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From Fortune 500 to Startups: A Conversation with Dovetail's Global Head of Marketing, Tom Mansfield

Welcome to the very first edition of Startup Life: Unscripted! We’re super excited to have you onboard. To kick off this series, we’d like to introduce you to Tom Mansfield, the innovative Global Head of Marketing at Dovetail, a cutting-edge global research platform.

During our conversation, Tom offers an illuminating glimpse into his marketing trajectory that traverses industries, team sizes, and even continents—from leading product marketing endeavours for Visa in North America to playing a critical role in Zoomo's growth, and now piloting a global team at Dovetail. He openly shares how each transition, whether it be to a thriving startup or a multinational corporation, has influenced and shaped his approach to marketing.

So grab a coffee and let's dive into this enlightening, candid conversation with Tom. Enjoy!

Key interview takeaways:

🔀 Transitioning from Visa to Zoomo meant adapting to new conditions: From conducting "orchestras" of large-scale campaigns to rolling up sleeves in hands-on execution.

🚀 At Dovetail, Tom manages a diverse range of marketing responsibilities. Key to this: a flexible team of "swiss army knives" and T-shaped marketers, plus the freedom given by co-founders and board members.

🌎 Leading a multinational team at Zoomo meant prioritising culture over location—a strategy that boosted natural cross-market collaboration.

📈 Key advice for startups: hire right, set up analytics and mar-tech stacks early, and establish clear, owned goals.

🧽 Tom's strategy for adapting to new products and industries: Be a sponge. Learn as much as possible, identify transferable strategies, and understand unique demands of the product.

🔄 Rapid changes at startups mean constant adaptation. Tom's advice: Embrace these as learning experiences, helping you become a better operator.

👥 Career advice for those eyeing startup marketing: join VC-backed companies, gain US experience, and treat your career like an investment fund—make calculated bets on companies over 10-15 years.

Hey Tom, thanks for joining us today! Your experience is quite extensive, from leading product marketing efforts for Visa in North America, to playing a key role in Zoomo's growth, and now leading a global team at Dovetail. How have these diverse experiences shaped your approach to marketing?

I've intentionally bounced between different countries (USA, AUS), team sizes (Fortune 500 to series A startups) and B2C/B2B so that I am fully rounded as a leader. From Visa I learned how to drive mass behavioural change with powerful ATL campaigns (everything from NFL ads to Olympic sponsorships), while at Zoomo I learned how to leverage marketing partnerships (Uber, DoorDash) and tactical PR to drive outsized ROI. I'm currently operating in software, complementing my existing marketing skill set with product-led growth and content strategies.

When you moved from Visa, a well-established global entity, to Zoomo, a startup in a new and growing industry, what were the significant differences you noticed? How did you adapt your marketing strategies to this shift?

The obvious difference between a $500B+ payments goliath and a scrappy series A electric vehicle startup is the budget and resources available at your disposal.

When you have huge marketing budgets and the best agencies in the world at your disposal it's like conducting an orchestra — stitching together pieces of the puzzle and making sure stakeholders are in lock step. In an early-stage startup, on the other hand, you have limited resources at your disposal so you are forced to roll up your sleeves and execute yourself.

In my case, transitioning to a startup fit me like a glove. I operate at my best when I can move fast without strings. Less red tape, no diluted layers of approvals - just urgency and hunger. Your remit is wide - and the impact you have on overall revenue and business growth is proportionately greater.

As the Global Head of Marketing at Dovetail, you're responsible for a wide range of areas such as SEO, CRO, Paid, Product Marketing, Community, Brand Marketing, and Creative. Can you share a bit about how you manage these diverse responsibilities and keep everything running smoothly?

I'm lucky to have a team full of Swiss army knives and T-shaped marketers that give me a ton of leverage to operate strategically. At the same time, my co-founders and board give me room to run. Those 2 factors are essential for a marketing leader in a complex, high-growth startup.

At Zoomo, you led a large team of marketing and communications experts across multiple continents. How do you manage the challenges of leading such a diverse, dispersed team and ensure effective collaboration?

I hired for culture, regardless of location. A big factor that drove the huge amount of natural cross-market collaboration was the fact that we all loved working with each other.

Global startup job opportunities:

• 👔 Business Development Manager

• 🧾 Accountant

• 📈 Brand Marketing Manager

• 💼 Senior Executive Assistant

• 🖥️ Fullstack Software Engineer - React, NodeJS, SQL, AWS

• 💻 Fullstack Developer - .Net & SQL Server

• 📎 Junior Office Coordinator

With your experience in scale-up marketing teams, what key advice would you give to startups looking to scale their marketing efforts from Series A to IPO?

Hire right. There is such a thing as a 10x marketer. Look for self-starters with an ownership mentality that thrive in ambiguity.

Get your analytics and mar-tech stack spun up properly, as early as possible. A dysfunctional tech stack is a really hard thing to solve when you get to scale.

Establish clear goals and reinforce them in all your rituals. Get your team to own their goals and individual budgets.

You've been involved in marketing efforts for companies that offer vastly different products, from payment solutions at Visa to electric vehicles at Zoomo, and now a research platform at Dovetail. How have you managed to shift your focus and adapt your marketing strategies to these different industries?

I come into every new role like a sponge. I try to leave my existing playbook at the door and learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible. Some tactics will ultimately be transferable (growth frameworks, performance marketing, etc.) but others will be unique to the product you are working on. The best marketers know how to spot the difference.

Startups are often characterised by rapid changes and the need for adaptability. How has this environment influenced your marketing strategies? Can you share an example of a time you had to pivot quickly?

Every 3 months in a startup feels like you are working for a different company. When I was at Zoomo there were times where we were doubling our revenue in a single quarter. I've had to spin up local country marketing plans in a matter of days, and subsequently discovered some local regulation or cultural behaviour that cooked the whole strategy. To the well organised mind, however, these little failures and pivots are fantastic learning experiences - and I've become a much better operator because of them.

Finally, for those considering a career in marketing within the startup ecosystem, what advice would you offer them based on your experiences and journey?

Try to join companies that have great VCs backing them. Airtree, Blackbird and Grok are the Australian VCs I have worked with. I'm working with Accel and Felicis now in the US. Try to get some US experience early in your career. A great way to open this door is to do an MBA or graduate degree there.

Treat your career like an early-stage investment fund. Make a series of calculated bets on companies over the course of 10-15 years. Even if 4/5 of the startups that you join don't hit, that 1/5 could offer you outsized returns in terms of equity and personal growth.

Give It A Nudge

On our latest episode, we sat down with Christie Jenkins, a former trampoline athlete turned Australian beach volleyball player. Check out the video and don’t forget to hit that subscribe button!

And that's a wrap! We hope you've enjoyed this edition as much as we loved putting it together. Stay curious, keep learning, and above all, enjoy the rollercoaster ride that is Startup Life. Catch you in the next one! 👋 Not subscribed yet? Do it here and don't miss out: subscribe now.