Changes to First Impression in 2024
Thanks to all of you, First Impression now has over 2000 subscribers! 🎉 🥳
I started First Impression last August as an experiment. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to sustain it, so I kept the focus of my newsletter small — positioning, brand, and go-to-market strategy. I felt confident I could write one thoughtful long-form post on these topics monthly while continuing my consulting and interim CMO practice.
Now I find myself pushing against the boundaries of these subjects. Upon reflection, I’d like to expand the scope of First Impression to include:
My experience as a marketing leader at startups. I’ve been in leadership roles at startups for over a dozen years — early-stage, growth-stage, and scaling-stage. Topics like To interim CMO or not? and How to choose an interim CMO
My professional journey including pivots, challenges, mistakes, failures, and new beginnings. Topics like 10 mistakes I made as a head of marketing
The personal stories of founders I’ve had the pleasure to work with. Being a startup founder is a transformative experience not just because of what you build but because of who you become in the process. I want to write about how birthing a startup transformed a founder both personally and professionally.
My experiences as a first-generation Indian immigrant and a woman leader in tech. I’m hoping this will help other women on a similar career path, particularly immigrant women.
In the new year, I will be writing about these topics in addition to my usual wheelhouse of positioning, brand, and GTM. I will also be offering paid subscription options (both monthly and annual subscriptions). Turning on paid subscriptions will allow me to invest more time and effort in this newsletter.
Paid subscribers will get:
Access to in-depth long-form posts
Access all archived posts (older than three months)
Access to candid stories of founders and marketers who took risks, pivoted, chose unconventional paths, and redefined success.
Oh, and do not worry, there will always be one monthly free newsletter for readers who are unable to support a paid subscription.
Finally, I’d love to hear your thoughts on which of these topics interest you the most:
If there are other topics you’d like me to write about, please comment below. Thank you for your support and encouragement. Without you, there is no First Impression.
Wishing you all holiday cheer and a joyful, positive, and prosperous 2024! ✨🥂