Behind the Brief | Honest Stories from the World of Marketing

The PMM Skill AI Still Can’t Automate A few weeks ago I sat down with Swati, an AI-systems-focused product marketer who’s scaled B2B SaaS portfolios from $50M to $90M in ARR. I went into the conversation half-convinced I already knew what she’d say about AI. I didn’t. The gathering work is gone. The judgment work isn’t. She described what her job used to look like before agents: one human being, g...

Most people think great SaaS products start with a brilliant idea. Joseph Lee’s started with a customer saying: “Your website wasn’t very clear... but now I get it.” That moment changed everything. On the latest episode of Behind the Brief, I sat down with Joseph, CEO & Co-Founder of Supademo, to unpack how one customer interaction turned into one of G2’s fastest-growing products. A few takeaways...

And the thing is, I don’t even think the products are bad. I think product marketing just hasn’t fully caught up with what AI products are becoming. Over the last few months, I’ve noticed the same terms showing up everywhere:AI agents. MCP.Agentic workflows. AI-native systems. Everyone is using the language. Very few people are explaining what actually changes because of it. So I recorded a Behind...

We spent an hour talking about Instagram. But not the kind you usually hear about. No “post 5 times a day.”No “use this hashtag.”No “hack the algorithm.” Instead, we spoke about: * loneliness while building something new * the fear of putting yourself out there * and why most creators never make money One thing stood out to me: Consistency is not glamorous. It’s repetitive. It’s boring. And most o...

When I first started working in cybersecurity, I assumed the confusion was my fault. I thought I wasn’t technical enough. I thought I didn’t know enough terminology. I thought I was behind. But the more I worked in this space, the more I realized something important:cybersecurity is genuinely hard to understand — not because PMMs aren’t capable, but because the market itself is fragmented, reactiv...

One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves in startups is this: “We have traction, so we’re ready to scale.” In my conversation with Hila Lauterbach , co-founder of 10xGTM, we unpack why that assumption quietly kills go-to-market efforts. Hila has worked with companies from zero to $400M+ ARR , and what stood out wasn’t flashy tactics, it was how clearly she framed GTM as a learning system , not a...

Product marketers live in contradictions. We’re expected to think like product, speak like sales, write like marketing, and optimize like demand gen, all at the same time. And yet, in most orgs, our visible output is often reduced to decks . Pretty slides, competitive kits, webinar briefs… assets that look polished and feel tangible but sometimes leave even us wondering: Did this actually matter?...

When I started Behind the Brief, I wanted to create a space where product marketers could talk about the thinking behind the work; not just the outputs. And this week’s episode does exactly that. I sat down with Kaitlyn, a global B2B and product marketing leader at Mastercard , who has built a career across fintech, SaaS, crypto, and financial services. We talked about something I’ve been thinking...

Yes, it’s been a tiny break since the last episode; three weeks, to be precise. Not because I ghosted my own podcast (though that would be very on-brand for my to-do list), but because I wanted to pause, reflect, and recalibrate. Sometimes, you need to step back from the publish-post-promote-repeat cycle to focus on what truly matters, quality conversations. Between navigating work, life, and buil...

I just wrapped an episode that was supposed to be 30 minutes… it went over an hour. Why? Because Sachin Jha kept dropping insights that were too good to cut short. Sachin is a Senior Manager of Product Marketing at Safe Security, one of the top 100 product marketing influencers, and someone who’s been deep in developer marketing, AI products, and cybersecurity for years. Here’s what we unpacked: O...

When I first thought about starting Behind the Brief , Tas Bobur was one of the very first people I dreamed of bringing on. Why? Because as an immigrant myself, I’ve always carried doubts, fears, and a heavy dose of imposter syndrome. Even when I left my hometown, those feelings followed me. And I often wondered: how do women who come from deeply rooted cultures make their way, lead boldly, and st...

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:Most PMMs don’t struggle because of lack of skill. They struggle because they can’t influence. This week, I sat down with Amruta (Amazon GTM Lead + PMM Coach) for Part 2 of our conversation, and we dug into the invisible side of product marketing—the people strategy. We covered: * Why Amruta started coaching PMMs (and the repeating patterns she saw) * The #1 reason c...

Most SaaS teams don’t have a traffic problem. They have a conversion problem. This week on Behind the Brief , I sat down with Lashay Lewis — Founder of BOFU.ai — to talk about how to turn blogs into bottom-of-funnel machines. Two years ago, I was saving her LinkedIn posts like playbooks. Today, she’s walking us through: * Why BOFU is ignored (and why that’s costing companies pipeline) * How to use...

We like to think GTM is about big launches, shiny campaigns, and killer sales decks. But in my conversation with Daria Love , Director of Product Marketing at TransEU, we stripped it down to what really makes or breaks a GTM motion: alignment from the top down. When leadership isn’t on the same page, you don’t have one GTM team – you have five mini-companies , each running in their own direction....

In this week’s Behind the Brief , I spoke with Allison , a startup PMM, GTM strategist, and the voice behind PMM Power Hour , about what it really means to run a product launch. This wasn’t a fluff-filled “how to write launch emails” chat. We covered the messy, cross-functional, often last-minute reality of what launches actually look like, and how to survive (and thrive) in that world. Here are 1...

I wasn’t planning to record a case study. But a few weeks ago, Elena emailed me: “I’ve just finished a full rebrand — want to walk through it on the pod?” I had another topic lined up. But this… felt real. Tangible. Honest. So we hit record. This episode is a deep dive into how Elena led a 6-week sprint to reposition SimplyCodes - one of those rare stories where strategy, soul, and execution all s...

This week on Behind the Brief , I had a refreshingly honest chat with Shirin Shahin, fractional PMM turned founder, about what it really takes to turn your marketing brain into a business. We covered: * The mindset shift from execution to ownership * Why AI is useful, but no match for emotional intelligence * The scary moment she undercharged - and what she learned * Getting through burnout, slow...

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but your marketing doesn’t have to be perfect to make an impact. In this episode of Behind The Brief , I spoke with Chandan , co-founder of Awevent and one of those marketers who just gets it. He’s been the only marketer in the room. He’s launched with chaos, limited time, no money, and a ton of pressure. Some key moments from our chat:✅ Why startups are a PMM...

In this episode, Shruti chats with Nikhil, Senior Director of Marketing at Chargebee , who reveals what really happens when a PMM takes on revenue responsibility . From GTM engine building to owning outbound motion, this conversation is packed with real stories, hard lessons, and playbook-level insights. 👉 Whether you're a marketer, founder, or aspiring PMM — this is for you. 🔑 Topics covered: *...

This week on Behind the Brief , I sat down with someone who gets what it means to be a product marketer in the trenches — juggling messaging, internal chaos, and customer stories that actually drive conversion. Megan Pratt (ex-journalist, PMM consultant, and founder of Product Marketing House) joined me to talk about: ✅ Why storytelling isn’t just for brand marketers✅ How to actually be useful t...

🎙️ This Week on Behind the Brief In this episode, I sat down with Richa , a B2B content marketer who’s worked with early-stage teams and scaling GTM functions — and knows exactly where good content goes to die (hint: in enablement folders no one opens). This one’s for marketers and PMMs who’ve ever written “the perfect one-pager”… and watched it vanish into Google Drive. 🔍 Here’s What We Covered:...

That’s the question we unpack in this week’s episode of Behind the Brief with Michele Nieberding , a top-tier PMM with a deep POV on how AI is changing how we message, launch, and compete. She’s not just talking about using ChatGPT for content — she’s using it to pressure-test GTM strategy, validate whitespace , and push the edges of what product marketers can do. 🎧 Episode Highlights: * Michele’...

“We’re not just launch support. We’re the bridge between product, sales, and the customer.” – Komal Ahuja In this episode of Behind the Brief , Shruti Verma speaks with Komal Ahuja , Product Marketer at Zuora, about what it actually means to drive product marketing from the inside. This isn’t just about decks or launches — it’s about trust, storytelling, and strategy. 🔹 How product marketers driv...

In this episode of Behind the Brief, I sit down with Ash Aujla to unpack what it really means to find your voice as a product marketer — in a world obsessed with trends, tools, and templates. We get into: ↗ How to use Competitive Intelligence to gain clarity — not copy ↗ Why voice is a competitive advantage (and most brands ignore it) ↗ What AI can do for you — and what it absolutely can’t ↗ The s...

In this episode of Behind the Brief, I sit down with Div Manickam — 6x Top 100 Product Marketing Leader — to dive deep into how the world of product marketing, AI, and mindful leadership is evolving. We explore what success looks like today: beyond KPIs, beyond hustle culture, and into customer-centric marketing, team wellbeing, and data-driven go-to-market strategies. Div shares real-world exampl...