In this episode of The Future of Marketing, host Andres Figueira speaks with Milda Bayer, VP of Marketing and GTM at Lepaya, a people development company serving enterprise clients like ING, Maersk, and L’Oréal. As the first marketing hire across multiple high-growth companies including Mollie Payments (now one of EMEA’s largest payment providers), Milda shares her playbook for building marketing functions from scratch in B2B environments. Her approach centers on transforming marketing from a perceived cost center into a measurable revenue driver while navigating the complex stakeholder dynamics that come with selling to C-suite executives.

Topics Discussed:

• Proving marketing value as the first marketing hire without historical data

• Building thought leadership content that resonates with busy C-suite executives

• Creating co-creation models that turn target customers into brand advocates

• Balancing analytical rigor with creative brand-building in B2B marketing

• Leveraging old-school marketing tactics in an AI-saturated landscape

• Scaling authentic networking and community-building strategies

• Identifying leadership potential using energy, potential, and depth frameworks

Lessons For Consumer Marketers:

Start With Audit-Driven Opportunity Identification

When entering as the first marketer, immediately audit existing customer profiles, product positioning, and sales channels to identify what’s working and what isn’t. Companies that can afford to hire their first marketer already have some revenue engine – your job is to find the hidden opportunities in their existing success patterns and systematically optimize them.

Transform Customers Into Content Co-Creators

Instead of creating thought leadership in isolation, involve your target executives as key opinion leaders in your research and content. Lepaya features 5-10 executives in each research report, giving them a platform to share insights while positioning your brand as the curator of industry expertise. This approach builds relationships while creating more credible content.

Embrace Brand Marketing When Digital Channels Saturate

While competitors focus on AI SDRs and performance marketing, invest in physical brand experiences at crucial customer touchpoints. Milda cites Revolut’s airport vending machine strategy as exemplary – they identified when customers most need their service (international travel) and created acquisition opportunities at that exact moment of need.

Build Attribution Models That Prove Marketing ROI

Develop systematic measurement of marketing’s revenue contribution using QR codes, specific landing pages, and event tracking. Modern attribution tools make it possible to quantify even brand experiences and community events, allowing marketing leaders to own their P&L and demonstrate clear ROI to stakeholders.

Leverage Community Events as Primary Growth Channels

In an AI-saturated content landscape, authentic human connections become more valuable. Attend 2-3 community events weekly, focus on providing genuine value to your network, and treat networking as a learnable skill requiring effective communication and authentic relationship-building rather than transactional interactions.

Structure Executive Communications Around Shifting Priorities

C-suite executives change focus every three months – from workforce budgeting to benefits to strategic skill gaps. Build thought leadership that addresses these evolving concerns by investing in proprietary data infrastructure and combining hard data with informed speculation about future trends, positioning your brand as the authority on industry direction.

Use “Energy, Potential, and Depth” Framework for Team Building

When scaling marketing teams, look for candidates with: Energy (ability to carry themselves and help others during difficult periods), Potential (learning curve, feedback receptiveness, comfort with ambiguity), and Depth (analytical skills, impact awareness, curiosity). This framework often matters more than specific expertise for growth-stage marketing roles.