What does a fractional CMO do for a startup?

A fractional CMO provides senior marketing leadership on a part-time or project basis. For startups, this means building your GTM strategy, setting up revenue operations, hiring and directing junior marketing and sales staff, and owning growth targets — without the cost of a full-time executive hire.

When should a startup hire a fractional CMO or CRO?

The right time is typically when you have early product-market fit and $1M–$10M ARR, but you're not ready to justify a $300K+ full-time CMO or CRO. If your founder-led sales is plateauing, you have junior marketing hires without clear direction, or your CAC and LTV are not where they need to be, a fractional executive can step in immediately.

What services do you offer?

Fractional CMO and CRO, revenue operations, GTM strategy, and hands-on growth execution. Engagements range from a single strategy session to an ongoing partnership, structured around hourly, project-based, or retainer arrangements.

What is the minimum commitment?

After an initial discovery call to identify your goals, the scope is agreed together. Engagements can range from a single strategy meeting to an ongoing partnership depending on your needs.

What I Discovered in 6 Back-to-Back Mentoring Sessions with Founders

TL;DR: Three growth blockers hit every founder I mentored this week: under-utilised personal branding opportunities (your credibility IS your competitive edge), doing too much yourself (delegate to focus on CEO decisions), and lacking outside perspective (mentors unlock solutions you can't see).

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Just wrapped up six mentoring sessions with brilliant founders across fashion, sustainable consumer goods, agencies, and B2B SaaS and still buzzing from their energy! What struck me wasn't their fancy business models or flashy metrics, but their genuine obsession with solving real problems that matter to people.

Here's what really got my attention: the same three growth blockers came up in every conversation.

‍Personal branding. Your credibility IS your company's competitive edge, especially in crowded spaces. Major companies are already on this - PayPal literally has a Head of CEO Content role dedicated to building their CEO's personal brand as a business asset. That's where marketing is heading: leadership branding that drives revenue and creates genuine competitive moats. This is exactly why when I work with startups, I focus heavily on CEO brand building alongside company brand work.‍
Delegation. I watched brilliant founders burn out doing $20/hour admin tasks while growth opportunities sat waiting. One founder I work with spent hours fixing website content while large corporate prospects expressed partnership interest. The issue isn't you figuring out whether Meta or influencer marketing works but it's having skilled people to take that off your plate. Smart founders invest in affordable talent early (I've worked with uni interns who turned out to be the hungriest, brightest talent I could have wished for), freeing themselves for strategic decisions only they can make.‍
Outside perspective. When you're swimming in day-to-day operations, you lose sight of the bigger picture. Every successful founder I know regularly taps trusted advisors who've walked similar paths. One conversation can unlock solutions you've been missing for months. Great startup mentorship platforms like Startmate and Growthmentor exist for this reason (disclosure: I coach on these platforms).

If you're building a startup or agency and want practical strategies for sustainable growth, need to untangle your revenue operations, or want to explore how these insights apply to your business, let's chat. 🚀

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