There is often a quiet tension between marketers and leadership teams. Marketers track impressions, engagement rates, traffic, and dozens of other indicators. CEOs look at revenue, customer acquisition, and burn. Both sides believe they are being rational. Both sides feel misunderstood.
In this episode, Fiska CEO Patrick Huynh offers a clear look at how founders and executives actually think about marketing. His perspective is not theoretical. It comes from more than two decades in the payments industry, from early dot-com days to running his own company.
His message is simple. Marketing matters. But from a CEO’s seat, it is only valuable when it contributes to customer acquisition, revenue, and long-term trust.
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Marketing is part of the sales function
One of the most important ideas from the conversation is how Patrick defines marketing. He does not see it as a separate, creative function. He sees it as part of the sales process.
In his view, marketing exists to support customer acquisition and revenue growth. Everything else is secondary. He breaks marketing into three core components:
- Branding, which creates awareness
- Product positioning, which communicates value
- Communication, which reaches the right audience through the right channels
Together, these elements should make it easier for customers to understand the product and decide to buy.
This framing changes how success is measured. If marketing is part of the sales function, then its performance should be tied to business outcomes, not just engagement metrics.
The metrics that actually matter to leadership
Patrick is clear about the numbers he cares about:
- Customer acquisition
- Conversion rates
- Revenue
- Return on investment
He acknowledges that other metrics are useful. Impressions, traffic, click-through rates, and engagement can act as leading indicators. They help marketers optimize campaigns and understand performance.
But when it comes to reporting to leadership, he prefers a simpler approach. Start with conversion and revenue. Then explain how the supporting metrics contributed to those results.
This is where many disconnects happen. Marketers often present dashboards full of activity metrics. CEOs want to know how those activities affect the bottom line. If that link is not clear, marketing can feel abstract or disconnected from business outcomes.
Attribution is imperfect, but trust still needs to be built
The conversation also explores channels like LinkedIn, which are difficult to attribute directly to revenue. Patrick describes attribution as one of the biggest challenges in marketing.
His approach is pragmatic. Instead of obsessing over the exact contribution of each channel, he sees marketing as a mix. Different channels play different roles across the customer journey.
For Fiska, LinkedIn is not a direct lead generation engine. It is a trust-building channel. Prospects often mention that they read his posts or agree with his views before reaching out. The channel helps them form an opinion about the company and its leadership.
This kind of impact is hard to measure precisely, but it is still real. It influences whether prospects are willing to start a conversation.
What a CEO expects from a CMO
When asked about his ideal CMO, Patrick focuses less on campaigns and more on understanding the business.
An effective marketing leader should:
- Understand the product deeply
- Talk directly to customers
- Know the competitive landscape
- Identify real customer pain points
- Translate all of that into clear, compelling messaging
In other words, the CMO should operate as a business leader, not just a channel specialist. Their role is to synthesize complex information into a story that customers, employees, and investors can understand.
When it comes to reporting, his expectation is straightforward. Show the results first. Then explain how you achieved them.
How marketers can build trust with leadership
Trust is a recurring theme throughout the episode. Patrick highlights three main factors that help build it.
First is alignment of values and vision. It is easier to trust someone who shares the same core beliefs about the company and its direction.
Second is domain expertise. Marketers who understand the industry do not need basic concepts explained to them. This saves time and builds credibility.
Third is demonstrated results. Even small improvements matter. What is important is showing progress and being transparent about what is working and what is not.
Owning negative results can actually strengthen trust. It signals responsibility and honesty, which are critical in long-term partnerships.
The reality of the first six months
Patrick also addresses a common issue in startups. Leaders often expect marketing to produce results quickly. He believes six months is a very short time frame for meaningful marketing impact.
His advice is to focus on showing incremental progress. Even if the company has not reached its targets, marketers should demonstrate movement in the right direction and explain what is being done to improve.
Frequent, transparent communication helps leadership stay informed and reduces uncertainty.
A final reminder for marketers
The most direct insight from the episode is also the simplest. Marketing may be the center of a marketer’s world, but it is rarely the top priority for a CEO.
Founders and executives manage product, hiring, finance, operations, fundraising, and strategy. Marketing is just one of many areas competing for their attention.
Because of that, communication needs to be:
- Short
- Clear
- Focused on business outcomes
Start with the results. Then add context. Respect their time and mental bandwidth.
The core takeaway
From a CEO’s perspective, marketing is not about campaigns, channels, or dashboards. It is about growth, trust, and revenue.
Marketers who understand this and communicate in those terms are far more likely to earn trust, secure resources, and influence strategic decisions.
Show notes
00:03 – The core problem: marketers vs. leadership
- Marketers often feel leadership does not understand marketing.
- Common complaints: lack of budget, unrealistic expectations, and disconnect from marketing realities.
00:56 – Guest introduction and episode overview
- Patrick’s background at Nuvve and his role as CEO of Fiska.
- Episode focus:
- How a CEO thinks about marketing
- Key metrics that matter
- Evaluating hard-to-attribute channels
- What marketers should understand about CEOs
02:47 – How the payments industry has changed
- Payments were stagnant for decades before the early 2000s.
- Dot-com boom triggered innovation.
- eBay and PayPal disrupted the space.
04:23 – Shift to integrated and frictionless payments
- Square changed how payments are processed.
- Movement from physical terminals to embedded payments.
- Uber as the example of frictionless, invisible payments.
07:03 – From employee to entrepreneur
- Being a CEO means wearing multiple hats.
- Responsibility for sales, marketing, product, and vision.
- Need to look at the business holistically.
09:22 – How Patrick defines marketing
- Pragmatic, “meat and potatoes” approach.
- Marketing is part of the sales process.
- Core goal: customer acquisition and revenue.
10:28 – The three components of marketing
- Branding
- Product positioning
- Communication
12:23 – The metrics that matter most
- Conversion
- Customer acquisition
- Revenue
- ROI
14:19 – Leading indicators vs. business outcomes
- Metrics like traffic, impressions, and engagement are useful.
- But CEOs want to see conversion and revenue first.
16:09 – How marketers should present results
- Start with revenue and conversions.
- Then explain supporting metrics and challenges.
17:13 – What a “dream CMO” looks like
- Understands product, customers, and market.
- Talks directly to customers.
- Synthesizes insights into clear messaging.
- Represents both product and company trust.
19:19 – How CEOs want marketing reported
- Show results first.
- Then explain how those results were achieved.
20:33 – Attribution is marketing’s biggest challenge
- Difficult to measure impact of individual channels.
- Marketing should be seen as a mix of channels.
22:16 – Why LinkedIn matters
- Used to build trust with prospects.
- Customers often reference LinkedIn posts in conversations.
- It is part of the customer journey, even if not directly measurable.
25:55 – The importance of authenticity on LinkedIn
- Obsessing over engagement metrics can hurt performance.
- Authentic, value-driven posts build more trust.
27:41 – What makes a CEO listen to a marketer
Three trust factors:
- Shared values and vision
- Domain expertise
- Demonstrated results
30:09 – Why honesty builds trust
- Report results early.
- Own failures and explain fixes.
- Transparency builds credibility.
32:36 – Six months is too short for big results
- Marketing takes time and patience.
- Focus on incremental progress.
33:46 – How to communicate progress
- Show results first.
- Then explain supporting metrics.
- Maintain frequent communication loops.
35:09 – Why benchmarks matter
- CEOs compare performance to competitors.
- Context matters more than isolated metrics.
37:02 – What marketers should understand about CEOs
- Marketing may not be a top-five priority for a CEO.
- Leaders manage many functions at once.
37:25 – How to communicate with leadership
- Keep updates short and simple.
- Focus on key results.
- Respect the CEO’s time and mental bandwidth.
- Patrick Huynh audio
38:46 – Final communication insight
- Even when CEOs listen, they may lack mental bandwidth.
- Tailor communication to their priorities.
Show links
- Fiska on LinkedIn
- Patrick Huynh on LinkedIn
- Araminta Robertson on LinkedIn
- Mint Studios on LinkedIn
- Mint Studios Website
- Mint Studios Newsletter
About Araminta Robertson
Araminta is the Founder and Managing Director at Mint Studios, a content marketing agency that helps financial services and fintech companies acquire customers and position themselves as experts with content marketing.
