In this episode of Marketing Unicorns, Leslie Lee, VP of Marketing at Deel, shares her experience in leading a remote marketing team for a global HR and payroll platform. Leslie discusses Deel’s journey as a remote-first company, the challenges of managing a globally distributed team, and the strategies they’ve used to scale while staying customer-centric. Key Topics Discussed: - How Deel became the fastest-growing B2B startup, embracing remote work from inception. - Leslie’s biggest marketing failure and the lessons learned about community building. - The differences between leading marketing at Deel vs. Atlassian and adapting to remote-first cultures. - Strategies Deel uses to build trust in a fast-moving, remote environment. - Deel’s approach to hiring global talent outside of traditional tech hubs. - How Leslie manages a 60-person marketing team across multiple time zones and cultures. - Why Deel prioritizes customer-centricity, with leadership directly engaging with customers. - How AI tools like MidJourney and content creation automation are helping Deel’s marketing team. Actionable Takeaways for Remote Marketing Leaders: - Establish trust by understanding what the CEO cares about most and proving marketing’s alignment with those KPIs. - Instead of spreading your team thin across many small trade shows, focus on fewer high-impact events with a stronger presence. - Talent exists beyond Silicon Valley—find and develop high-potential marketers from diverse global backgrounds. - In a remote-first world, set clear expectations early on and give your team the trust and flexibility to execute autonomously. - Use AI for content creation, creative ideation, and translation to cut down manual work and accelerate campaigns. // Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. www.GlobalTalent.co