How to be a crypto CMO and keep your sanity (mostly) | Opinion
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You can always spot the crypto CMO. Theyâre the ones with a twitch in their eye, a forced smile, and at least one draft email trying to explain (against all odds) whythiscompany is a âgame-changer.â Meanwhile, the CFO treats marketing like an optional subscription he forgot to cancel. The CEO is pitching âthe next big thing,â which sounds suspiciously like the last big thing. The investors? Already out, sipping cocktails somewhere tax-friendly.
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Every early-stage crypto company sounds big until you realize youâve walked into a crime scene armed with a Canva subscription and an espresso machine.
So whatâs it like to do the job? What are the actual challenges that crypto CMOs face? And most importantly, how can you avoid rehearsing your âlessons learnedâ LinkedIn post ahead of schedule? Letâs dive in.
Follow the money (or lack thereof)
Before you start dreaming up campaigns, take a hard look at the business. Does it actually make money, or is it surviving on investor fumes and venture capital optimism? Start by grilling the CEO and CFO, as if your career depends on it, because it does. If they start sweating at basic financial questions, congratulations: youâre about to join a company that expects marketing to âfigure out growth strategyâ while finance figures out how to delay payroll. Hereâs what you need to grasp:
Whatâs the burn rate, and how long is the runway? (Translation: Are they casually setting cash on fire, and how long before the CFO starts rationing office coffee?)
Are they reliant on hype cycles, token speculation, or âthe next bull runâ as a revenue strategy? (Because if thatâs the case, youâll also need a personal risk strategy.)
What happens when investor money dries up? (Spoiler alert:Marketing budgets get slashed first.)
Abandon hope ifâ¦
The founders dodge financial questions like a bad Tinder date dodges commitment.
Burn rate is high, but break-even is an ideological goal, not a financial one.
Revenue is like a UFO sightingâthere are reports, but nobodyâs ever actually seen it.
User acquisition is aggressive, but nobody has a plan to make those users profitable.
Reality check:
In crypto, companies move fast, but not all movement is forward. If revenue is a âfuture concern,â so is your paycheck. If the financials are ugly, marketing is always the first to get squeezed. Youâll be asked toâdo more with lessâuntil thereâs nothing left to do.
Scaling a business or inflating a valuation?
Early-stage crypto companies live and die by their investors. Some understand that real growth takes time, others just want vanity metrics slapped onto a slide deck so they can vanish before reality catches up.
So, before you start plotting a marketing strategy, ask:
Are investors prioritizing sustainable growth, or is this just about inflating numbers for the next funding round? (Translation: Are we building a business or just making the deck look pretty?)
How does the company define âtractionâ? (If growth is measured in active community members and Twitter likes, congratulations, youâre about to become the Head of Discord.)
Abandon hope ifâ¦
The investor list looks like a rug-pull leaderboard. All short-term speculators, no long-term vision.
They blew half the marketing budget on a YouTuber who mispronounced the company name.
Marketing is expected to âbuild momentumâ while the engineers are still arguing about which chain to build on.
Reality check:
They might assure you the product is âon track,â but so was the Titanic before it hit the iceberg. If investors are obsessed with traction but allergic to business models, and the real goal is securing the next funding round, youâre not scaling a company, youâre just inflating a valuation.
WAGMI? Maybe. But first, show me the business model
A crypto company without a working business model is just a very expensive science experiment. So, before you start crafting campaigns, you need to know:
Does this project have a real, sustainable business model, or is it running on bull market prayers?
Is monetization an actual plan, or is it a âlater problemâ? (If itâs the latter, youâre not a CMO, youâre just the exit liquidity wrapped in a fancy job title.)
Is marketing expected to generate revenue because the product isnât? (Translation: Am I here to build a brand or to perform financial CPR?)
Abandon hope ifâ¦
They claim to be âpre-revenue,â but theyâve been around for three years.
The monetization plan isâTBD,âbut theyâre already hiring influencers and running PR campaigns.
The business model is a mystery, but marketing is expected to âunlock new revenue streams.â
Reality check:
Hereâs the hard truth: No working business model is what economists call a âdead business.â In crypto, we call it âthe future of finance.â No amount of creative genius can save a company built on wishful thinking.Â
If their entire revenue strategy isâwait for mass adoption,âthen your marketing plan isâwait for your next job.â
Regulatory risks: Are we a business or a future case study?
Crypto is a regulatory minefield, and marketing often gets caught in the crossfire. If a company isnât legally compliant, youâre not taking a marketing job, youâre volunteering to be the spokesperson when the regulators come knocking. And when they do, donât expect the CEO to stick around for the press release.
So, hereâs what you have to understand:
Where does the company operate, and who are its primary users? (So you know if you need to market to traders, institutions, or your future cellmates.)
How does the product fit within evolving regulations? (Translation: Do you need a legal disclaimer under every campaign?)
Whatâs the legal teamâs involvement in marketing? (Because the last thing you need is launching a campaign only to have the SEC slide into your DMs.)
Abandon hope ifâ¦
The answers about compliance are vague, overly optimistic, or âweâre working on it.â
The company is operating in regulatory gray zones with no clear jurisdiction.
The legal team seems⦠nonexistent.(Or consists of one overworked generalist who mostly writes disclaimers.)
Reality check:
Crypto regulation is like gravity, it doesnât care whether you believe in it. If compliance is treated as a âlater problem,â assume itâs already a problem, and marketing is just painting a target on your back.
Just remember: When regulators come knocking, the CEO will be on a âscheduled media blackout,â and youâll be the one issuing a statement.
The highest-paid yes man: Do you have real authority?
ChiefMarketingOfficer sounds important. It suggests strategy, influence, and leadership. But in crypto, it often means sitting through a monologue where the CEO explains marketing to you, usually referencing:
Elon Muskâs Twitter antics,
âCommunity-driven growthâ(translation: free marketing),
How Appleânever needed ads.â
Your job? Nod, smile, and mentally prepare for the moment they ask if you can âgrowth-hackâ your way to free customer acquisition. Then, when they finally pause for breath, you casually mention that Steve Jobs spent over $100 million on marketing in the first year of the iMac.
So, before you sign up, establish:
Do you actually have decision-making power, or just here to execute the CEOâs gut instincts?
Is marketing a strategic function or just an afterthought?Â
Who owns the budget, brand, and growth strategy?
Abandon hope ifâ¦
The CEO thinks marketing is justâcommunity growthâ (translation: free).
The board thinks branding is a logo.
Every decision requires five meetings and a founderâs mood check.
Growth isyourresponsibility, but you have no authority over budget, hiring, or strategy.
Reality check:
A CMO title means nothing if you have no control over strategy, budget, or priorities. If leadership sees marketing as a necessary evil, expect every strategy meeting to feel like explaining TikTok to your dad.
And if youâre expected to âown growthâ but have no authority to make real decisions, youâre just there to execute someone elseâs gut instincts, and every major decision is made in a Telegram group chat youâre not in.
What it takes to make it
Marketing in crypto isnât for the faint of heart. One day, youâre building a brand. Next, youâre explaining to the CFO why marketing isnât a luxury expense. Then, before you know it, youâre on Twitter damage control because the CEO just called regulators âhatersâ in all caps.
Five rules to stay sane:
Secure budget and decision-making authority upfront.
Push for KPIs tied to real revenue, not vanity metrics.
Involve legal early, because no campaign is worth a subpoena.
Stay realistic, marketing canât fix a broken business model.Â
If the founders canât answer tough financial questions, run.
At the end of the day, in crypto, only the smart money survives. The dumb money? Well, they hire a CMO to fix the unfixable. If you thrive on unpredictability, if you see opportunity where others see chaos, if you can turn a vague roadmap into a compelling vision, youâve found the perfect job.
If not? Well, thereâs always web2.
Read more:Crypto tech projects shouldnât settle for shallow marketing | Opinion
Ilias Melikov
Ilias Melikovis a marketing leader with over a decade of experience in the tech industry. His work is grounded in the principles of long-term brand development and short-term tactical marketing, balancing sustainable growth with measurable results. Throughout his career, Ilias has held key roles as marketing director, brand marketing lead, chief communications officer, and managing editor. Orchestrating campaigns that amplify brand awareness and drive user adoption, he excels in crafting clear and precise brand narratives, executing performance-driven marketing strategies, and managing multi-channel engagement strategies. Passionate about decentralized technologies, Ilias actively contributes to discussions on their transformative impact on global markets.
2025-06-06 17:24:04
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