Why founders hire communications talent too late and the costly misalignment that follows | Amanda Todd, Head of Strategic Comms at Temporal

Amanda Todd didn't follow the typical comms career path. After an unconventional start that included pitching cultural concepts to skeptical German executives, she's built a reputation as the person companies call when they need to figure out "how the hell to say this." Now Head of Strategic Comms at Temporal, Amanda shares how she moved from internal communications to running full-stack comms—and why she believes most founders invest in communications far too late.

In this episode, Amanda breaks down her philosophy that "truth is your currency," explains why traditional PR approaches are dying, and reveals the strategic advantages that come from treating internal communications as a business discipline rather than HR fluff.

 

Topics Discussed

• The strategic power of internal communications: How Amanda convinced a room of German executives to invest hundreds of thousands in cultural initiatives by building strategic frameworks around employee alignment
• Why founders hire comms talent too late: The costly misalignment that happens when companies wait until Series C to bring in strategic communications leadership
• Building credibility with difficult executives: Amanda's approach to being the person who says "no" to CEOs and why authenticity trumps politeness in leadership communications
• The death of traditional PR tactics: Why press releases and traditional pitches don't work anymore, and how social media has fundamentally changed how journalists source stories
• Crisis communications in the current market: Navigating the shift from growth-focused to profitability-focused messaging as market conditions change
• Internal comms as a pathway to executive roles: How Amanda leveraged her proximity to business strategy to build toward broader communications leadership
• The cybersecurity messaging challenge: Why most security companies sound exactly the same and how to break through the acronym-heavy noise

Comms Lessons for Founders & Leaders

• Hire communications earlier than you think: Amanda consistently sees companies bring in comms leadership at Series C when they should have strategic communications support by Series B. "By the time I'm coming in the door, it's already cracking. The sales team is saying one thing, the board deck is saying another thing, the website is like a hybrid of all of the messaging."
• Truth is your competitive advantage: In a market where executives are surrounded by yes-people, Amanda built her career on being willing to tell uncomfortable truths. "I am often the person who says no... I really have never had an issue telling the truth to even the most powerful person in the room."
• Internal and external comms are inseparable: Employee clarity directly impacts customer experience. "When your message is clear internally and your employees are on board, guess what? Your employees talk. They talk to the market. They talk to your customers. That employee experience directly translates to the customer experience."
• Traditional PR is broken, but not dead: Press releases and traditional pitches have lost their power, but relationships with journalists still matter. "Journalists are sitting on social media now. They want to pick up news that way... You have to be putting out content that a journalist wants to pick up."
• Differentiation starts with messaging discipline: In crowded markets like cybersecurity, most companies fail because "they're all saying the same thing, so they're all saying nothing." Clear internal messaging is the foundation of external differentiation.

 

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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

 

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