The Tech Nest Newsletter is back. I’ve put this on the back burner in favor of other projects. But the itch to write has been strong and I have some new ideas for y’all.

Each week, I’m going to focus on marketing topics (along with podcast interviews). Many will come from the pain caves I’ve had to visit while building marketing teams at startups—much of this will be contexualized for proptech as well. Other topics will come from you.

I’ve created this form for you to tell me what you need help with so I can write up something helpful for you. You can expect future emails to contain forms, templates, presentations, and likely some video explanations as well.

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to it for this week!

Hire Builders, Not Task Doers

For proptech startups in the early stages, making a marketing hire can be a big leap. It’s likely the first hire outside of product, direct sales, or engineering. You need someone who can work independently, yet they can take direction. Someone who’s strategic, but also willing to roll up their sleeves. You can’t afford to pay top-tier, but you know having a weak compensation plan won’t likely attract great talent.

The common mistake made here is that the first hire ends up being a Task Doer, not a Builder.

Task Doers are those who are great at following checklists, creating exactly what you ask them to, and they often accel within established parameters. But if you’re making your first or second marketing hire, you probably don’t yet have a dialed in marketing program. You’re going to want someone who can help spot the gaps in your ideas and build upon what you’ve done so far—not just maintain.

You’re likely hiring because you need help getting to the next level—not just someone who’s going to marginally improve the business.

Builders are the ones who:

• Challenge ideas and establish tests

• Focus on metrics and outcomes

• Develop frameworks and create SOPs where none exist

Some of the questions you might want to ask yourself (or have others ask that are part of the hiring process) when looking to bring on a Builder:

• Does the candidate speak to metrics they’ve been responsible for previously and/or direct results of their efforts?

• Do they teach you something about your market, product, and/or marketing campaigns?

• Does the candidate surprise you in anyway going above and beyond during the application and interview process?

• Can the candidate articulate or demonstrate something they’ve created previously or are currently doing outside of their day job?

If you can answer yes to all of the above (not some, ALL), then you more than likely talking with a Builder.

Task Doers are great, but they have a place on the team. That place comes after you’ve established your Builders. If you’re marketing output and results are falling flat, you may not have Builders in all the right places.

It doesn’t stop there, but that’s all for this week.

If you have something you’d like me to write about (could be more on this topic or something different) drop your suggestion here.

This week’s podcast feature: Joe Hoppis, CEO at Pairadime

Joe Hoppis is the Co-founder and CEO of a startup called Pairadime. Pairadime is working to make co-buying residential real estate much simpler and a better experience. In this interview, Joe breaks down how many co-buying transactions there are, why this trend will likely continue to grow, and what Pairadime is actually doing to help close these transactions. Joe's passion for real estate is self-evident as he's had a 20+ year career, committed to the industry. He also shares his passion and desire to see Pairadime help address some of the housing affordability challenges many are experiencing across the country.

Listen in on your favorite podcast player. Links to listen are here.