Stop Handing Marketing to the Nearest Available Human

Because apparently posting on LinkedIn twice a week now makes you head of marketing.

Startups move fast. Everyone wears five hats. Someone builds the website, someone runs payroll, and someone says, “We should probably start marketing.” Cue the room scan.

“Who’s good with words?”
“Who knows how to post on LinkedIn?”
“Who once survived Mailchimp?”

Congratulations, you’re now the marketing department.

And sometimes, that person turns out to be incredible—sharp, organized, proactive. The kind of person who can see around corners and clear blockers before you even spot them.

I’ve been lucky enough to work with someone exactly like that. She came from HR, not marketing, and she’s an absolute force. I can send her half a thought, and she’ll turn it into a checklist, anticipate the next three steps, and make it easier for everyone else to move faster.

But here’s the thing: being brilliant doesn’t make marketing her zone of genius.
And assigning someone to work that doesn’t energize them—no matter how capable they are—has a cost.

A few months ago, during an interview for a startup role, a veteran CPO asked me a question I’ll never forget:

“What kind of work energizes you? And what kind of work de-energizes you?”

It stopped me cold.
Because the truth is, most startups never ask that question.
They assign based on convenience, not chemistry. And that’s how you quietly build burnout into your culture before you even hit Series A.

When someone’s constantly doing work that drains them, you don’t just lose efficiency—you lose momentum. Projects crawl, creativity tanks, and the founder starts thinking marketing doesn’t work, when really, it’s just misaligned.

So if you’re a founder, here’s my ask:
Stop handing marketing to the nearest available human.
Start bringing in people who are energized by it—who light up at the thought of crafting a message that moves a market, or spotting a pattern that could unlock pipeline.

And if you’re not ready for a full-time hire? That’s what fractional marketing is for.
It’s not as scary as it sounds. You get experience, speed, and frameworks without the ramp-up, and your internal team gets to stay in their lane of genius. You’ll move faster, spend smarter, and build healthier culture in the process.

Marketing isn’t something you hand off.
It’s something you hand over—to the right people holding the pen.