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Strategic Communications Advisory For Visionary Founders
Marketing operations should begin when your product is ready for GTM, not months later. Without proper infrastructure from day one, you'll lose critical attribution data and never understand which campaigns drove pipeline. Operations teams don't just implement tools—they create the data architecture that informs strategic decisions about budget allocation and campaign effectiveness.
Don't run events, launch campaigns, or hire sales teams without a source of truth in place. Investors want to see pipeline, but you can't track pipeline without proper stage management in a CRM. Even basic HubSpot or Pipedrive implementations are better than sophisticated Excel sheets—rows and columns make analysis exponentially harder as you scale.
Attribution isn't automatic—every tool requires thoughtful setup to ensure timestamps and touchpoints are captured correctly. When building workflows, marketing ops professionals should think not just about current needs, but how data will look six months or a year from now. Poor attribution setup means never knowing which campaigns actually generated revenue.
When evaluating marketing ops candidates, present them with real workflow scenarios: "If a lead comes from this source, how do you map it, where does it go, who gets assigned?" Strong ops people understand logic flows and can solve problems with any available tool, not just the specific platform you're using. They should think methodologically about connecting dots across your entire tech stack.
SaaS companies and startups can thrive on HubSpot or Pipedrive, while complex retail operations with quote generation and multi-location management may need Salesforce's visual pages and modular structure. Don't over-engineer your stack with enterprise tools when your business model doesn't require them—focus on what supports your actual GTM motion.
The shift from traditional SEO to AI search engine optimization means users want summaries, not deep blog dives. By creating comprehensive FAQ and question-answer content two years ago, Fortanix now receives over 10,000 visits monthly from AI search engines. Operations teams should drive this content strategy based on search behavior data.
The future of marketing ops is evolving from pure execution to strategic advising. Ops leaders should sit beside the CMO with data-backed proposals on budget allocation—showing exactly how much should go to technical infrastructure versus demand gen, paid marketing, or brand awareness. Every recommendation should be supported by insights from your tool stack.
GDPR, CCPA, and other compliance frameworks should be implemented when your website goes live, not retrofitted later. Website tracking is the foundation of all downstream attribution—if your site isn't properly tracked, nothing else in your marketing stack will provide accurate data.
In this episode of The Marketing Front Lines, we speak with Amit Gupta, Senior Director of Marketing Operations at Fortanix. With 11 years of experience building marketing and sales infrastructure from the ground up, Amit shares his journey from co-founding a marketing operations consulting firm (later acquired by Deloitte Digital) to transforming Fortanix from Excel sheets to a comprehensive HubSpot-powered revenue engine. He reveals the strategic role marketing operations plays in attribution, pipeline tracking, and GTM success—and why ops should be Day 1, not an afterthought.
Topics Discussed:
Founder & CEO of Hivewatch
Ryan Schonfeld, CEO of Hivewatch: $25 Million Raised to Build the OS of Physical Security
CEO & Co-Founder of Nudge Security
Russell Spitler, CEO & Co-Founder of Nudge Security: $17 Million Raised to Build the Future of SaaS Security
CEO & Co-Founder of Vicarius
Michael Assraf, CEO of Vicarius: $29 Million Raised to Build the Future of Vulnerability Prioritization
CEO and Founder of HacWare
Tiffany Ricks, CEO and Founder of HacWare: $2.6 Million Raised to Build the Future of Security Awareness
CEO and Co-Founder of VISO Trust
Paul Valente, CEO and Co-Founder of VISO Trust: $17 Million Raised to Build the Future of Third-Party Cyber Risk Management
Marketing Director of Right-Hand Cybersecurity
Rodrigo Leme, Marketing Director at Right-Hand Cybersecurity: Standing Out in a Crowded Market – Niche Targeting and Customer-Centric Approach
CEO and Co-Founder of OneLayer
Dave Mor, CEO and Co-Founder of OneLayer: $15 Million Raised to Protect Private Cellular Networks
CEO and Co-Founder of Cleafy
Matteo Bogana, CEO & Co-Founder of Cleafy: $12 Million Raised to Build the Future of Online Fraud Prevention
CEO of Mayhem
David Brumley, CEO of Mayhem: $38 Million Raised to Build the Future of Security Testing
CEO of SnapAttack
Peter Prizio Jr, CEO of SnapAttack: $8 Million Raised to Power the Future of Threat Management
CEO & Co-Founder of Huntress
Kyle Hanslovan, CEO of Huntress: $160 Million Raised to Build the Future of Managed Security
CEO & Founder of VU Security
Sebastian Stranieri, CEO & Founder of VU Security: $24 Million Raised to Build the Future of Digital Identity & Fraud Prevention
CEO of Beyond Identity
Tom “TJ” Jermoluk, CEO of Beyond Identity: $200 Million Raised to Build the Future of Multi-Factor Authentication
CMO of Blackbird.AI
How to Create a Category: Dan Lowden’s 8-Exit CMO Playbook
Vice President of Marketing of iVerify
How iVerify’s First Marketing Hire Built a Research-Driven Engine
CEO & Co-Founder of Vaultree
Ryan Lasmaili, CEO of Vaultree: $16 Million Raised to Build the World’s First Fully Functional Data-in-Use Encryption
CEO and Founder of Gomboc
Ian Amit, CEO & Founder of Gomboc: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cloud Security Remediation
CEO of Clear Skye
John Milburn, CEO of Clear Skye: More Than $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Identity and Access Governance
CEO and Co-Founder of Prelude
Spencer Thompson, CEO and Co-Founder of Prelude: Over $30 Million Raised to Build the Future of Continuous Security Testing
CTO & Co-Founder of Vali Cyber
Austin Gadient, CTO & Co-Founder of Vali Cyber: $15 Million Raised to Build the Future of Linux Security
CEO & Co-Founder of Dasera
Ani Chaudhuri, CEO & Co-Founder of Dasera: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of Data Security
CEO & Co-Founder of Entro Security
Itzik Alvas, CEO & Co-Founder of Entro Security: $24 Million Raised to Build the Future of Non-Human Identity Management
CEO and Co-Founder of Anjuna
Ayal Yogev, CEO and Co-Founder of Anjuna: $42 Million to Build The Future of Confidential Computing
CEO & Co-Founder of Hush
Mykolas Rambus, CEO & Co-Founder of Hush: $7.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Data Privacy
CEO and Co-Founder of IriusRisk
Stephen de Vries, CEO and Co-Founder of IriusRisk: $40 Million Raised to Build the Future of Threat Modeling
CEO and Co-Founder of Tamnoon
Marina Segal, CEO & Co-Founder of Tamnoon: Over $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cloud Security
CEO and Co-Founder of Gem Security
Arie Zilberstein, CEO and Co-Founder of Gem Security: $34 Million Raised to Power the Future of Cloud Detection and Response
CEO and Founder of Strata Identity
Eric Olden, CEO and Founder of Strata Identity: $42 Million Raised to Build the Identity Orchestration Category
CEO of StrongestLayer
How StrongestLayer achieved 85% meeting-to-POC and 100% POC-to-win rates using transparent one-week pilots | Alan LeFort
Chief Marketing & Alliances Officer of DataDome
Aurelie Guerrieri, Chief Marketing & Alliances Officer at DataDome: 20 Years in Silicon Valley – Insights on the Evolving Tech Landscape
Senior Director of Product Management and Marketing of Axiado Corporation
Building Marketing Guidelines That Actually Stick Across Teams
Founder of Sweepatic
Stijn Vande Casteele, Founder of Sweepatic: $4.4 Million Raised to Build the Future of External Attack Surface Management
CEO and Co-Founder of Perygee
Mollie Breen, CEO and Co-Founder of Perygee: $6.4 Million Raised to Build the Future of IT/OT Security
CEO of Allure Security
Josh Shaul, CEO of Allure Security: $6 Million Raised to Help Businesses Win the Battle Against Online Scammers
CEO of Glasswall
Danny Lopez CEO of Glasswall: $60+ Million Raised to Make the Content Disarm and Reconstruction (CDR) Category Mainstream
CEO and Founder of XONA
Bill Moore, CEO and Founder of XONA: $30 Million Raised to Build the Future of OT User Access
VP of Marketing of Shift5
From the Pentagon to B2B: Colby Proffitt’s Journey and ABM Insights
CEO of Nisos
David Etue, CEO of Nisos: $33 Million Raised to Build the Future of Managed Intelligence
CEO & Co-Founder of ElastiFlow
Robert Cowart, CEO & Co-Founder of ElastiFlow: $8 Million Raised to Power the Future of Network Performance and Security Analytics
VP of Marketing of ThreatModeler Software
Why 99% of Cybersecurity Marketers Are Doing Demand Gen Wrong
CEO and Founder of Dropzone AI
Edward Wu, CEO & Founder of Dropzone AI: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI SOC Analysts
Founder and CEO of Calamu
Paul Lewis, CEO of Calamu: $20 Million Raised to Build the Cyber Storage Category
CEO and Co-Founder of CalypsoAI
Neil Serebryany, CEO & Co-Founder of CalypsoAI: $38 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI Security
Head of Marketing of Exein
Long Game Marketing: Building Trust in High-Stakes B2B Sales
CEO & Founder of Trusona
Ori Eisen, CEO & Founder of Trusona: $38 Million Raised to Power the Future of Account Takeover Prevention
Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Permiso Security
Jason Martin, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Permiso Security: $10 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cloud Security
CEO & President of Intrusion
How the ex-White House CIO turned around a failing cybersecurity company by fixing the product first | Tony Scott
CEO and Founder of SecurityPal
Pukar Hamal, CEO and Founder of SecurityPal: $21 Million Raised to Power the Future of Customer Assurance
Founder and CEO of Onyxia
Sivan Tehila, Founder and CEO of Onyxia: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cybersecurity Performance Management
CEO of CrowdSec
Philippe Humeau, CEO of CrowdSec: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cyber Threat Intelligence
CEO, Advisor, GTM IT/IS, xCMO CEO, Advisor, GTM IT/IS, xCMO of Marticulate
Should You Really Become a Fractional CMO? (Ft. Carolyn Crandall)
CEO & Founder of Silent Push
Ken Bagnall, CEO & Founder of Silent Push: $22 Million Raised to Transform Threat Intelligence Through Adversary Infrastructure Monitoring
CEO, Co-Founder of Strike Graph
Justin Beals, CEO of Strike Graph: $12 Million Raised to Build the Future of Automated Security and Compliance
CEO and Co-Founder of Opal Security
Umaimah Khan, CEO & Co-Founder of Opal Security: $32 Million Raised to Build the Future of Identity Security
CEO & Co-Founder of Cloaked
Arjun Bhatnagar, CEO of Cloaked: $25 Million Raised to Build the Future of Data Privacy
Director of Marketing and Communications of Peak Metrics
How PeakMetrics Turns Product Data Into Marketing Gold
CEO & Co-Founder of Cyrebro
Nadav Arbel, CEO & Co-Founder of Cyrebro: $51 Million Raised to Build the Future of ML-Backed MDR
CEO & Co-Founder of Monad
Christian Almenar, CEO of Monad: $19 Million Raised to Solve the Cybersecurity Big Data Problem
CEO of SolCyber
Scott McCrady, CEO of SolCyber: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Managed Security
Founder & CEO of Anagram
Harley Sugarman, Founder & CEO of Anagram: $10 Million Raised to Transform Human-Driven Security
CEO of Qohash
Jean Le Bouthillier, CEO of Qohash: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Data Security
CEO & Founder of Chainguard
Dan Lorenc, CEO & Founder of Chainguard: $250 Million Raised to Power the Future of Software Supply Chain Security
CEO & Co-Founder of Staris AI
Adam Cecchetti, CEO & Co-Founder of Staris AI: $5.7 Million Raised to Build Total Context Security for Application Protection