Molly Chapman: Senior Associate of Product Marketing at Apax Partners on Product Marketing Inside Private Equity, Driving Go-to-Market in the First 100 Days, and the Future of PMM
On this episode of Embracing Erosion, Devon sits down with Molly Chapman, Senior Associate of Product Marketing at Apax Partners. Molly’s career spans both agency and in-house roles across industries like travel, and financial services — from shaping campaigns at STA Travel, to leading product marketing and GTM strategy at Moorepay, and now advising a diverse portfolio of companies within one of the world’s leading private equity firms.
In their conversation, they discuss how she guides portfolio teams without owning their strategy, what product marketing looks like in a PE context, and how the discipline itself is evolving — both inside traditional tech companies and beyond. Enjoy the conversation!
Key Takeaways
Product marketing is a value-creation lever in private equity. In a PE context, PMM isn’t just about launches — it’s about accelerating growth by sharpening narrative, segmentation, and GTM across very different portfolio businesses.
Influence without ownership is the job. The highest-impact PE PMMs guide, probe, and challenge portfolio teams to strengthen their strategies — without stepping in as the “owner” of the work.
The first 100 days post-investment are a GTM reset window. Early alignment on ICP, positioning, pricing/packaging, and the story the company is telling can compound outcomes for the rest of the hold period.
Leaders increasingly want PMM to ask the hard questions earlier. Beyond artifacts, PMM’s strategic edge is in surfacing tradeoffs, pressure-testing assumptions, and driving clarity when markets or product direction get messy.
Cross-portfolio exposure builds pattern recognition fast. Working across multiple companies helps PMMs spot repeatable GTM gaps — and bring proven playbooks that teams can adapt without falling into copy-paste strategy.
The PMM role is expanding into new environments. The rise of PMM in PE, venture studios, and accelerators signals the discipline’s growing strategic weight — and the need for PMMs who can operate as hybrid marketers, operators, and advisors.
Next-gen PMMs will be defined by consultative skill and commercial fluency. The strongest PMMs will pair classic craft (positioning, launches) with executive-level influence, measurement discipline, and comfort navigating ambiguity.