Engaging a VP of Marketing to accelerate growth at Visualsoft

Visualsoft is a fast-growth, Private Equity-backed Shopify agency, delivering end-to-end ecommerce solutions for ambitious retail brands. With more than 20 years of trading history and strong regional roots in Stockton-on-Tees, the business has evolved from its origins as a proprietary SaaS platform into a specialist Shopify partner, spanning strategy, store design and build, platform migration, and performance marketing. Backed by Livingbridge, Visualsoft has entered a new phase of growth, focused on scaling its agency model and deepening its expertise within the Shopify ecosystem.

As the business repositioned and expanded, leadership recognised the need to strengthen its senior marketing capability to support its evolving proposition, sharpen its brand in a competitive agency market, and drive sustained commercial growth.

The business needed to appoint a VP of Marketing who could build and scale a team of digital and demand generation focussed marketeers. The marketing team would work hand-in-glove with the sales and technology teams to unite the business in a single customer view and continue to accelerate business growth. 

During their 20 years of trading, Visualsoft had always operated marketing from their HQ in Stockton-on-Tees. As a result, the first part of the project was to analyse the local market and compare it with the London ecosystem, which is typically a stronghold for SaaS talent. 

Working in partnership with both Visualsoft and its Private Equity stakeholders, 3Search Executive conducted a robust market analysis to inform the location and search strategy. 

This included: 

• Evaluating the depth of senior SaaS marketing talent regionally versus London 
• Assessing accessibility, candidate mobility and compensation expectations 
• Aligning on the optimal model to attract high-calibre VP-level leaders 

Following this analysis, the decision was made to base the role in London, with structured regional travel, ensuring access to the strongest SaaS marketing ecosystem while maintaining alignment with the wider business. 

We identified more than 250 relevant VP and senior marketing leaders. Over a focused four-week process: 

• 27 highly relevant and engaged candidates were longlisted 
• 6 were rigorously shortlisted for final interview 
• Each candidate demonstrated proven experience in scaling demand generation within high-growth SaaS environments

The shortlist provided genuine optionality at leadership level, culminating in a successful appointment in February 2023. 

Visualsoft secured a Vice President of Marketing capable of building a scalable marketing function aligned to PE growth expectations. The appointment strengthened alignment between marketing, sales, and technology, supporting the business’s continued expansion and commercial maturity.