen engine) is in place – many SaaS founders wait until ~$20M ARR before shifting from a pure growth marketer to a broader CMO role. Conversely, once you reach that stage, empower your marketing head to think beyond just leads (into brand, strategy, product marketing) to unlock the next level of growth.
Define Clear Objectives & Timeline
A founder should articulate the specific outcomes they expect from marketing in the next 6, 12, 18 months, and mutually set realistic timelines with the CMO. If the objective is to double ARR in a year, break down how much pipeline marketing must contribute and by when. If it’s to launch in a new vertical, set targets for awareness and lead flow in that segment. Having this clarity combats the tendency to expect “instant miracles.” For example, if a founder knows an SEO content strategy will take 6+ months to bear fruit, they can pair it with short-term tactics (like targeted ads) to satisfy near-term needs while the long-term plan matures – aligning with the CMO on this mixed approach. Regular check-ins on progress toward these agreed goals will keep everyone accountable and allow course-correction before minor issues become crises. Remember that in SaaS, marketing is a continuous process of optimisation; founders should be wary of knee-jerk reactions and give the CMO enough runway to test, learn, and then scale initiatives.
Foster Collaboration and Give Authority
Marketing cannot operate in a silo – its success depends on product quality, sales execution, customer success, and more. Founders should enable their CMO to collaborate across departments and also grant them the authority to make key decisions. This might mean including the CMO in high-level product roadmap discussions (so marketing can plan positioning), ensuring Sales and Marketing leaders build a unified funnel strategy, or allowing the CMO some flexibility in budget allocation to react to market changes. If the CMO is treated as merely a service provider for other teams, they won’t be effective. Instead, make them an equal partner in growth. For instance, involve the CMO when setting quarterly sales targets or defining the ideal customer profile – areas where marketing insight is valuable. Conversely, the CMO should be empowered to say “We’re going to stop investing in Channel X and shift to Channel Y based on data” without undue interference, as long as they substantiate it. Founders must avoid the trap of hiring a smart marketing leader and then second-guessing every move; trust and empowerment are essential. A CMO who feels ownership (and who is truly accountable for results) is far more likely to deliver. This collaborative, empowered environment is also noticed by the rest of the team – it signals that marketing has strong support, which can improve overall alignment and morale.
Stay Customer Centric and Adaptive
Both founders and CMOs should keep the focus on the customer and be willing to adapt as the market evolves. By grounding strategies in customer data and feedback, you ensure marketing and product efforts hit the mark. Founders can facilitate this by sharing their own customer insights and encouraging the CMO to spend time directly with customers, not just looking at dashboards. When the CMO deeply understands customer pain points, they can craft campaigns that truly resonate (leading to better ROI and growth). Additionally, build a culture with your marketing team of experimentation and agility – celebrate learning, not just winning. The SaaS landscape changes fast (new competitors, channels, buyer behaviors), so what worked last year might need tweaking this year. Founders should expect their CMO to continuously pivot and innovate as needed, and they should support prudent risks in marketing. Maybe it’s experimenting with a new content format, trying a developer community outreach, or adjusting pricing messaging – an adaptive approach will keep the company ahead of the curve. By being customer-centric and agile, founders and their CMOs can jointly navigate the uncertainties of growth and come out ahead of competitors who are slower to adjust.
Summary
In conclusion, B2B SaaS founders ultimately want a CMO who is a growth partner and strategic leader rolled into one. The ideal CMO understands the founder’s vision and the company’s stage, and then executes a marketing strategy that delivers on core business goals – be it acquiring customers, building a dominant brand, or expanding the customer lifetime value. The relationship works best when expectations are clear and data-driven, when the CMO’s role is tailored to the company’s maturity, and when both founder and CMO maintain open communication. With the right alignment, a CMO can be transformative – “the bridge between product and market and the driver of your growth engine,” as one guide put it. By leveraging the insights above – drawn from industry data, surveys, and real SaaS success stories – founders can more effectively empower their CMOs, and CMOs can focus on what founders value most. The result is a powerful synergy at the top that steers the startup to scale and the scale-up to market leadership, fulfilling the ultimate priority of both founder and CMO: sustainable, exponential growth.