EPISODE 231: Marketer of the Month Podcast with Mareme Dieng

The Big Questions!

Saksham Sharda: Alright, so that was the end of the rapid-fire round. Let’s move on to the longer questions, which you can answer with as much ease and time as you like. First, you worked across Africa, Europe, and the US in innovation and education. How do cultural differences shape entrepreneurship in each region?

Mareme Dieng: I would say that cultural differences are present in the sense that I think there’s the concept of entrepreneurship by necessity and entrepreneurship by choice. And in many ways, I think, and I know what I’ve seen is a lot of entrepreneurship by necessity because they rely on entrepreneurs to create opportunities for the broader audience at large. And because the government cannot sustain its own, all of the challenges that these communities are facing, I think, you know, in a place like Europe, you have a lot more entrepreneurship by choice. And in many ways you know, it’s not necessarily always a choice that, you know, to make, but they’re in an economy where they have other more stable opportunities and through employment, which I think is very interesting because a lot of the challenges that Europe is facing are related to that, right?

Mareme Dieng: How to then really ignite and create a certain sentiment of excitement about entrepreneurship. Even it by, I think the US is very interesting example becaus it’s one where, and you know, having lived in the US crime, so that I’ve seen really throughout my time there, which is that there is not a necessarily structural need for people to build companies because, you know, they have other choices of employment, but it’s something that’s so rooted in their mentality. And I think it’s a different type of entrepreneurship, which is entrepreneurship by opportunity, right? And it’s an economy where young people are taught so early to understand, recognize opportunities that it makes them a lot more acute to the idea of building a company, and targets to capture these opportunities. So these are different, that is the case in, you know, other markets. So I think culture plays a very important role because it defines the way that you feel about building a company, and defines why you build the company. And it also defines what you believe in to build that company, whether it’s capital or mentorship, or support. And I think, you know, as the world becomes globalized, maybe it’s lost a little bit in translation, but I think the cultures are a very, very important part and cannot be in the way that innovation and entrepreneurship grow.

Saksham Sharda: So, how can global models be adapted to reflect local needs effectively?

Mareme Dieng: That’s a great question because I think it’s not always a straightforward answer, right? Something that has, I think, changed light in the last years, especially as super tech has become a lot more democratized and we are seeing a lot of interest in it in developing markets, is that the common piece has and doesn’t waste work. That doesn’t mean that there’s not something to be learned across markets. So it’s more a matter of what about this model can be replicated in this market and what about it cannot? And I think that’s a very deep thinking exercise that needs to take place. And often I’ve realized the reason why it doesn’t happen in the first incident is when you encounter a product or a service market and your first instinct is to replicate it, you know, in your domestic market, comes from your experience, your personal experience with that product or that service. So, you know, you experience it, and you think it would be some weight to have this in my domestic market because of just how experienced I am. But that experience is so personal, and it doesn’t always translate to the higher customer base that this product can target. And so sometimes, you know, maybe the product should be replicated, the business model should be different, and sometimes it’s younger, well, maybe the business model should be replicated for the public. And I think those nuances are very, very thin. And founders need to take the time to think about them because, like I said, culture is everything. And being able to understand what part of the model has succeeded in replicating and what are the other things that require iteration, that require you to flesh them out a lot more and test out a lot more before you, whether it’s gonna work I is critical. And that is ultimately what leads to a product marketing, you know, a true product marketing doesn’t come from just copying and pasting something you’ve seen somewhere else. It comes from taking the part of that product or service that applies to the need you’re trying to solve, but then making the right adjustments around the realities of that market, which is how we get to that front market. I think that’s a big to every market. And whether it’s from a developing market to a non-developing market, to the other vice around the markets.

Saksham Sharda: As a partner at 500 Global, what do you look for when evaluating early-stage startups in emerging markets?

Mareme Dieng: So the incredible first thing is a team. And what I mean by that is their qualification to solve the problem that they have identified, and second, their understanding of that problem. Often, you know, I say that it’s more important to be in love with your problem than it is with the solution, because the solution will more than likely change over time. But the problem is that solving the mind is the same. And I think that’s not always, you know, as intuitive when you build a company, because you may be so in love with the product that you build that you might not be able to see that it requires pivot iterations. You still solve the problem you’re targeting. So a team that truly understands the problem they’re fixing and that has the qualification capacity to serve them. That’s one. Second is their ability to execute with minimal resources. So often, you know, by the time that they come to investors, I think it’s very important to have demonstrated that you’re capable of executing and of getting something out in the market before getting money for it. So I think there’s a concept option you need to raise money to start. I don’t think it’s accurate. It’s really important to demonstrate that you’re able to build something even with minimum resources because you can tell the investors something about your execution ability, which is part of that assessment. And then the third part is the size of the opportunity, the size of the rocket, because as for the opportunity, you know, I mean, there are many problems to solve out there, but you know, some problems have that level of scale that will help a company grow exponentially. And so exciting the opportunity, really understanding how large, how big this opportunity is that this company saw before is important in that assessment of how likely you’re to back a winner, and that will scale.

Saksham Sharda: And are there any red flags in marketing or positioning that cause concern?

Mareme Dieng: When it comes to red flags and marketing, and positioning? I think it’s important for the founders to think about, you know, the marketing and depositioning again, the lens of what they have needed to do and execute. So, you know, I heard on a talk, basically someone say that if you haven’t built anything, you don’t have anything to market. You don’t have anything to come to Facebook because you haven’t built anything. And I think that’s important, which is that of course, you know, in our, especially in our day to day of social media and, digital tools, strong emphasis on positioning and public profiling and marketing, which I think is fair because the companies need be to get the word out for their building so that they can attract the right investors and the right clients and customers. Now, I think it’s very important to put the foundation of that marketing on the work that has been done and the work that is being done, and less so much on, I know we always talk about storytelling and narrative, and I think that’s important. How you frame something is important, but you have to have something to frame, right? Framing and storytelling are nothing. It’s only, you know, buying some time in a very varied situation when, realizing there’s nothing there. So I always, you know, market from someone, make sure that you are doing the work behind the scenes, that you’re getting traction, that you are executing, that you progress, and that you’re moving forward so that you have something to show and then you can back and storytelling that marketing to your best advantage.

Saksham Sharda: Marketing budgets are often limited for early-stage startups. What’s the smartest way to prioritize spend?

Mareme Dieng: That’s a great question. I think first, always, you know, the effect of word of mouth is tremendous. And we underestimate that, especially, you know, I think in a more easy idea of word of mouth is all of the aspects as well, because these are very globalized cities where communities are no longer as tight as they used to be. But in developing markets, that worked out very powerfully. Being able to show that your product is easy to do what it says we do and that it’s trusted by members of the communities. So that good recommendation to others will always be more powerful than any billboard or, you know, any TV ads that can go on TV. So I think in emerging markets that, that word of mouth, that trusted community, making sure to use the channels that people give specific level of reliability and credibility to these, a very unique and effective way of making sure that you’re getting your message to the right people and that you doing it in a way that gives you credibility. I also think that, you know, obviously in multiple block markets, like I said, we learn more now, decentralized communities, social media plays a very big role. You know, I know that people feel the need to, you know, invest quite heavily in social media campaigns. So, you know, social media is, very important part of advertising, whether it’s through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and you know, very similarly with other digital ways going about trying to get your product out there. I would say that maybe Billboard is still happening as much, but both of them today take space in social media. And so I urge people and founders, entrepreneurs to consider what the ways are in which they’re leveraging these social media campaigns and where exactly they are investing their dollars and where they their dollars, and what is the return on that? And especially when it comes to ads, how much are they spending on content versus distribution, and I would argue that I think content is, is very important. The quality of the content is equally as important as the distribution because if the wrong content is getting to potential end closer, then you hear. So you know, really taking the time to think about how to do these campaigns very intentionally and also really thinking about, especially with TikTok as kind different way for now young generations to look for you know, advice and content and recommendations to restaurants, places to go. I think it’s very, very important to be able to communicate very well to that community, and that it’s not necessarily ads, right, that do that, it’s again, the quality of the product. So your best marketing will always be the quality of the product. And if you can work on that quality, then you will get the right channels to be able to share that experience because it will always be, that will always be way better on the team than any paid campaign that you can have out there.

Saksham Sharda: African founders are increasingly visible on global platforms. How can they leverage personal branding to elevate their ventures?

Mareme Dieng: I think part of it is making sure that their stories are told. I think a lot of founders who are building on the continent may not have as much access to, you know, the visibility and the type of events where they can share their stories. Several events take place in Africa, which is great because, again, these are the platforms to share their success in what they’re building. I will always encourage them to use all of the best freeways to be able to share their stories out there. So obviously some of them do have the capacity to travel abroad, and to international events, whether they can do that, but you know, those that don’t. Again, today social media is democratized, right? So, leveraging social media to be able to share your story, to share what you’ve built, but again, what you’ve built. So, making sure that by the time you’re able to put your story out there, you’ve done something that you’ve pictured for yourself is very important. And leveraging, you know, the free way to do that today, which is social media, whether it’s, you know, LinkedIn, any of the other social media, but doubling down on the importance of storytelling. I think that’s something that you know, other markets have invested a lot more in than Apple founders have, and primarily, like I said, because, for the most part, they’re so consumed by the problem that they’re solving and the solutions that they’re trying to avoid. But I think from time to time, also lifting their head and ensuring that their stories aren’t to you is gonna be very important.

Saksham Sharda: What trends do you see in African tech startups successfully penetrating international Markets?

Mareme Dieng: So, trends in Africa that are penetrating international markets. Yeah, very interesting. I think financial services are the most exciting and hardest trend in Africa today. Lots of different solutions in financial services recently, one of the FinTechs has been set up for a long time bank actually gotta acquire another FinTech, in emerging markets. I believe it was Brazil. So we are seeing that because, you know, Africa has had very limited financial infrastructure in the past. They’re able to truly, from a lot of the quote unquote traditional financial services, whether it’s debit cards, whether it’s bank accounts, to jump into a lot of these new financial services that are completely, you know, focused on convenience, no cost and fast transactions as well as secure. And so I think you’ll see more of, of this trend of fintechs in Africa being able to move some of their services to other markets as well because you know, they’re able to tap into that next level of utilizing mobile money use, utilize the wallet you know, really thinking about cost payment, thinking about ways to do cost payments the cheapest possible way and fastest as well. So I think we’re gonna see that happen more. I think another thing that we’re gonna see is data. So, you know, Africa has more than 1 million people in a year. And so what that means is that it, a nd most of those are young people, so an increased amount of data that will continue to be generated by two behaviors. That’s one more. I think they would be, we see more companies coming out of Africa that are providing access to that data to larger companies across the world. And I think that that will be quite transformational and especially in sectors like health tech, things around medication and diagnosis, also around things like transactions and mobility. And especially as we understand that’s a trend around understanding the way that climate change is affecting, the way that these, the operating, again, having access to that data for what’s happening in alpha. So I think we’re, we’re going to see that potential open up a lot more than it could be. And I think AI will strongly contribute to Africa being able to build out teams that are a lot more foreign efficient in being able to get that data collected, processed, and then basically fully monetize.

Saksham Sharda: What’s one startup you’ve mentored that’s completely transformed how you view leadership and innovation?

Mareme Dieng: That’s very interesting. I have mentored a founder who I’ve been working with now, I think it’s gonna get close to 10 years who has taught me a lot about, so he’s taught me about feelings. The first one he taught me about his biases, which is that we often have biases, that come from our education, that might come from background that people, and so when we look for certain indicators of, you know, in somebody’s personality that can tell us a lot more about, you know, how successful to be. And so having, you know, done quite a big of an part of my career in, in San Francisco Silicon Valley, you know, this founder was very, very different from the typical Silicon Valley founder who has, who gone to Stanford Berkeley, who has the right, knows the right jargon, who has the right keyword, who, you know, understands how to get the attention of investors and communicate information. He’s very, very different from that. He’s a hard worker that very, very hands-on in what he does, so passionate about what he’s building, that he doesn’t have as much, you know, time to invest in that decor within that massage. And he’s honestly one of the most committed founders that I’ve ever met in my life. And the way that I’ve seen him build his team and the way that I’ve seen him, you know, build his path and succeed in that path for me, has been a tremendous learning. The second thing that he’s taught me is that, you know, often we look at founders and we remind believe that, you know, building a company and raising money, is easy. Most of us know that it’s hard, but that founder particularly really taught me that no matter how hard we believe it is, we don’t know nearly half. He has gone through more hardship than I have known anybody to do. And spent all of that. He’s maintained his team, he’s maintained his drive, he’s maintained his passion, still feeling very, very committed to actually seeing his mission come to fruition, which I think is a lot more than most people do. So, you know, when people say that, you know, if you wanna be a founder, you still need ways to be encouraged. Um, don’t think so. I think when you’re a founder, you know, attrition is so different that if you meet encouragement to do it, it might not be the right path for you. Because it’s difficult, it’s very challenging, and it can be very lonely. Umt requires a lot of mental strength and resilience, you know, I’ve never seen it more exemplified by this founder. And he’s taught me a lot about how, you know, one can face adversity and still handle it with so much dignity, so much self-respect, so tremendously.

Saksham Sharda: So, on the topic, the last question for you is of a personal kind. What would you be doing in your life if not this?

Mareme Dieng: Wow. That’s a great question. One that I haven’t thought about in a very long time because, you know, venture capital, etcetera, time-consuming sector, and we spent so much time thinking about what the capital is, building their dreams, what are the opportunities for the future that maybe we don’t spend that much time doing that for ourselves. But I think if I hadn’t said what I would be doing, I would be working for a sports organization. I have to say I love sports. I’m a very, very big believer in the fact that sport is one of the most unifying things that we have as a collective. And often also sport is a way to exemplify certain values and show and demonstrate the outcome of hard work. And even though most people consider sports to be entertainment, I think it’s one of the most important pillars of society in the way that it is today. And making sure that it’s a means for me. I see it as a need for education because it inspires people and allows them to do something healthy. And that’s also driving, you know, a personal achievement. And a collective achievement, especially in sports, is a way for people to understand what it means, like, to be in a team, and a company is very much like a sports team, right? It’s very similar to a sports team. And you learn how to sacrifice yourself for others, and you learn how to work with the collective. So, you know, if I were not doing what I could now, I think I would be working for a sports organization or one of the sports committees today that organize many of the, you know, the competitions that we see around the world, because it’s a mission that I truly believe in.

Let’s Conclude!

Saksham Sharda: Thanks, everyone for joining us for this month’s episode of Outgrow’s Marketer of the Month. That was Mareme Dieng, who is the Partner at 500 Global.

Mareme Dieng: Great to be here. Thank you.

Saksham Sharda: Check out the website for more details and we’ll see you once again next month with another marketer of the month.