What's the earliest stage a startup should consider hiring a demand generation manager?

The earliest stage I typically recommend hiring a demand generation manager is when you have established product market fit and a solid understanding of your ideal customer profile (ICP). This can vary depending on your business.

If you haven’t reached this stage, I would consider more organic efforts as they take time to build and gain momentum. You can start laying the groundwork for this with less budget. If you start spending on paid efforts too fast you may surface the learning that your “top of the funnel” is running at a pace that doesn’t align with retention, engagement and revenue.