The short version
If you search for this, most of what you'll find is written by marketplaces and agencies, and nearly all of it says the same thing: a fractional marketing leader sets strategy and hands execution to somebody else. I don't work that way, and I don't think you should hire that way at your size.
At $5M to $80M you usually can't justify a $250k+ full-time head of growth plus the team underneath them, but you can't afford to have nobody accountable for the number either. A fractional head of growth is the person whose name goes on customer acquisition, retention and marketing efficiency, who shows up two or three days a week, and who is senior enough to tell you when the plan is wrong.
What I do in the seat
I start with a read of the whole business, not one ad account. That means total revenue against total marketing cost (MER), contribution margin by channel, and where the next dollar should go. Then I write a 90-day plan as a list of bets, each with a cost, a way to tell if it's working, and a date we stop if it isn't.
After that I go do the work. I'll sit in Meta Ads Manager. I'll build the creative pipeline and test angles before they launch. I'll set up the reporting so it surfaces what to do this week instead of an eye chart. And I'll teach your team to run each of those things, because I'd rather leave behind a system you own than a dependency on me.
What a normal month looks like
- A weekly leadership session with you and whoever else owns growth, where we look at the scorecard and decide what changes.
- Hands-on work in the accounts and tools, usually two to three days a week worth of it.
- A creative and testing cadence your team can keep running without me.
- Plain-language notes on what happened, what I think it means, and what I'd do next.
Who this is for, and who it isn't
It fits founders and marketing leaders at DTC brands past about $5M who have a real marketing budget and no senior owner for it, or an owner who is stretched across too many seats. It also fits brands that just had a marketing leadership change, raised money, or moved into retail and suddenly need the whole growth system re-thought.
It's a poor fit under about $3M, where the money is better spent on product and a scrappy in-house generalist. It's also a poor fit if what you want is somebody to press buttons on a plan you've already decided on. I'm happy to execute, but I'll push back first.
How it's different from a fractional CMO or an agency
A fractional CMO usually owns brand, org design and budget at the strategy layer and directs other people. An agency owns one channel and gets paid on your spend. A fractional head of growth owns the acquisition and retention numbers and does a lot of the work. I cover the CMO layer when you need it, but the number is the job.
If you want the longer comparison, read agency, in-house or fractional. If you're wondering what it costs, that's here.
Questions people ask
What's the difference between a fractional head of growth and a fractional CMO?
A fractional CMO typically owns brand, marketing org design and the budget at a strategy level and hands execution to a team or an agency. A fractional head of growth owns acquisition, retention and marketing efficiency and does more of the work directly. I'm the second one, and I'll cover the first when a client needs it.
Do you actually run the ads or just advise?
Both. I'll sit in Ads Manager, build the creative pipeline and the reporting, then train your team to run it. The point is that strategy and execution come from the same person, so nothing gets lost in the handoff.
How many hours a week is fractional?
Usually the equivalent of two to three days a week, front-loaded in the first couple of months when there's more to build. It flexes with what the business needs rather than a fixed hour count.
How long does an engagement last?
Long enough to build the system and teach the team to run it, which is usually six to twelve months or more. Most clients hire me for one seat and end up keeping me around for another, but the goal is that you own the system either way.
How much does a fractional head of growth cost?
Published market ranges run about $5,000 to $15,000 a month for a fractional head of growth and $8,000 to $22,000 for a fractional CMO. The Growth Den starts at $7,500 a month, whichever seat I'm in, and goes up with how many seats I cover and how much building is involved. Ad spend and software stay in your accounts.
When should we convert to a full-time hire?
When the system is built, the cadence is running, and there's enough steady work for a full-time person to own it. I'll tell you when that point arrives, and I'll help you hire and onboard them.