How Enterpret found their Founding Director of Product Marketing

Michelle Luo is one of the best marketing leaders we've worked with. She's sharp, kind, and she knows product marketing at a level most marketing leaders don't. So when she brought her founding Director of PMM search to 3AM Recruiting, we were determined to find the best fit for her team.

Enterpret isn't making a small bet. They're AI-native, category-defining, and already have logos like Atlassian, Notion, Apollo, and Canva on their roster. They've been growing on the back of founder-led sales, which means the company is real, the traction is real, but the product marketing foundation hasn't been built yet. The founding PMM hire wasn't just important. It was urgent.

With 3AM's help, Enterpret found exactly the founding PMM they were looking for.. We recently sat down with Michelle so she could share her experience working with us.

What stage was Enterpret when you started this search?

We were already at Series A and looking to scale fast, and there were still so many gaps in product marketing. We didn't fully know who our ICP was. We didn't have proper positioning or messaging. And even though we were quite ahead of the curve  compared to other companies our size, it was evident that product marketing would accelerate our growth.

I’m a firm believer that when you start building any marketing team, the first two hires are growth and product marketing. Hiring a product marketer is more difficult, so I hired a growth marketer first. But we needed to move faster, so we went after a Director rather than a Senior PMM that could grow into the role..

What had you already tried before coming to us?

I tried LinkedIn first. That's usually how I've hired my whole team. But this search was different. Candidates were coming through who looked good on paper but just weren't right.

I also had lots of referrals but they just didn’t fit the profile we were looking for (i.e. they didn’t have a startup background or experience with our ICP and GTM motion).

What made you decide to work with 3AM instead of a traditional search firm?

When I saw your post about what 3AM provides, I thought, this is perfect. I didn't bother with traditional search firms because they're generally quite removed from product marketing.

The reason I wanted to work with you both specifically were the insights and expertise you could bring throughout the process. As star PMMs you know what great looks like. You are not just pushing candidates and trying to close quickly. I have been following you both and read a lot of your content, and it’s clear you both have high standards and will do everything to protect them.

That’s so nice of you to say. What was the recruiting experience actually like from your perspective?

I think what I appreciated most was that you weren't just recruiters. You were giving us advice on what kind of PMM we needed, what the case study assignment should look like, where we needed to focus. It was meant to be a recruiting engagement, but I was getting real strategic business insight too.

And the network was incredibly valuable. The fact that many candidates were people you have previously worked with in different capacities carries a lot of weight and meant that we weren’t starting from scratch trying to screen people.

Also, and I really appreciate this, you provided an onboarding plan for our new hire. I know it sounds like a small thing, but that kind of thinking ahead, making sure this person is set up for success and not just placed, that's not something you get from a traditional recruiter.

What happened when you finally found the right product marketing leader?

I recognize that it's genuinely hard to place PMMs because of the different industries and contexts. You need someone who truly fits the stage, the motion, the culture. That specificity takes time.

So when we interviewed the candidate that we ended up hiring, we realized this was the right person because of two things:

1. This was a person that already was strongly recommended and vetted by you.
2. During the case study challenge, they actually built a calculator to showcase one of the concepts they presented, which went above and beyond. When our CEO saw that, he told the entire company. Before we decided on this candidate, people across the company were already asking, "When are we going to get that calculator?" That was before the offer was even extended.

That's what the right person looks like.

How would you describe 3AM Recruiting to another marketing leader or founder who is considering hiring a PMM?

I would truly say you are great partners. I wouldn't even really call it just recruiting because you are a holistic package. You are doing a great job at not just helping companies find PMMs, but truly shaping what PMM looks like in this day and age.

If a colleague came to me and said they were struggling to hire a product marketer, I'd say: you need someone specialized to truly cut through the noise and find the right person. Especially for a founding role. Especially if you care about getting it right.