When Is the Right Time
to Hire a Marketing Executive in Health Tech?
Are You Hiring a Title or Solving a Problem?
Most health tech founders hit a moment where their growth stalls—sales are inconsistent, messaging feels flat, and they're juggling 10 jobs while trying to pitch investors. The knee-jerk reaction? Hire a full-time CMO or COO to "fix it."
But here's what Kelly O'Neil and I have seen again and again: founders spend $150K+ on a hire they think will save them—only to realize six months later they're still stuck. Why? It's not a talent problem. It's a sequencing problem.
"Tactics without strategy is the noise before the defeat." — Kelly O’Neill
Listen anywhere you get your podcastin' on.
Live Interview
What Founders Get Wrong About Timing
Startups often bring in a CMO before they have:
- A repeatable sales model
- Clear, validated messaging
- Alignment across product, clinical, and GTM teams
In other words, they’re hiring a leader without a system to lead. A title won’t fix broken foundations.
"You can’t read the label from inside the bottle."
Why the Right Strategy Must Precede the Right Role
Hiring a marketing leader without a plan is like building a castle on sand. Founders often mistake movement for momentum—redesigning a website, writing a book, launching new funnels—without any clear go-to-market roadmap. That’s where so many waste $100K+ and still don’t convert.
A fractional executive realigns your business top-down:
- Clarifies messaging and narrative
- Builds internal marketing systems
- Creates measurable milestones for demand generation and product marketing
They bring structure, not just action.
3 Milestones That Signal You’re Ready to Hire
1. You’ve Validated Product-Market Fit
If users are sticking around, referring others, and paying—great. But if marketing is still founder-led and reactive, it’s time to bring in structure.
2. Your Sales Model Is Repeatable
Random referrals aren’t a pipeline. If you can close similar deals with similar steps, a marketing leader can now amplify what’s working.
3. You Have Capital (Or Runway) to Support Strategy
Hiring a CMO to "do everything" is a recipe for burnout. Hire when you can support a real plan—not just hope they’ll save you.
How to Vet a Health Tech Marketing Leader
You’re not looking for someone who’s good at pitching themselves—you want proof they can build inside complex systems. Ask:
- What experience do you have with compliance-driven messaging (HIPAA, FDA, etc)?
- Can you show examples of successful health tech GTM strategies?
- How do you align with clinical founders and translate their expertise?
Avoid marketers who:
- Only talk in brand buzzwords
- Lack familiarity with B2B2C or system sales
- Have never worked with physician buyers or payors
Fractional vs Full-Time: What’s Right for Your Growth Phase?
Kelly O’Neil explains that fractional C-suite roles offer a powerful ramp—cost-effective, experienced, and scalable. They're often:
- 1/3 the cost of a full-time executive
- Able to align teams faster
- Focused on structure and exit—not long-term dependency
Founders often think they need one hero hire. Instead, they need a system—and fractional leaders often build that.
Strategy Before Spending: The Most Overlooked Step
Whether you’re clinician-led, or founder-driven, the biggest blindspot is usually inside your own four walls. Most think:
- More content will fix lack of conversion
- More hustle will create clarity
- More team hires = more results
In reality, most teams are bottom-upping: executing random tactics without clear strategy. You can’t build revenue on hope.
PulsePoint Path helps founders make confident hiring decisions by mapping:
- What role comes first (and why)
- Whether your systems support that role
- How to find candidates with verified track records
Here are 3 ways we can support you right now:
🎤Be a Featured Guest on the Provider’s Edge
Have traction and a story to share? Apply to join us on the show: PulsePointPath.com/Call-Sabrina
🎯 Get You In Front of Investors
We match you with the most aligned investors and decision-makers who care about your niche already. Apply at PulsePointPath.com/Pitch-Application
About Sabrina Runbeck
Sabrina Runbeck, MPH, MHS, PA-C helps healthcare technology companies scale sustainably—without burning out their teams or running out of cash. She is the Co-Founder of PulsePoint Path and works alongside a 12-integrated board of advisors to help founders make strategic decisions that multiply impact and protect capital. Her signature 5D Integrated System helps companies move beyond one-dimensional problem solving—what they think the issue is—and instead, builds an Empowered Ecosystem across leadership, team dynamics, and systems alignment. This is how founders evolve from early traction to 10x growth. Sabrina is also a TEDx speaker, former Cardiothoracic Surgery PA, and trusted advisor with over 15 years of experience in public health, neuroscience, and business acceleration.
★ NEXT STEP ★
Need clarity on your hiring or onboarding strategy?
Let’s create your people-powered growth blueprint in under 5 hours 👉 PulsePointPath.com/Call
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The Provider's Edge show is always looking to feature healthcare change-makers and celebrate the work they are doing to improve healthcare.
Together, we can encourage other healthcare entrepreneurs and startup founders to up-level their businesses.
If you or someone you know could be a good fit as a guest on the show, please click on the bottom below to apply as a speaker.
Healthcare Entrepreneurs!
I can help you gain visibility and credibility in the right circles so you can accelerate your mission and profitability!
After overcoming burnout working in surgery, I went back to my roots in neuroscience and public health. I learned the importance of building key human relationships with my team throughout our organization.
While helping healthcare executives and entrepreneurs to get out of the day-to-day operation of their practice, I realized I needed more visibility and more connections to reach my ideal clients.
Once I set out to be highly visible in the right circles, I was able to leverage my network of strategic partners to convert clients 5x higher than any other marketing channel I had tried previously.
Now I help healthcare change-makers to accelerate their impact and increase profitability by gaining visibility and credibility with the right strategic partners.
My clients no longer worry about where their next client is coming from, the need to plan additional budget for ads spending, or losing the ability to connect with others because their social media account is shut down.
If you want to share your social mission with the world and gain pivotal supporters that become loyal clients... then you are in the right place, with the right consultant who is also a recovered clinician.