Should my first marketing hire be a generalist or a specialist - performance marketer vs brand marketer?
The short answer
At sub-₹1 crore scale, hire a versatile performance-and-content generalist who can run ads, write copy and brief a designer, not a narrow specialist - you don't have the volume yet to justify a single-channel expert, and generalists adapt faster while you're still finding product-market fit. Bring in specialists (dedicated performance marketer, brand/content lead, retention manager) once a channel is proven and needs someone focused full-time to scale it, usually somewhere past ₹1-3 crore in revenue.
A quick summary to orient you. The real value is below: the resources worth your time, from people who've actually done it, not us.
Here are the resources
Hand-picked from around the web, each with a note on why it earns your time. India-specific ones carry a badge.
Why we picked it
An Indian HR firm writing specifically about D2C hiring, not generic startup hiring - it names the multi-skill, adaptable profile (digital marketing plus content plus customer service) that actually fits an early Indian D2C team.
Why we picked it
A practical, operator-written guide to sourcing and evaluating early hires on limited resources - useful for the tactical 'how do I actually find people' question that strategy pieces skip.
Why we picked it
A recruitment agency built specifically around DTC marketing roles (media buyers, retention leads, creative) - a real option once you've decided what role you need and want specialist sourcing help finding it.
