<p>NEW: @Sheila Vashee (CMO of @Figma) joins GTMnow to share how she thinks about brand building across every stage. From selling brownies at age eight, to second marketing hire at Dropbox scaling to $1B+ in annualized revenue, to now leading marketing at one of the most beloved software brands in the world, Sheila has seen it all.</p><p><br></p><p>In this conversation, you’ll learn what brand actually means (hint: it&#39;s not your logo), how PLG companies make the leap to enterprise, why being obsessively close to your customers is a compounding advantage, and how AI is reshaping the marketing playbook without replacing the human craft that sets great brands apart.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Guest links:</strong>- Guest - LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilavashee/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilavashee/</a> </p><p>- Guest company - LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/figma/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.linkedin.com/company/figma/</a></p><p>- Guest company website: <a href="https://www.figma.com/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.figma.com/</a></p><p><br></p><p>Host links:</p><p>- Sophie Buonassisi - LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/</a></p><p>- Sophie Buonassisi - X (Twitter): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHY5ZmE2WjFoaEZodDF3Z3lRNkI4S1Y3TkZTUXxBQ3Jtc0tuQ2hQTnJsa21FUzA5alJrMWk3NGxHOUFqcVlMSVl6Rmo1US1rM2prNHVGa0JJZUpTbzVqZFNINW84MFFGTFUtUllXcUc1bXlzR3ljV2FSQVdqbEZTZUlCUlM1VmtyOENzcllZaXJuWnpfY2cwdnlOVQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2Fsophiebuona&v=wTKFZqIU4Dc" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://x.com/sophiebuona</a></p><p>- Newsletter: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbExGY2RBbFk0eEdMWVN6M182UnFveUxPanVaZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttekRIemotY2NlakZhcmtKRVBKd3N5N0tFeG1qa3o4NWZvRkQ1dGVIbXZ0QmFTUll1Rmo4ZVhyY3lGVGxwNElXTEs5V1ZXVW54djhvR3lBZEpIaHpEV0txQWFhYkk1NzM4NEFCalExUXlLVjh2U3hUcw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fthegtmnewsletter.substack.com%2F&v=wTKFZqIU4Dc" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com</a></p><p><br></p><p>Sponsors: </p><p>- HockeyStack - the AI platform that unifies GTM data to help teams convert, expand, and scale. Learn more at <a href="https://www.hockeystack.com/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.hockeystack.com/</a></p><p>- Granola - the AI notepad that turns meetings into action by capturing context, decisions, and next steps automatically. Head to <a href="https://www.granola.ai/gtmfund" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://www.granola.ai/gtmfund</a>  and get three months free with the code GTMFUND.</p><p><br></p><p>Transcript available under the episode here: <a href="https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/</a></p><p><br></p><p>Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! <a href="https://gtmnow.com/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://gtmnow.com/</a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Highlights:</strong></p><p>00:00 – The brownie stand: why brand building started at age eight</p><p>03:55 – How Sheila defines brand: it&#39;s what people say when you&#39;re not in the room</p><p>05:08 – Joining Dropbox as the second marketing hire</p><p>06:07 – Space Race: the campaign that defined Dropbox&#39;s early strategy</p><p>06:56 – What consumer marketing taught her about driving revenue</p><p>08:29 – Measuring brand ROI through match market testing</p><p>09:15 – How Figma thinks about brand building at a macro level</p><p>11:21 – The PLG-to-enterprise equation: what Figma did early that Dropbox waited too long on</p><p>15:02 – Why building the enterprise team is both operational and optical</p><p>17:12 – How Figma ingests customer feedback at scale</p><p>18:26 – AI at Figma: enabling human creativity, not replacing it</p><p>21:13 – What the venture side taught her about staying sharp as an operator</p><p>22:33 – Why the shift from SEO to GEO is inevitable and what to do about it</p><p>23:24 – Why Reddit is back and social is a core growth lever</p><p>24:51 – The mentors that changed her trajectory</p><p>28:59 – One piece of advice: make good $h!t</p><p><br></p><p><em>For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email </em><a href="mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">[email protected]</a></p><p><br></p><p>GTMnow is a media brand brought to you by VC firm, GTMfund: <a href="https://gtmfund.com/*" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://gtmfund.com/</a></p><p><br></p>