(Editor’s note: Method Savvy Founder and CEO Jake Finkelstein talks about how being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart in this story as part the news partnership between WRAL TechWire and ExitEvent.)

DURHAM, N.C. – Marketing a startup isn’t for the faint of heart. Fraught with dangers like limited budgets, aggressive competitors and marketplace apathy, it’s a lot more likely that your startup will fall flat on its face than wildly succeed.

Yet, if entrepreneurs gave up at the first look at long odds there’d be a lot fewer of us out there.

A few months ago, I wrote about the reasons that early stage startups shouldn’t hire an advertising agency. You can decide for yourself if I’m right or wrong, but either way, marketing your startup is a must if you intend to succeed. So if an agency is the wrong route, is hiring a full-time marketing employee any better?

The totally ambiguous answer is: usually. And like hiring any full-time employee, you need to work hard to find the right person with the right skill set. So what should you be looking for in your brilliant growth hacker/marketer?

Let me share a few tips that I’ve learned—and seen others learn—the hard way.

The full story can be read online at ExitEvent.