By: Joshua Finley

Private equity and venture capital firms have become increasingly selective about investment. Gone are the heady days when PE and VC firms would throw money at a potential winner. Today, these investors want to see more than proof of concept and a path to superior returns; they want to see that the company’s people, including its C-Suite executives, have what it takes to thrive in an ever-more-competitive environment.

That people-centric competitive edge is often neglected in the complex startup environment, and startups are increasingly turning to professionals like Archita Fritz for guidance on how to leverage their human assets.  

A Healthy Obsession

Archita Fritz is an MBA graduate of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and before focusing on consulting, spent over 16 years as a MedTech professional. Archita has a wealth of experience advising organizations across the globe in the complexities of the startup environment. Her experience spans developing strategy and marketing campaigns, advising startup partnerships, and taking the lead in product and promotional activity for clients in the U.S., Canada and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), Latin America and the Asia Pacific region.

During her time as a MedTech, Archita Fritz developed a keen interest in the marketing of products aimed at enhancing the health and quality of life of patients. It is a skill and focus she today brings to bear to ensure that startups are healthy and thriving, essential when one is on the hunt for ever more scarce capital. 

A Focus on Fractional Marketing Fundamentals

Put simply, functional marketing is outsourcing a part (a fraction) of your marketing department to part-time specialists. Selecting the right advisor can make all the difference in terms of return on investment. Archita Fritz has built a reputation based on providing value to startups in search of the formula for marketing success. 

Archita’s approach aims to bring back a more vigorous approach to marketing. It’s an approach that sometimes takes a back seat when the startup is focused almost exclusively on building a business case for Venture capitalists. 

“My clients often need some guidance in getting back to the basics of applying a more rigorous approach to marketing fundamentals. Analyzing market demographics, gauging customer needs, mapping consumer needs, evaluating market demand and competitor analysis are all success factors in any business plan.”

Fritz notes that, in many cases, essential market analysis is often neglected in the frantic push to scale up operations (especially in the small and medium-sized enterprise market).

“Clients are often in ‘Red Alert’ mode, they know that there’s a problem, so they call me in to sort it out. The fractional marketing approach suits them because it’s a tactical intervention that doesn’t require long-term investment, it immediately delivers value through a structured intervention and strategically aligned marketing tactics.”

However, Archita Fritz often finds that although the product and process within the startup may not be perfectly optimized, other issues also need urgent attention.

According to Fritz, the challenges often lie in the startup culture itself.

“The frantic push to scale and obtain funding often means that founders and employees are hyper-focused on the medium term and the path to that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Counter-intuitively, in that environment, fostering a corporate culture that values innovation and professional growth takes a back seat.”

A Scalable Blueprint

According to Fritz what is needed is a sustainable and scalable blueprint for growth, including innovative product marketing and a focus on employee culture.

“People and culture are important and fostering that culture of innovation is part and parcel of the startup journey. I often find that integrating proven fractional product marketing tactics with attention to cultural issues pays enormous dividends for the client. The return on investment in marketing and employees is extremely attractive.”

With a laugh she concludes, “Startup Board Management often doesn’t recognize that a focused, effective and innovative workforce is worth its weight in gold when it comes time to market. A company with motivated and effective employees is worth far more than one where any buyer has to replace those resources.”

Archita Fritz today balances the demands of managing Ready Set Bold, her strategic marketing advisory company, public speaking, coaching (she’s a Board Advisor at the Veblen Director Programme) and her rapidly growing podcast focusing on women in the workplace. 

C-Suite executives who are in search of innovative ways to identify new opportunities for growth and align their startup marketing efforts with business goals can learn more about Archita at architafritz.com, visit her Linkedin profile, or tune into her podcasts.

Published By: Aize Perez