Retainer
A fractional CMO who owns the growth P&L
A fractional CMO is a senior marketing executive who leads your marketing part-time. In my engagements I own the growth P&L: the budget, the team, the experiment pipeline, and the number reported to the board. Retainers start at $20,000 a month for companies past product-market fit, and every engagement is built to hand off to a permanent hire.
What I own
Four things I take off the founder's desk
The growth P&L is the profit and loss view of acquisition: what we spend to win customers and what those customers return. Owning it means owning everything that feeds it.
The growth P&L
CAC, payback, and lifetime gross profit by channel, reported the same way every month. I am accountable for the movement.
The team
I lead the marketers you have, hire the ones you are missing, and coach channel owners to run the system after I leave.
The budget
Media mix, agency spend, tools, and headcount. I set the allocation, defend it, and move money when the data says to.
The board slide
One page, the same metrics every month, with the story behind the movement. No founder should be surprised by their own marketing numbers in a board meeting.
The first 90 days
Audit, fix, then a cadence that runs without me
- Days 1 to 30
The audit
The same six lenses as the standalone growth audit, in the same order: tracking, unit economics, funnel, paid accounts, creative, lifecycle. The output is a corrected set of numbers and a ranked list of what to fix.
- Days 31 to 60
Fix what is broken, start the pipeline
Tracking fixes ship first because everything else is measured through them. The first experiments go live against the biggest leak in the funnel. The weekly growth review starts.
- Days 61 to 90
The operating cadence holds
By day 90 the team runs a weekly review, a live experiment backlog, and a monthly budget call. I am accountable for the number. They are accountable for the work.
Fit
Who it fits, and who it does not
Past product-market fit, leadership is the constraint
Usually $15M or more in revenue. SaaS, fintech, consumer apps, marketplaces.
- CAC is climbing or one or two channels have plateaued
- Channel owners each own a channel, and nobody owns the number
- The founder is still the de facto head of marketing
- You want the system built and handed to a permanent hire
Where a retainer is the wrong tool
- You are still searching for a first repeatable channel
- You want an agency to run the ads and nothing more
- You need a full-time executive in the office every day
- Marketing budget is too small for the retainer to pay for itself
Pricing
Priced against the seat it replaces
Retainers start at $20,000 a month. Team size, whether the mandate includes hiring, and whether I report to the board set the rest.
The comparison is a full-time CMO at $250,000 to $450,000 a year once base, bonus, equity, and benefits are counted, before the cost of a hire who does not work out. I wrote up the full math in what a fractional CMO costs.
| Engagement | What it is | Who executes | Length | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth audit | Six-lens review ending in a 90-day roadmap | Your team runs the roadmap | About 30 days | $12,500 fixed |
| Fractional CMO | I lead marketing and own the growth P&L, team, budget, and board reporting | I lead, your team and partners execute | Ongoing, built to end in a handoff | From $20,000 a month |
| Performance advisory | Working sessions, experiment review, media mix and budget calls | Your team owns everything | Monthly | Depends on cadence |
Proof
Numbers I have owned before
Two A/B tests on the application funnel. Small changes to the form, measured properly, moved a number the size of a business unit.
Read the case study → FX Replay 2.6x ARR in 18 monthsAs fractional CMO I owned the growth P&L, rebuilt tracking and paid, and handed the team a system they still run.
Read the case study → YouMail CAC cut 77%A rebuilt web funnel took the cost of a new customer down by more than three quarters while volume kept growing.
Read the case study →How to decide
Fractional, full-time, or an agency
A full-time CMO fits when marketing is the primary growth engine and can fill an executive's week. An agency fits when the strategy is set and you need hands on one channel. A fractional CMO sits between the two.
FAQ
Questions founders ask before a retainer
How much does a fractional CMO cost?
Retainers start at $20,000 a month. Scope sets where an engagement lands above that. A full-time CMO costs $250,000 to $450,000 a year once base, bonus, equity, and benefits are counted. The full breakdown is in what a fractional CMO costs.
How much of your time do we get?
Enough to own the number. I take a few engagements at a time and go deep on each, and the cadence is set by scope at the start. In every case you get a weekly growth review, a live experiment backlog, a monthly budget call, and my name on the board slide.
Do we keep our agency?
Usually, at least at first. Agencies are execution partners and I set the strategy they execute against. If the audit shows an agency is being paid for work that does not move the number, I will say so and help you replace or renegotiate it.
Will you hire the team?
Yes, when the mandate includes it. I write the roles, run the interviews, and coach the people we bring on. Many engagements exist to build the team and the system, then hand both to a permanent marketing leader.
How does the engagement end?
With a handoff. Every retainer is built to end with a permanent hire running a system they understand: the weekly review, the experiment pipeline, the tracking, and the budget model.
Get in touch
Nobody senior owns the number?
Tell me what is stuck. If a retainer is the wrong tool I will say so and point you to the right one.
Book an intro call