FOR STARTUP FOUNDERS
Not ready for a full-time CMO? Our Fractional CMO placement connects early and growth-stage founders with experienced marketing leaders — 1 to 3 days per week, without the full-time cost.
1–3
Days per week
48hr
First introduction
3×
Cheaper than full-time
What it is
A Fractional CMO is a senior marketing leader who works with your company part-time — typically 1 to 3 days per week. They bring the experience of a full CMO: strategy, team leadership, channel ownership and board reporting — at a cost that makes sense for your stage.
At Kindred, we match founders with Fractional CMOs from inside our personal network. People we know. Leaders we trust. Not a database search.
Is this right for you?
Most founders come to us after wasting months with the wrong person, the wrong agency or no marketing leadership at all. If any of these sound familiar, we should talk.
01
You just raised and need to scale fast.
Post-funding, every month matters. A Fractional CMO builds the strategy, hires the team and gets the channels working — without the 3-month onboarding lag of a full-time hire.
02
You're wasting money on agencies with no oversight.
Agencies without a strong internal leader become expensive with no direction. A Fractional CMO manages and holds them accountable — with the context only an insider has.
03
Your CMO just left and you need cover now.
A sudden gap at the top of marketing is costly. A Fractional CMO can start quickly, stabilise the team and keep the function moving while you find the right permanent leader.
04
You're pre-Series A and building the marketing function.
Too early for a full-time CMO, but past the point where the founder can own marketing alone. A Fractional CMO builds the foundation right — from day one.
What you get
Not a consultant who delivers a deck and disappears. A leader embedded in your business — accountable for outcomes, not outputs.
Marketing Strategy
Annual and quarterly marketing planning, channel strategy, positioning and go-to-market execution.
Team Leadership
Managing internal marketers, briefing and holding agencies accountable, hiring and structuring the team.
Budget & Forecasting
Channel budget allocation, CAC and LTV modelling, board-level marketing reporting and forecasting.
Brand & Positioning
Brand narrative, messaging architecture and competitive differentiation — built to last beyond your funding round.
Growth Execution
Hands-on in the channels that matter — performance, SEO, lifecycle, CRO — not just oversight from above.
Founder Partnership
A trusted sounding board for marketing decisions — the strategic co-pilot most founders need but rarely have.
Investment
We're transparent about how it works. Fractional CMO engagements are structured by days per week and engagement length — with pricing that scales to your round.
Starter
1 day/wk
BEST FOR PRE-SEED & SEED
Strategy & direction
Weekly founder session
Agency oversight
Board reporting
MOST COMMON
Growth
2 days/wk
BEST FOR SERIES A & SCALE-UPS
Everything in Starter
Team leadership
Hands-on execution
Hiring & onboarding
Embedded
3 days/wk
BEST FOR POST-SERIES A
Everything in Growth
Full function ownership
Budget management
Path to full-time optional
All engagements are scoped individually. Equity arrangements available for early-stage companies.
FOR STARTUP FOUNDERS
Tell us about your company and where you're at. We'll match you within 48 hours.