Call Me: 973-641-5723
Client: Founders Circle Capital
Growth-stage venture capital firm | San Francisco, CA
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Role: Content Strategist/Writer
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Project Background:
Founders Circle wanted to create a series of "hiring playbooks" for their private community of C-level startup executives. The primary objective was to help first-time founders understand what and who to look for in their first senior marketing, finance, HR and revenue leadership hire, based on the experience and insights of individuals that have held the position at reputable companies.
Additionally, Founders Circle wanted to leverage these playbooks for brand awareness and SEO.​​
Strategic Approach:
01
Research/SME Interviews
Based on a pool of candidates selected by the client, 1-hour interviews were conducted for each playbook with 5-7 executives, including current and former CXOs, and a hiring CEO or board member.
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Interviewees were asked to reflect on their hiring experiences, sharing specific lessons learned and mistakes they would advise others to avoid. The interviews formed a composite profile of the ideal CXO candidate at each major funding stage (Series A - public company).
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Timeline: 4-6 weeks
02
SEO Analysis
Detailed keyword research with SEMrush identified the major themes and topics to cover in the playbooks. Each section focused on a high-intent long-tail query (ex. "do i need a CFO or VP, Finance") and leveraged a custom schema markup to optimize for 1st page or Answer Engine Optimization.
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Timeline: 1-2 weeks
03
Content Development
Each playbook contained 2,000-3,000 words, several audio clips, quote blocks and graphics. Additional hiring resources (job spec, sample interview questions, org chart) were supplied by an external partner.
The final draft, along with a social promotion package, was sent to each interviewee and the client for final approval. Additionally, a preview the final content was sent to a random Founders Circle community member to solicit feedback.
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Timeline: 3 weeks
The Results:
3,000+
Views/Downloads by C-level Execs
10+ keywords
within top 3 search results
(incl. "what to look for in a cmo"; "should i hire a cro"; "hiring a chro")
The CMO Hiring Playbook
The CFO Hiring Playbook
The CHRO Hiring Playbook
The CRO Hiring Playbook
The resulting four hiring playbooks have become a pillar of Founder Circle's CXO community outreach and SEO strategy. More importantly, they have become an important part of Founders Circle's brand identity and positioning within the venture capital community.