From Combat Photography to Marketing Strategy: A Marine's Journey at PAXAFE
The path from Marine Corps combat photographer to building a startup marketing strategy might seem unconventional, but for Jacqueline Diaz at PAXAFE, it’s been a natural evolution—blending her love of continuous learning with a people-first approach to driving growth.
In a recent conversation, Jacqueline shared insights into her unique journey and how her diverse background has shaped her approach to building brand awareness and driving growth at the logistics technology startup.
An Unconventional Career Path
Jacqueline’s story begins in the Marine Corps, where she served as a combat photographer. Her role involved documenting base activities, deployment exercises, and various military operations, creating content that would be submitted to the Pentagon for use by media outlets. This position required proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and provided cross-training in graphic design and videography—skills that would prove invaluable in her future marketing career.
“I was using a lot of Adobe suites during that time, much different now,” Jacqueline reflects, noting how tools like Canva have since democratized design capabilities that once required specialized training.
After her military service, Jacqueline pursued a bachelor’s degree in psychology, followed by a master’s in social work from Indiana University. She initially planned to work in therapy or healthcare settings, and indeed spent time as a social worker in a hospital emergency room. But life had different plans.
The Transition to PAXAFE
The connection to PAXAFE came through personal relationships. Jacqueline had known co-founders Ashok and Ilya since before they started the company, with Ilya being from her hometown and attending the same high school. When the startup needed help planning their first company offsite, they turned to Jacqueline for her organizational skills and travel planning experience. That early exposure to internal operations laid the groundwork for what would eventually become Jacqueline’s hands-on approach to developing PAXAFE’s startup marketing strategy.
“He had asked me for recommendations about where to take his team, and then for the next time, he’s like, ‘can you just do this?'” Jacqueline explains. What started as event planning quickly evolved into a broader role encompassing trade shows, and eventually, full marketing responsibilities.
PAXAFE, founded in October 2018, had operated without a dedicated marketing department until about a year ago. As a startup in the logistics technology space, they needed someone who could wear multiple hats and learn quickly—qualities that Jacqueline’s diverse background had prepared her for perfectly. As the first marketing hire, Jacqueline was stepping into the unknown—building a startup marketing strategy from the ground up.
Marketing Boot Camp: Building a Startup Marketing Strategy on the Fly
Jacqueline describes her first year in marketing as “Marketing Boot Camp,” a intensive learning experience made necessary by PAXAFE’s startup environment. Working with a team of approximately 35 employees, she’s had to master everything from HubSpot and SEMrush to LinkedIn advertising and content creation. The early days required a crash course in everything from email automation to analytics—a true startup marketing strategy in action, shaped by speed and adaptability.
“There’s only so much time in a day, and working at a startup where you’re trying to build and bring in customers and revenue—it’s high stakes,” she notes. “You got to do what you got to do.”
The learning curve was steep but rewarding. Under the mentorship of Ivan, PAXAFE’s head of marketing, Jacqueline utilized YouTube tutorials, HubSpot’s learning resources, and SEMrush training to rapidly build her marketing expertise. Her continuous learner mindset, honed through her varied career experiences, proved essential in this transition.
The Psychology of Marketing
One of Jacqueline’s unique advantages comes from applying her psychology and social work background to marketing strategy. Rather than focusing solely on sales-driven approaches, she emphasizes the importance of genuine human connection in B2B marketing.
“You learn how to really listen to what other people are saying about their pain points,” she explains. “It’s been really understanding why people make certain decisions, understanding their behavior, and understanding what they need.”
This people-first approach extends to trade show interactions, where Jacqueline coaches her team to avoid immediate sales pitches. “Don’t go straight into a pitch. Talk to them. Find out where they come from, what brings them here. People are more willing to talk to you if they feel like you’re genuinely invested in who they are.” This focus on human behavior and empathy helps differentiate her startup marketing strategy, especially in a B2B environment where trust and nuance drive long-term growth.
Building Brand Awareness in a Competitive Market
As a startup competing against established players in the logistics technology space, PAXAFE faces the constant challenge of building brand recognition. Jacqueline’s strategy focuses heavily on trade shows and strategic sponsorships to position PAXAFE alongside well-known industry leaders.
“Our competitors are all established. They’re known, and everyone’s like, ‘who’s PAXAFE? We haven’t heard of PAXAFE,'” she explains. “But we’re also paying more for some of these trade shows to be speaking at them, to be a big sponsor, because they’re seeing our name up with everyone else that’s already well known.”
This investment in visibility has started paying off. At a recent European pharmaceutical trade show, attendees specifically mentioned seeing PAXAFE’s name as a major sponsor, leading them to visit the booth. The result was the highest number of sales-qualified leads (SQLs) the company had ever generated from a single event.
Creative Email Marketing That Cuts Through the Noise
In an inbox saturated with sales pitches, Jacqueline has found success with creative email subject lines that pique curiosity rather than announce intentions. Instead of typical B2B subject lines about reducing operational costs or industry solutions, she crafts intriguing messages that make recipients wonder what’s inside.
One successful approach has been PAXAFE’s bi-weekly newsletter, which includes company updates, new content, and employee spotlights. These “behind the platform” profiles showcase team members’ professional roles alongside fun personal facts, creating a more human connection with their audience.
“At the end of the day, yes, it’s work, but we’re all people. We’re all real people and humans who want to have a sense of humor and be entertained,” Jacqueline notes. This philosophy extends throughout PAXAFE’s content, which often includes a touch of sarcasm as part of the company’s distinctive voice.
Measuring the Success of a Startup Marketing Strategy
For PAXAFE, marketing success is measured through two primary lenses: brand awareness and revenue generation. The trade show strategy focuses heavily on getting the PAXAFE name recognized alongside established competitors, while email campaigns and content marketing drive longer-term relationship building and lead generation.
For Jacqueline, tracking both brand awareness and lead generation is essential to refining a sustainable startup marketing strategy that scales with the company. The company has seen significant growth in SEO performance, tripling their keyword rankings over the past year through strategic content creation informed by SEMrush analysis. However, Jacqueline notes the challenges of measuring brand awareness initiatives, particularly subtle sponsorships that may not provide immediate, trackable returns.
The Long Game of B2B Marketing
One of the most valuable lessons Jacqueline has learned is the importance of patience in B2B marketing, particularly in the logistics industry. Unlike consumer e-commerce, where decisions can be made quickly, enterprise software sales involve long consideration periods and complex approval processes.
“This is a long game,” she emphasizes. “It really makes you be more strategic because you want them to keep engaged and keep coming back. It doesn’t mean that what you’re doing is not necessarily working. You just need to collect the data.”
This perspective, informed by her background in therapy where change happens gradually over time, has helped her maintain focus on relationship building rather than immediate conversions. The approach has proven effective, particularly in PAXAFE’s pharmaceutical market segment, where email campaigns significantly outperform those targeting the logistics sector.
Technology Stack and Tools
PAXAFE’s marketing technology stack remains deliberately lean, focusing on three primary tools: HubSpot for CRM and analytics, SEMrush for SEO and competitive analysis, and Canva for creative content creation. This streamlined approach allows the small marketing team to maximize efficiency while maintaining data-driven decision making.
The company’s CEO’s data-driven approach influences all marketing decisions, with campaigns and strategies evaluated based on performance metrics from these platforms, supplemented by ChatGPT for additional data analysis capabilities.
Advice for Marketing Success
Drawing from her diverse background spanning military service, social work, and marketing, Jacqueline offers practical advice for professionals facing career transitions or challenging situations: don’t let fear deter you from pursuing difficult opportunities.
“If you’re scared of something, if you think something’s going to be really hard, don’t let that deter you,” she advises. “Keep pushing towards it. Why is that such a scary thing? Are you going to die? Probably not.”
This resilience-focused mindset, combined with her emphasis on continuous learning and genuine relationship building, has enabled her successful transition into marketing and contributed to PacSafe’s growing market presence.
Looking Forward
As PAXAFE continues to grow and compete against larger, established players in the logistics technology space, Jacqueline’s unique combination of military discipline, psychological insight, and startup agility positions her well to drive the company’s marketing evolution. Her journey demonstrates that successful marketing careers can emerge from unexpected backgrounds, particularly when driven by curiosity, resilience, and a genuine interest in understanding and helping others. Her experience proves that a resilient mindset and human connection are key ingredients in any effective startup marketing strategy.
For professionals considering career transitions or startups looking to build authentic brand connections, Jacqueline’s approach offers a compelling blueprint: combine strategic thinking with genuine human connection, embrace continuous learning, and remember that in B2B marketing, as in therapy, meaningful change takes time.
If you’re ready to make the shift, learn more about Virago’s Demand Generation services and see how we help B2B companies build revenue engines that actually move the needle.
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