I Sucked as CMO

That's why I stopped chasing a title and built a role that truly fit me. The change improved my life—and my business.

- JAKE KARLS

At first, I really thought I needed a big title. I cofounded Mid-Day Squares in 2018 with my sister and her husband. They'd created our product, which is a chocolate afternoon snack with protein and fiber. So they became co-CEOs (they're awesome operators). I took the CMO role because it felt important and had “chief” in the name, and because, frankly, I was really good with social media and building community.

But as soon as our company started to grow, I began to fail. To understand why, I needed to ask myself some big questions like: What is my actual value? And how can I best put that to use? These days, I'm so much happier and more effective—and I'm no longer CMO. I think other founders would benefit from asking themselves these same tough questions, and making hard changes.

Here’s how it all started: