Julian Kulkarni | CMO

Brit living in DublinInternational/EntrepreneurialStart-ups, Scale-ups, TransformationsRaised over €30M..and have 3 daughters Boating

Currently: CMO: Morgan McKinley | Ireland

Previously:• CMO and founding team

Easyfairs | Belgium

• Head of European Marketing: FreeMarkets (Ariba, SAP) | Belgium

• Co-founder & CMO: Job Partners (Taleo, Oracle) | UK

• European Marketing Manager: Business Solutions | SAS Institute | Germany

• Get through start-up phase

• New skill sets

• Architects > builders

• Add headcount with care

• Recruit people who are the right cultural fit

[photo: toddler learning to walk]

• Conserve cash and spend wisely

• Be aware that communication will become an issue

• Migrations need a lot of thought

• Be very careful on who you bring into the company

• Personal chemistry matters

• Consider the alternatives to FTE hiring: temp agencies, part-time work, outsourcing, freelances. Be flexible, maybe a short-term contract or trial period

• Look at who the competition is hiring

• Identify people with the right personality set for a small enterprise. Exposure to a big company environment may be a bad thing

[photo: punk teenager]

• Be keenly aware of the external market environment

• Be open to consider new markets, target audiences

• Question everything about your operating model

• Accept that staff churn will happen and plan for it

• Leapfrog past bigger competitors or beat them through strategic partnerships

• Re-examine your business processes as you grow

• Define the position precisely and set the right expectations. Avoid vague generalisations and management -speak

• You might try your network first. If that doesn’t work, get professional advice from a recruitment consultancy

• Be clear about the role. Don’t oversell

• When interviewing, use your own experience as an entrepreneur

• Get solid advice on locations

• Find the right partner[s]

• Select the right talent (relocation and local)

• Global / local / glocal

• Risk analysis is key

• Might take several attempts

• Think carefully about what functions you can keep central, and what skills you will need locally

• Recruit people with a good local network, potentially already well placed to recruit a team, and who can add value

• Check their track record and references

[photo: Julian ?]

• Remember to onboard new employees, maybe with a “buddy” system

• Take your time – and if you don’t have time, rely on a professional recruiter

• “Always be hiring” – because it is a slow process, you need to stay one jump ahead

• Even mature companies have to think and act like start-ups and scale-ups now and again

• You only have a brief opportunity to pause, take stock and redefine your business

• Otherwise, if you are not scaling up you are scaling down, like it or not

• Not everyone will accept the new approach

• Hire well

• Fire well

• Hire great managers early

• Outsource

• Take time, take stock

• Identify your market strengths and focus

• Communicate effectively, internally and externally

• Work with experts

• Set regular milestones

• Don’t try to beat bigger, better resourced competitors head-on

• Don’t give up!

KEEP IN TOUCH!

@juliankulkarni #morganmckinley jkulkarni@morganmckinley.com