Insights

Playbooks, not platitudes.

Specific answers to the marketing questions deal teams and operators actually search for. Worked examples, visible math, and the ranges you can expect.

8 min read

Fractional CMO vs. Full-Time CMO for a $10M Company: The Real Cost Math

Fractional CMO cost vs. full-time CMO cost for a $10M company, with the full loaded-cost arithmetic, break-even points, and PE hold-period math.

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8 min read

How a Fractional CMO Audits Your Marketing Agency

How to audit your marketing agency step by step: trace every retainer dollar, verify reported leads against revenue, and set a fair 90-day cure period.

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8 min read

How a Fractional CMO Uses AI Agents in Marketing Operations, and Where They Break

Where AI agents work in marketing operations for a small business: the cost math, the failure modes, and how to pilot AI automation without regret.

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9 min read

Marketing Due Diligence on a Home Services Roll-Up: The Checklist QoE Misses

A marketing due diligence checklist for private equity roll-ups: lead concentration, ad account ownership, tracking, and reviews QoE work misses.

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9 min read

Scaling a Consumer Brand from $500K to $20M: The Marketing Moves at Each Stage

A stage-by-stage playbook to scale consumer brand marketing from $500K to $20M: repeat rate math, retail readiness costs, velocity, and team moves.

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9 min read

The 100-Day Marketing Plan for a New Platform Acquisition, Week by Week

A week-by-week 100 day marketing plan for a platform acquisition: what to audit post-close, what to freeze on day one, and where quick wins sit.

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8 min read

The Marketing KPI Package a Board Actually Reads

The marketing KPIs board reporting should cover for a PE portfolio company: pipeline coverage, CAC by channel, payback, and what to cut from the deck.

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8 min read

The Marketing Org Chart at $5M, $10M, and $25M Revenue

Marketing team structure for a small business at $5M, $10M, and $25M revenue: who to hire first, salary math, and when to hire a marketing director.

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9 min read

When to Consolidate Brands in a Roll-Up, and When the Local Name Wins

A framework for brand consolidation in a roll-up: what a rebrand after acquisition costs in local SEO and reviews, and when the local name wins.

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8 min read

Why Your SEO Report Looks Great While Leads Stay Flat

SEO rankings but no leads? A diagnosis playbook: keyword intent, zero-click results, attribution holes, and the conversion fixes that build pipeline.

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