I once asked a founder of a YC startup for an annual salary of $150k. Here’s what happened next.

This might be a normal figure for a marketer from the US, but this is huge for someone in India.

I wanted to prove to myself that location really doesn’t matter. So, I gave it a shot.

his was when I had left my full-time job to do my own thing, and I wanted to test my potential. So, I decided to interview for the highest salaries offered for remote jobs. And I managed to crack 3 out of the 5 pitched.

Note: Here’s the cold pitch template I used to get the first interview.

The profile was for a fractional growth marketing manager, and here’s the conversation I had with the founder. Still briefly remember bits of it.

Him: So, how can you add value to this problem?

Me: first, thanks for clearly mentioning where you are struggling. Since you asked for suggestions, here are some -

• The website, the best online salesperson, isn’t matching your problem statement. *shares screen and shows him what I would write instead of what’s written there* Basically, I did a free copy analysis for him on the call itself.
• Your product copy needs to be updated. This is user feedback I got from xyz platform, which mentions these issues. When I downloaded the app, I saw the issue wasn’t with the product but the copy. *gives free product copy suggestions as well*
• Do you send welcome and graduation email sequences? *says no* oh, you should. Here’s why, give him 5–6 solid reasons.
• I noticed that the product needs a knowledge base/help center. Users might get stuck at some point, and instead of reaching out to sales for help, they might give up o the platform altogether.
• Do you have someone who constantly updates copy on different platforms based on user feedback.? No? You need a copywriter.
• Also, here are 5 different ways we can double down on growth marketing. Primary focus on cold emails *shows him my past cold email analytics along with conversions*

I showed him a roadmap of where he needed to focus vs what was already happening. I also suggested practical ideas for everything I discussed above.

What was my offer?

My growth marketing skills combined with copywriting skills. This means at the same salary he offered, he was getting 2 people. One is a growth marketing person who handles different platforms, tracks analytics and collaborates with different departments to focus on one goal — more revenue from marketing.

And a copywriter who writes and updates copy that ultimately increases user retention and helps convert new users through social media copy, emails, ads, etc.

Normally, this would cost him twice what he was offering. But here he was, getting 2 important skill sets in one person.

The best part? he agreed with the pitch.

The catch was that he needed someone full-time for this role, but I wanted to work part-time. So, it didn’t work out. But he had 0 issues with the money I asked for.

That was proof enough that if you set your heart on something, you get it, no matter what.

As an exercise, you should seek roles offering 2x or 3x of what you are making right now because that is a particle analysis of your potential.

If you are pitching companies but not getting a response, here’s a pitch that helped me convert some of the highest-paying jobs (both full-time and part-time) on Angelist, YC, and LinkedIn.

*only applies to marketers/copywriters

That’s it, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great week ahead:”)