Investor Perspective – Getting Beyond Protect, Monitor and Secure; Story, Category and Success

Martina Lauchengo, Operating Partner Costanoa VC

I’ve know Martina Lauchengco for more than 2 decades, and she is one of the smartest product marketers there is.  As the Marketing Operating Partner at Costanoa Ventures she advises the firm’s portfolio on everything go to market.  Costanoa’s security investments include BugCrown, Elevate Security, Kenna Security and others.

Martina and I talk about what it takes to be a successful start-up marketing and what investors look for in go to market approaches and investments.

If you’re 3 pillar messages are “Protect, Monitor, Secure” than Martina will tell you you are in good company, in a bad way!  Martina talks about communicating what you do, how it’s different and why you are different and getting to the next layer down.  We talk about story-telling, why Reddit is a good early radar system for investors to find the buzz, atomic narrative nuggets, category strategy, fitting in and standing out, and how investors check out the “real story” not the one you are telling.

And don’t miss how Martina explains how fundamentally founders and executives don’t understand marketing, creating market pull, positioning, sequencing investments and why spending more doesn’t always equal success, and the alignment and accountability between sales and marketing.

Martina recommends that you check out portfolio member Elevate Security’s website for a shift in messaging that excites an investor. Martina recommends all marketers read Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick and that you follow @BenThompson of stratechery.com .

You can find Martina on Twitter with her handle @mavinmartina and on Linked In here.