Fractional CMO. Senior, embedded, accountable.
Twelve-month plans, channel mix, forecasts, team builds, vendor oversight, board reporting. 1, 2, or 3 days a week — same caliber as a $250k+ in-house CMO, fractionalised.
Brand marks © their respective owners
Fractional CMO + strategy, defined for the $1–50M ARR stage.
The role.
A Fractional CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) is a senior marketing executive who serves multiple companies on a part-time, embedded basis — typically 1, 2, or 3 days per week — providing the same strategic caliber as a full-time CMO at 20–30% of the loaded cost. The role covers function leadership: channel-mix strategy, attribution architecture, hiring + team building, vendor + agency oversight, multi-quarter forecasting, board reporting, M&A diligence, and the unglamorous decisions about what NOT to do. Distinct from a marketing consultant (advises but does not own outcomes) and from a marketing agency (delivers execution but rarely owns strategy).
When it fits.
$1–50M ARR is the sweet spot. A full-time CMO at $5M ARR is usually overkill — $250k+ all-in (salary + equity + benefits + recruiter fee + 90-day ramp + multi-year commitment) exceeds the strategic marketing budget the company can deploy effectively. Fractional gives you the same 12+ years of experience at $3,499–$11,999/month with no recruiter fee, no equity dilution, no severance risk, and a 14-day fit window. Most $5–25M ARR brands stay fractional through Series B before bringing a full-time CMO on. Above $50M ARR you typically need a full-time CMO + 4–8 in-house marketers + 1–2 specialist agencies — fractional breaks at that scale, and we will tell you when.
What we ship.
1 day/wk ($3,499/mo, early-stage $1–5M ARR — channel decisions, vendor oversight, hiring plan), 2 days/wk ($7,999/mo, growth-stage $5–25M ARR — multi-channel strategy + attribution + team build), 3 days/wk ($11,999/mo, scale-stage $25–100M ARR — function leadership + multi-region + M&A support), or one-off Strategy Sprint ($9,999, 6 weeks — 90-day refresh: forecast + channel mix + vendor audit, no retainer commitment). Standard deliverables: 12-month plan, channel-mix forecast, OKR tracking, hiring plan, vendor-spend breakdown, monthly board prep + quarterly board presentation at 2-day and 3-day tiers.
Seven productised fractional CMO sub-services. Each engagement mixes them by stage.
Channel-mix strategy
Multi-quarter channel-mix decisions: where to spend, where to cut, where to scale, where to hold. Backed by attribution data (MMM at $5M+ ad spend, MTA hybrid below). Quarterly re-mix as the data shifts; we never optimise for last-quarter's answer.
Hiring + team building
Hiring plan by stage, recruiter brief design, candidate-panel rubric, interview question banks, first-90-day onboarding plan for marketing hires. Most fractional engagements transition into a full-time CMO + marketing team by month 12–18 — building that team is the goal, not avoiding it.
Vendor + agency oversight
Most $5–25M ARR brands have 2–6 agencies + 3–8 freelancers across paid media, SEO, content, PR, design. Fractional CMO oversees the mixed stack — what is working, what to consolidate, what to replace, what to bring in-house. Honest vendor evaluation; no agency loyalty above outcome.
Attribution + measurement architecture
Decisions on MMM vs MTA vs hybrid attribution, GA4 + GTM Server-Side + CAPI deployment priority, dashboarding standards, executive-reporting cadence. Pairs with our Analytics & Attribution team for execution; the fractional CMO sets the strategic frame and sign-off discipline.
Board + investor reporting
Monthly board prep + quarterly board presentation at 2-day and 3-day tiers. Board-friendly attribution narrative, marketing-function performance dashboard, hiring + spend forecasts, top-3 risks + mitigations. Investor-pitch support during fundraising and M&A diligence on the acquirer or target side.
Strategy Sprint (one-off)
6-week strategic refresh at $9,999, no retainer commitment. Marketing audit, 12-month plan, channel-mix recommendation, vendor evaluation, hiring plan. Often used for new-CEO marketing onboarding, pre-fundraise strategy, post-acquisition integration, or 90-day reset moments.
M&A + investor diligence
Marketing diligence on acquirer or target side. Spend efficiency audit, channel-attribution validation, marketing-stack assessment, pipeline-quality review, hiring-plan honesty check. PE/VC clients regularly. Confidential by default; counter-NDA standard.
Founders ready to stop guessing on marketing strategy.
Early stage ($1–5M ARR)
1 day/wk. Channel decisions, agency vendor selection, hiring plan, board reporting.
Growth stage ($5–25M)
2 days/wk. Multi-channel strategy, attribution model, marketing-team build, expansion strategy.
Scale stage ($25–100M)
3 days/wk. Function leadership, multi-region, M&A diligence, board-level reporting.
PE/VC portfolio
Quarterly diligence, marketing turnaround, exit-prep marketing audit, founder-coaching.
Embed → audit → plan → execute. Real ownership.
Embed + audit
Marketing audit. Vendor / agency review. Team-skill assessment. Existing-strategy interview. Stakeholder alignment.
12-month plan
Channel mix. 12-month forecast. Hiring plan. Vendor decisions. Board-level deck.
Execute + adjust
Weekly Slack + 1 on-site/recorded session per day-of-week tier. Monthly forecast vs actual. Quarterly board reporting.
What I do when I show up.
12-month marketing plan
Channel mix, forecast, OKRs, revenue targets. Quarterly recalibration.
Vendor / agency oversight
Hire / fire / negotiate. Score current vendors. Recommend pivots.
Marketing team build
Hiring plan, JDs, interviewing, onboarding the first 3–5 marketing hires.
Board reporting
Monthly + quarterly board decks. CFO + CEO calibrated.
Investor diligence
Marketing diligence support for fundraising. Numbers that hold up.
M&A marketing diligence
Acquirer or target side. PE/VC clients regularly.
One, two, or three days a week.
Early-stage startup, $1–5M ARR. Channel decisions, vendor oversight, hiring plan.
- 1 day/wk embedded
- Slack daily
- Monthly forecast review
- Board-level reporting
Growth stage, $5–25M ARR. Multi-channel strategy + attribution + team build.
- 2 days/wk embedded
- Hiring + vendor management
- Quarterly board prep
- Monthly OKR review
Scale stage, $25–100M ARR, multi-channel complexity, multi-region.
- 3 days/wk embedded
- Function leadership
- Multi-region oversight
- M&A / investor support
90-day refresh: forecast + channel mix + vendor audit. One-off.
- Marketing audit
- 12-month plan
- Vendor recommendations
- Hiring plan
CMO questions founders ask.
Why not hire a full-time CMO? +
You should — eventually. Pre-$5M ARR, full-time CMOs are usually overkill ($250k+ all-in). Fractional gives you the same strategic caliber at 20–30% of the cost.
Will you stay forever? +
No — the goal is to build the team that replaces me. Most fractional engagements run 6–18 months, then transition to a hired CMO with my support during handover.
Do you actually take board-level meetings? +
Yes. Monthly board prep + quarterly board presentation included at 2-day and 3-day tiers.
What about agency conflicts? +
I work alongside your existing agencies — we have a productised pod for execution if useful, or work entirely with your current vendors.
Will you write LinkedIn posts as me? +
Different service (Founder-Led Premium social). I focus on strategy, attribution, hiring, board work — not content production.
What if it isn't working? +
14-day fit guarantee. Either side can exit. No long-term lock-in. Monthly contracts only.
How much does a fractional CMO cost? +
Four productised tiers in USD: 1 day/wk $3,499/mo (early-stage, $1–5M ARR), 2 days/wk $7,999/mo (growth-stage, $5–25M ARR — most common), 3 days/wk $11,999/mo (scale-stage, $25–100M ARR + multi-region), or one-off Strategy Sprint $9,999 (6 weeks, no retainer commitment).
How long does a fractional CMO engagement run? +
Most engagements run 6–18 months — long enough to set strategy, build the team, prove the channel mix, then transition to a full-time CMO with a 30–60 day handover. 14-day fit guarantee on either side; no long-term lock-in beyond 30-day notice.
Book a 30-min strategy call.
Tell me your stage, your channels, your blockers. I'll come back with an honest read on whether fractional is the right fit, what scope makes sense, and the next 90-day plan if we move forward.