Arielle Jackson

Head of Brand & Product Marketing

"There's no work I love more than helping founders position their companies. It requires a deep understanding of your audience and what they already know as well as a clear articulation of what makes you different. You have to know who you are. You can't be everything to everyone, but you can be something great for someone."

Arielle Jackson has been at First Round for over a decade, during which time she's worked with hundreds of founders on early positioning, naming, brand identity, launch communications, and marketing hiring. She pitch hits as the first marketer for First Round companies until they hire their own.

She loves finding crisp ways to communicate complicated products. Or, as she learned in her early days at Google: "knowing the user, knowing the magic, and connecting the two." She picked up product marketing on the job there, where she helped grow Gmail in its early days. At Square, she was one of the first marketers who led the launch of new hardware products and distributed them though >30k retail doors. She then joined a seed stage startup called Cover (backed by First Round) which hit >1M users in a matter of months before being snapped up by Twitter.

Arielle holds a B.A. in Human Biology and an M.A. in Psychology from Stanford and is more interested in what makes people tick than in attribution modeling.

HEAR MORE FROM ARIELLE:

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  Podcast
  
  The Art of Building Legendary Brands: Arielle Jackson on Lenny's Podcast
  
  What makes a great brand? After working at Google and Square, Arielle Jackson has spent the past eight years consulting startups on how to create powerful messaging that works. In this jam-packed episode, she shares how to pick a winning name for your company, create a brand purpose that excites your team and customers, and position your company and its products for success.](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-art-of-building-legendary-brands)
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  Review Article
  
  Great Startups Deserve Great Brands — Build a Strong Foundation by Avoiding These Mistakes
  
  After working with hundreds of startups on brand strategy, Arielle Jackson shares the most common early marketing missteps that founders make.](https://review.firstround.com/great-startups-deserve-great-brands-build-a-strong-foundation-by-avoiding-these-mistakes/)
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  Starting up
  
  So You Think You’re Ready to Hire a Marketer? Read This First.
  
  As First Round’s Marketing Expert in Residence, Arielle Jackson often helps early-stage founders navigate the search for a full-time marketer of their own. From the when and the why to the who and the how, Jackson offers a crash course on every aspect of the marketer hiring process.](https://review.firstround.com/so-you-think-youre-ready-to-hire-a-marketer-read-this-first/)
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  In-Depth Podcast
  
  Arielle Jackson Shares Early Marketing Missteps to Avoid
  
  Today’s episode is with Arielle Jackson. For the past 7 years, she’s helped hundreds of companies build their positioning and brands from the ground up, both as our Marketing Expert in Residence here at First Round and in her own consulting work.](/content/news/arielle-jackson-shares-early-marketing-missteps-to-avoid/index.html)
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  Review Article
  
  Positioning Your Startup is Vital — Here’s How to Nail It
  
  After working with hundreds of startups on brand strategy, First Round's Marketing Expert in Residence Arielle Jackson shares her messaging toolbox.](https://review.firstround.com/positioning-your-startup-is-vital-heres-how-to-do-it-right/)