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Topic · Strategy and operations
Stage-dependent. Below 5M ARR, fractional wins.
Definition
A fractional CMO is a senior marketing leader engaged 1-3 days per week, typically through an agency or independent contract, instead of a full-time hire. The model fits early-stage companies under 5-10M ARR that need senior strategic input without committing to a full-time executive salary plus equity, but breaks down once marketing organization complexity exceeds part-time bandwidth.
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FAQ
Typically around 8-12M ARR or when the marketing team exceeds 5-6 people. Below that, fractional gives more senior judgment per dollar. Above that, the org needs full-time presence and accountability.
Most run 1-3 days per week with weekly leadership presence (team meetings, exec readouts), monthly board materials, and quarterly strategy reviews. Day-to-day execution sits with the in-house team.
Daily team management, hiring decisions for junior staff, and crisis response that needs same-day availability. These need full-time presence or backup leadership.
Six to eighteen months on average. Long enough to ship strategy and prove results; short enough that the company has options when readiness for full-time hire emerges.
Less well than for B2B. B2C marketing is more execution-intensive on a daily basis; B2B leans more on strategic positioning and channel architecture where part-time leadership is enough.
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