Founders' Marketing Compass

In this milestone 30th episode of Founders’ Marketing Compass, host Etgar Shpivak sits down with Ron Oren, co-founder and CMO of Imagen, to explore the delicate balance between brand building and performance marketing in early-stage startups. The conversation dives deep into translating company-level KPIs into actionable marketing metrics, the power of local marketing strategies, and why startups should resist the temptation to pour money into paid ads right away. Ron candidly discusses failed campaigns, the importance of proxy metrics, and offers practical advice for CMOs navigating the tension between short-term performance pressure and long-term brand investment. A must-watch for founders and marketers seeking sustainable growth strategies. Key Takeaways * Proxy metrics evolve with your business - Start with simple subscriber metrics, then layer in ROI and LTV:CAC as you scale paid acquisition * Don’t blindly trust platform analytics - Build your own internal measurement systems rather than relying solely on Facebook or Google’s reported metrics * Local marketing ownership drives results - Allocating dedicated local managers in strategic geos yields better creativity and cultural relevance than centralized global campaigns * Optimization events should change every few months - Start by optimizing for subscribers, move to mid-funnel events, then shift to top-of-funnel as you scale * Brand building should come before performance marketing - The recommended sequence: build brand → leverage influencers → foster community → then invest heavily in paid ads * Test brand impact with geographic lift studies - Use specific cities or regions to measure awareness lift, CTR improvements, and signup increases from brand campaigns * Promotions aren’t automatic wins - Even month-long prepared discount campaigns can fail if not properly validated with your audience * Cultural differences matter more than keywords - German photographers care about GDPR while US photographers focus on competitive differentiation * Hire for ownership above all else - In small teams, every marketer must be the “CEO of their position” with full accountability * Data should back every decision - Marketing without data tracking will fail in startup environments where resources are constrained * Balance performance pressure with brand patience - Founders tend to measure everything by the hour, but brand building requires quarter or year-long cycles * Run blackout tests on paid campaigns - Temporarily pause performance marketing to understand true organic impact and avoid over-attribution Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Ron Oren’s Entrepreneurial Journey 03:00 What Imagen Does: AI Photo Editing for Professionals 05:30 Translating Company KPIs into Marketing Metrics 08:30 The Love-Hate Relationship with Proxy Metrics 11:00 Evolution of Optimization Events in Paid Ads 13:10 Local Marketing Strategy: Germany Case Study 15:45 Failed Birthday Promotion: Learning from Mistakes 17:05 Founder-CMO Tension: Brand vs Performance Marketing 21:37 Biggest Marketing Mistakes Startups Make 24:50 Hiring Philosophy, Startup Inspiration, and Life Balance Connect Ron’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-oren/ Etgar’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/etgar/ Keywords: startup marketing, brand vs performance marketing, CMO advice, marketing KPIs, proxy metrics, local marketing strategy, paid advertising optimization, AI startup, photographer tools, marketing metrics, founder advice, marketing team building, startup growth, community marketing, work-life balance, Imagen AI, performance marketing mistakes, marketing attribution, geo-specific marketing This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit etgar.substack.com