How to Build a B2B SaaS Marketing Function That Actually Works | Growth Show ft. Deepakshi Dawar

Most first marketing hires are expected to generate leads on day one. That expectation is almost always wrong, and it sets the whole function up to fail. In this episode of the Growth Show, Deepakshi Dawar breaks down how she builds a marketing function from zero. She started in investment banking, spent 5 to 6 years at a full-service marketing agency, and has spent the last 7 to 8 years exclusively in Fintech, typically as the first marketing hire, building the function around product, business, and company goals. Her framework here is based on her most recent 18 months at XFlow. What we cover: -- Why setting expectations, not chasing channels, is a marketing leader's first real job -- The first 3 months: earning stakeholder trust, picking 1 to 2 channels that can win quickly, and hiring generalists before specialists -- How the staffing mix evolves from months 3 to 12: specialists, generalists, and vendors as co-owners of goals, not outsourced tasks -- How XFlow's team structure scaled from 2 people to an 8 person matrix as the product line grew from 2 to 5 -- Why she avoids MQLs and traffic as standalone goals, and ties every target to the company's North Star metric -- Tactics for cutting no-shows on booked demos, and building traction in low search volume categories If you're a first marketing hire, a founder building out the function, or a marketing leader scaling a lean team — this session will change how you think about sequencing, staffing, and what to measure early. Connect with Deepakshi:   / deepakshi-dawar-234a79119   Learn more about PipeRocket: https://piperocket.digital/contact-us/ Connect with Praveen:   / praveenravi14   Connect with Kim:   / kamarajkkl   Watch more Growth Show episodes: https://bit.ly/growth-show Join the Growth Show community: https://forms.gle/Xensiu2DYhTz42Gp7