Building a High Performing Marketing Team | Tyler Elliston (Right Side Up, Eventbrite)

Growth Talks: Growth Marketing Strategies & Insights

"Curiosity paired with tenacity is a killer combination."

Tyler Elliston, the founder of Right Side Up, discusses the ins and outs of marketing leadership and the nuances of building effective marketing teams.

From early-stage startups to late-stage enterprises, Tyler shares insights on the unique challenges and strategies for success at each level. The conversation covers everything from building a marketing team from scratch to balancing in-house talent with external resources like consultants and agencies.

🗝️Key Takeaways:

• The shift from generalists to specialists is a natural progression as companies grow. Early-stage companies often need versatile employees who can handle multiple tasks, while later-stage companies benefit from specialists in specific channels.
• Beyond skills and experience, intangibles like curiosity and tenacity are often the differentiators that separate good hires from truly exceptional ones.
• The use of Google and Facebook as customer acquisition channels varies at different stages: early-stage companies use them to gather product feedback and refine product-market fit, mid-stage growth companies use them to drive efficient customer acquisition at scale, while enterprise companies focus on incremental optimizations like reducing CAC and increasing volume.
• External resources, such as freelancers, are becoming increasingly critical for companies that need specialization or want to test new tactics without committing to full-time hires.
• Aligning on metrics and trusting team members are key to overcoming friction between marketing, product, and sales.
• Offering flexibility is crucial to attract top-tier talent, especially in a post-pandemic world, where work-life balance and autonomy are highly valued.

⏰ Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to Tyler Elliston, Founder of Right Side Up

01:44 Building a marketing team from scratch

04:52 Intangibles of great talent: passion, curiosity, tenacity

11:32 Balancing autonomy and accountability

18:07 When to use consultants, agencies, or in-house talent

24:04 Challenges in cross-functional collaboration

31:16 Lessons from high-growth startups vs. enterprises

35:39 Why Tyler founded Right Side Up

44:12 Tyler’s favorite growth non-hack

🔗 Mentioned in this episode:

Right Side Up: www.rightsideup.com

Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.com

Equifax: www.equifax.com