Israeli startups raised over $2 billion in March 2021 alone. As the startup ecosystem in Israel scales, so must the teams leading the growing number of Israeli unicorns. Is there a marketing crunch in Israel? How should Israeli startups think about marketing?
In the previous episode, we’ve heard from experienced CMO Hila Shitrit Nissim, and today VC Cafe features Ran Avrahamy*, Chief Marketing Officer at AppsFlyer, a leading SaaS mobile marketing analytics and attribution platform. In November 2020, AppsFlyer announced a $210 million round led by Salesforce Ventures at over $2 billion valuation. Mobile advertising is at the forefront of Marketing, so I think you’ll appreciate Ran’s perspective.
VC Cafe: The common case in Israel is founding teams flying solo without a marketer until it’s imminently necessary. Do you think different categories or products require different timing in terms of adding on a marketer?
One way of thinking about it, is whether you are inventing a brand new category, or challenging / reinventing an existing one. If you’re inventing a category, marketing needs to come really early on, because market education and brand / community building is critical for business success.
With challenging existing categories, the initial role of marketing is much more tactical: business support function and internal enablement, lead gen etc.. Both aspects of marketing are important; it just depends on the timely business needs.
VC Cafe: What’s the best advice or practical tips you have for founders with regards to marketing and branding at seed stage?
First, focus on doing one thing and doing that thing really well (think ‘what do you want to be famous for’). Stay focused and block out the noise. This can be really hard for early stage startups, but it means the difference between being good or being great. For us it was creating memorable experiences, and a personal connection. We always go above and beyond to create unique activities. It is our speciality; it’s even been dubbed by our peers as our ‘moat’. If you’re hyper focused on your mission, you’ll be able to run fast. And running fast as an early stage start-up is so important.
Second, don’t follow a generic playbook. When I started at AppsFlyer I didn’t google ‘how to build a B2B marketing plan’. I focussed on small experiments. If something failed, I moved on. If something worked, I doubled down and worked on scaling it up. Once I got it down to a science, I’d repeat the process with something else. That to me is really the best practice. Experiment / Measure / Iterate.
Third, above all, always provide value. Create win-win situations for you and other players in your ecosystem. This is key, especially when you’re operating with a “zero budget marketing” mindset. Playing an advisory role for reporters to share interesting data insights and leveraging our partners to create interesting industry content worked very well for us in our early days.
VC Cafe: There’s a rise in community led startups. What best practices have you seen in Israel when it comes to community building?
Be customer-obsessed. Focus on the “who”. When you’re doing what’s right for the end user, everything else falls into place.
Build trust, this is key. It’s the essence of community. Being transparent and working alongside your community are two important ways to build and foster trust.
I’ve said it before, but it’s an absolute must. Bring value. Make sure you’re solving a pain point. Nothing rallies a community more than problem solving.
Find your “super users”, the super passionate people that represent your customers at scale; they’re your champions.
VC Cafe: What’s expected from a CMO today has changed from 10 years ago. Is there a marketing talent crunch?
CMOs are expected today to have a growth mindset and to be accountable for revenue, as well as building a brand for the long-term. And you know what? That’s fantastic. Gone are the days that the marketing org is only in charge of ‘making things pretty’. CMOs must grab a legit seat at the table.
*About Ran Avrahamy:
Managing a complicated relationship with mobile. (Too) early adopter. Loves being an entrepreneur, but hates that word. Now CMO at AppsFlyer – the leading mobile attribution & marketing analytics platform. Before joining AppsFlyer, Ran co-founded Scringo, empowering native apps with social & communication capabilities, and worked in various marketing & business development roles, helping startups grow.
I'm a former general partner at google ventures, head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe and founding head of Campus London, Google's first physical hub for startups.
I'm also the founder of Techbikers, a non-profit bringing together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read. Since inception in 2012 we've built 11 schools and 50 libraries in the developing world.
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