Why Your Co-Founder Should be a Marketer
Today’s advice post is by Dan Lesley, Founder of Homestar. Dan has over 20 years building, growing, and selling SaaS tech startups.
I’ve been through the startup wringer more times than I can count. After flipping a couple SaaS companies and now building Homestar, I’ve learned something the hard way - you really need a marketing-focused co-founder.
Back when I started, this wasn’t obvious to me. Like many tech folks, I bought into that romantic idea of two developers coding away in a garage. Reality check: my first startup had killer tech but couldn’t get traction. We built something great but couldn’t explain why anyone should care.
That failure taught me a lot. Our software was solid, but we couldn’t connect with users. We were basically speaking Greek to people who needed plain English. Pretty humbling experience.
Fast forward to Homestar, where we’re building CRM software for real estate agents. My co-founder gets marketing at a gut level, and it shows. Real estate agents are a unique crowd - they live and die by relationships. Having someone who naturally speaks their language has been game-changing.
- Marketing folks understand what makes customers tick. They grasp those emotional triggers that turn a “maybe” into a “yes”
- They can tell your story in a way that sticks. While I see feature lists, they see narratives that resonate
- They know how to create buzz on a shoestring budget. Trust me, in the early days, this matters more than you’d think
In startup life, everyone wears multiple hats. My co-founder shifts seamlessly between high-level strategy and hands-on execution. From crafting email campaigns to picking cost-effective ad channels, they just get it.
Had this funny moment a few months back during our beta. While I was cursing at server logs, my co-founder was sipping coffee and tweaking headlines. Within an hour, they’d written something that got real estate agents excited to try our platform. Can’t make that stuff up.
You’ll definitely need to be flexible as a founder. But having marketing expertise baked in from day one? That’s been crucial. It keeps us focused on what matters - the customer’s perspective.
Products don’t magically find their market. I learned that one the expensive way. You need someone who can make people believe in your solution, who can show them how it fits into their world.
With Homestar, we’re not just building another CRM tool. My co-founder helps us create genuine connections with our users. The product is important, but the story around it matters just as much.
If you’re still in the early stages, take a hard look at what’s missing from your founding team. Having a marketing-minded co-founder means your product won’t just exist - it’ll matter to people.
This isn’t about growth hacks or shortcuts. It’s about having someone who naturally gets how people think and behave. When you nail that combination of solid product and compelling story, that’s when things really take off.