Jalin transforms marketing for companies with ambition
He’s served as interim exec to ten scale-ups, two of them ‘unicorns’, backed by investors like Goldman Sachs, Index Ventures and SoftBank.
With Jalin’s help, they’ve got their metrics moving in the right direction faster - his work is “exceptional”, according to the founder of the UK’s leading business neobank, and his marketing playbook has gone viral.
How he does it
Jalin’s year-long marketing transformations bring high ROI - because he:
Works strategically (“he really ‘gets’ the strategic context and so optimises for overall business impact,” says Tide’s founding CEO)
Prioritises aggressively (bringing “immediate value with his analytical skills and instinct for prioritisation,” observes Omnipresent’s CFO)
Raises the bar (“he has a remarkable ability to be high-level or detail-obsessed and move at breakneck speed or be more considered if necessary,” says Trussle’s founder)
The results:
Your metrics improve radically (Omnipresent’s CFO: “within a quarter, he managed to save us 35% on our expenditure while hitting his numbers”)
Your team gets stronger (Tide’s founder notes “he took Tide’s marketing function and turned it into a substantial, world-class team”)
You’re ready for transition to a perm CMO, whom he can help select
More about him
Jalin’s background is unusual for a CMO, which is reflected in his style:
An ex-management consultant, he’s highly commercial and cultivates strong CEO & CFO relationships (“rarely… have I had marketing engagement as fruitful,” notes Omnipresent’s CFO)
He’s held senior ops roles and is comfortable with complexity (“he took over… a team spread over multiple continents and created a disciplined process for delivery,” notes Prodigy Finance’s COO)
He’s aesthetically attuned and relishes brand-building (“Jalin did a fantastic job repositioning Algolia for the AI age,“ says their CTO).
He also advises (e.g. an explosively-growing AI startup) and serves as a non-exec director (including chairing a new school “with integrity and tenacity”).
He has previously been part-time Venture Partner to a VC fund and spent seven years at Google. He studied at Oxford, holds an MBA with distinction from INSEAD - and grew up in Dar es Salaam.
Now maybe you can work with him. Why don’t you drop him a line?
Jalin works with:
Scale-ups
As interim CMO, running and transforming marketing. Typically for AI, SaaS and fintech companies - with marketers in the double digits and marketing spend in the (tens of) millions.
Over the course of a year, Jalin will improve a combination of customer economics and growth. He’ll strengthen your team. And he'll run the smooth transition to a perm CMO, whom he can help you select
You’ll have him four days a week (reaping >95% of the benefit of full-time help at 80% of the cost) yet he'll take full responsibility for the teams and areas he runs
He works off a day-rate and generates high ROI for you
Former clients include Algolia (global AI search SaaS ‘unicorn’), Mollie (Amsterdam-based payments ‘unicorn’), and Tide (leading UK business neobank)
Startups
As a marketing advisor and mentor to founders and marketing leaders
Usually on a retained basis
Current and former clients include the CMOs of Fyxer AI (“the UK’s fastest-growing startup”), Adzuna and FlashPack. He’s advised the portfolio Fidelity Int’l Strategic Ventures (FISV), where he was a part-time Venture Partner (until conflicts of interest intervened), and is advisory CMO to a new pan-European neobank
Boards
As a non-exec director (NED) to corporates and tech companies
Bringing experience of scaling products at Google and ambitious scale-ups (notably in fintech and SaaS) and mentoring multiple CEOs and CMOs on marketing
Former NED and marketing advisor to a VC-backed fintech scale-up (that’s bringing private equity, as an asset class, to a broader audience) and to two startups, and an ambitious new school he chaired for a period
Photos: Jalin Somaiya
“Jalin did an exceptional job as CMO at Tide.
Within months he took Tide’s marketing function and turned it into a substantial, world-class team acquiring 8% of the UK business banking market. He really ‘gets’ the strategic context and so optimises for overall business impact rather than just meeting a narrow target. He did, however, also smash his targets!”
George Bevis, founding CEO, Tide - leading business neo-bank
Jalin was Interim CMO
“In Jalin, we had a very strong chairman for the International Academy of Greenwich.
This role was highly complex and demanding, requiring negotiation with, and navigation of, local and national government. He chaired with integrity and tenacity, balancing the needs of the various stakeholders, and showing a flair for clear decision-making and communication.”
Liz Robinson, CEO, Big Education Trust
Jalin was Chair, formerly Vice-Chair
“Jalin did a fantastic job repositioning Algolia for the AI age.
As Algolia rebuilt its entire product to leverage AI, Jalin guided the exec team to refine our positioning and messaging in the market. Then he launched it across our site, sales teams and company - on time & budget. We’re now generating 30% more MQLs than before. Like the other C-levels here, I’m very impressed.”
Sean Mullaney, CTO, Algolia - AI SaaS ‘unicorn’
Jalin was Interim Head of Transformation (reporting to the CEO)
“Jalin brought us immediate value with his analytical skills and instinct for prioritisation.
Rarely in my career have I had marketing engagement as fruitful and analytically rich, as my interactions with Jalin. He took over our marketing function, quickly reviewed and reallocated spend - and within a quarter, managed to save us 35% on our expenditure while hitting his revenue numbers. He brought clarity to the function and aligned it neatly towards business outcomes.”
Tucker Dearth, CFO, Omnipresent - global SaaS ‘soon-icorn’
Jalin was Interim VP Marketing
“Jalin was an excellent addition to Prodigy Finance.
He took over responsibility for a team spread over multiple continents and created a disciplined process for delivery. He… earned himself a well-deserved promotion, where we gave him more teams to run. Jalin joined our executive team as part of this and brought a notable clarity to our decision making.”
Sarah Harvey, COO, Prodigy Finance - global lender of $1bn+
Jalin was Interim CMO
“Jalin would be an asset to any organisation.
His approach is structured, thoughtful and above all, flexible to company needs. He has a remarkable ability to be high-level or detail-obsessed and move at breakneck speed or be more considered if necessary... A particular highlight: Jalin managed the definition of our core mission and repositioned the company's brand.”
Ishaan Malhi, founding CEO, Trussle - mortgage broker backed by Goldman Sachs
Jalin was Interim Executive
Photo: Jalin Somaiya