Celebrating One Year of Arch Collective
One Year Down.
Last week marked my one year anniversary of founding Arch Collective, and I can't believe it's been a whole year since it’s been established!
As the congratulatory messages, comments, and notifications started popping up on LinkedIn, I took some time to reflect on Arch Collective’s first year. As I thought back across the last twelve months, three distinct themes came to mind: being a female business owner, the role of the Fractional CMO, and resiliency.
In honor of Arch Collective’s first anniversary, I dig into these three themes and share what this year has meant to me. But before getting into it, I am going to share how I arrived here first.
So, how did I get here?
In my previous role, I was running marketing for a $500M business. And by running marketing I mean running marketing. I was doing everything from top level strategy down to tactical execution. The nitty gritty work included copywriting, creating digital assets for the website, launching email campaigns, and so on.
The reason I was wearing so many hats? I was put on one hiring freeze after another. This process wasn’t ideal for a marketing executive but I gained a very valuable skill set: strategy plus execution. Because I knew how to build the plan and execute against the plan, I was better positioned to hire people who could get the work done.
Once I left that business, I began interviewing for CMO roles for start-ups in San Francisco. I found myself in the final rounds with four companies and realized that they all had the same problems and challenges. This had me thinking about how many more start-ups are having these exact same challenges. I also knew that I could make real impacts at all four businesses, but that wouldn’t be possible if I was hired as a full-time CMO at any one company.
As I recognized the shared challenges that almost all B2B start-up founders and executives face, I developed the solution: a Fractional CMO for executive-level strategy plus a Collective of marketing talent to executive against the plan.
Now that you know a little bit more about how I arrived here, here’s a look into the three key themes of Arch Collective’s first year:
1. Being a female business owner
Historically the tech space has been predominantly run by men in leadership roles. Reflecting on Arch Collective’s first year, I am enthused to see more and more women in senior-level roles - both at my clients’ companies and within The Collective.
As a CEO and founder, I strive to offer professional opportunities for women and folks with diverse personal and professional experiences. Working towards a more equal playing field and inclusivity is an important value at Arch Collective. I see my role as a female CEO to continuously educate myself and bring more women into start-ups. These incremental contributions can eventually lead to bigger impacts across the industries Arch Collective serves.
This year I have really enjoyed collaborating with women professionally. My clients have amazing, smart female execs. Start-ups are recognizing that diversity matters and I’m happy to be a part of it. Additionally, I have been fortunate to mentor more young women. This mentorship happens two ways: marketers on the client side and freelancers on their own individual businesses.
This ability to work with more women and folks with diverse backgrounds has been one of my greatest accomplishments over the last year.
2. The Need for a Fractional CMO
Over this last year, I am seeing more and more brands ditch the traditional CMO. This is because in this fast-paced, rapidly changing world, companies need a way to quickly scale marketing efforts, including executive roles.
Under normal circumstances, pre-COVID, B2B start-ups always had headwinds and tailwinds to navigate. This has been amplified during the era of COVID. Companies are looking for new models that are more future-proof so that the results they need are guaranteed. Hiring a Fractional CMO, a part-time and flexible marketing executive, enables start-ups to scale up and scale down easily. Companies are working with Fractional CMOs on-demand so they get the results when they need it most and no overhead when they don’t.
It’s encouraging for me to witness the success of the Fractional CMO model with my clients and other businesses. Although this new approach to marketing was starting to trend prior to 2020, and the onset of the COVID pandemic really accelerated this model. Companies are more open to trying new things. The Fractional CMO model is likely to stay. Now, companies based in Chicago, Denver or even Australia, can get access to a Silicon Valley executive. Regardless of where your business is or will be in the future, you can work with a top marketing executive all within your budget.
3. Resiliency
Many of us have experienced adversity and challenges over the last year. For me personally, I found myself earlier this year having to resell or pitch clients on the Arch Collective model after I had already begun working. It can be a grind to find the right clients, let alone having to resell them.
Ultimately this experience reinforced the value of what I do and my ability to do it. It proves the resiliency of Arch Collective and the new path we are forging. For many start-ups, executives are now navigating uncharted territories. A misstep in marketing can be the difference between your company’s success or failure. Hiring a Fractional CMO, or a marketing advisor, is a great way to move your company forward and get the results your investors expect. The Arch Collective model, a Fractional CMO plus a Collective of marketing talent, is proving to be a future-proof model.
I am really proud of the clients I partner with, the group of talented marketers and creatives that have joined the Collective, and the work we accomplish every day.
If you’re a start-up founder or executive looking to grow your business in 2021, get in touch with me here.
Or if you are a freelance marketer or creative, learn how you can join the Collective here.
