Consumer & Retail
Five Competing Brands, One Focused Growth System
Year-over-year growth on only 15% more ad spend, from a portfolio cut from five brands to three.
Markets01 / 07
Private Equity
Fractional CMO and CRO leadership for portfolio companies.
PE-backed companies run on a different clock: a value creation plan, board reporting cycles and a hold period. A fractional CMO or CRO for private equity moves revenue fast enough to show progress inside it, whether the trigger is a post-acquisition integration, an empty commercial seat mid-hold or exit readiness, and builds the engine the next owner will pay for.
The same four questions every engagement asks. The answers are specific to the hold period.
Experience
Named experience at this stage
Where our executives held the seat, and who they have done this work for. Every mark is a real engagement or a real role.
Genstar Capital
Client
Independence Pet Group
Client
Single
Client
The St. James
Client
AKC Pet Insurance
Partner brand
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance
Partner brand
Figo Pet Insurance
Partner brand
Why it is different
Why Private Equity Growth Is Different
A portfolio company does not have years to build a brand or a sales motion. It has a hold period. Marketing and revenue strategy have to show measurable progress against a value creation plan, in the board's reporting cycle, not just in long-term brand equity.
A board can accept a difficult market. It has far less patience for a growth plan that cannot explain where next quarter's revenue will come from. The levers that matter are a small number of commercial decisions that improve revenue quality, forecast confidence and enterprise value: winnable segments, pricing and deal discipline, a sales system that makes the forecast credible, and expansion of existing customers before chasing every new logo.
The leadership seat is often empty at exactly the wrong moment, just after the close. A fractional executive fills it in weeks, runs a 100-day commercial cadence, and hands a working engine to a permanent leader or the next owner.
29%
growth on 15% more spend for a consumer portfolio cut from five brands to three.
−30%
cost per acquisition for a specialty insurer, with growth rates up 32%.
2×
book of business from a retail partnership run as a growth channel.
From PE-backed engagements.
The signs
Is This You?
01The value creation plan assumes growth the commercial team cannot yet explain.
02Board and management report different numbers from the same CRM.
03The CMO or CRO seat is empty, or about to be, and the hold period has started.
04Revenue is concentrated in a few accounts or founder relationships.
Where to start
Match the Symptom to the Practice
The right first move depends on the constraint you actually have. Use this map to go from what you are seeing to the practice that addresses it.
| If this is what you are seeing | Start with |
|---|---|
| Revenue concentrated in a few accounts or founder relationships | Sales Account Planning |
| Pipeline volume looks fine but conversion and the forecast do not hold | Revenue Acceleration |
| Segment and positioning choices still unmade, so every deal is bespoke | Go-to-Market Planning |
| Leads arrive but few become qualified opportunities | Demand Generation |
| Board and management reporting different numbers from the same CRM | CRM & Marketing Automation |
| Partner-sourced revenue happening by accident rather than design | Channel Partner Revenue |
| The thesis depends on a segment or geography with no proof yet | Market Development |
| Growth constrained by the operating model, not the commercial plan | Business Transformation |
How it works
How The Hold Period Runs
REVENUE QUALITY IS VALUATIONBuyers pay for growth they can believe: a credible forecast, repeatable pipeline, and revenue that does not rest on a few relationships.
The same executive reports progress the way the board and operating partners read it, from day one to exit.
The leadership
Two Seats, One Plan
Fractional CMO for PE portfolio companies
Brand and demand tied to the value creation plan, with marketing measured on pipeline and cost of acquisition in the board's reporting cycle.
Fractional CMO services →Fractional CRO for PE portfolio companies
A sales system that makes the forecast credible, pricing and deal discipline, and expansion of existing customers, reported the way the board and operating partners read it.
Fractional CRO services →The moment
When Portfolio Companies Call Us
Post-acquisitionThe thesis assumed commercial upside the acquired team has never had to prove. A fractional executive owns the first plan, the pipeline definition and the reporting the board will read, inside the first hundred days.
An empty seat mid-holdThe CMO or CRO leaves with quarters left on the clock. An interim CMO or fractional VP of sales keeps the number moving and helps define the permanent hire rather than rushing it.
Add-on integrationTwo go-to-market motions, two pipelines and two definitions of a qualified opportunity. One operator merges them into a single engine and one forecast.
Diligence and exit readinessA buyer will test whether growth is repeatable. Segmentation, measurable acquisition channels, retention and a forecast that holds up are what make the story evidence rather than narrative.
The plan
The First 100 Days
Plan · Days 1 to 45Commercial truth in 30 days: revenue quality, segment economics and the forecast gaps the thesis ignores.
Activate · Days 30 to 60The two or three levers with the most value pulled first, with owners and board-ready metrics.
Accelerate · Days 60 to 100A forecast the board trusts, pricing and deal discipline in place, and the first value readout.
Sustain · Day 100 and afterRecalibrate for the hold period: a lighter retainer, a permanent leader, or the next hundred days.
It runs on the 100-Day Accelerator: quick wins inside 30 days and a running revenue engine inside 100.
Results
Proof
Financial Services | Insurance
From Search-Led Acquisition to AI-Enabled Growth Decisioning
CPA down 30% and growth rates up 32%, on a proprietary cross-platform intelligence layer.
Financial Services | Insurance
Turning a High-Potential Retail Partnership Into a Disciplined Growth Channel
The book of business doubled during the engagement, run as a strategic growth channel.
Financial Services | Insurance
Building a DTC Acquisition Engine That Scales Beyond Legacy Channels
Several record-setting new-business months, on a broader and better-forecast acquisition engine.
Financial Services | Insurance
Building the First B2B(2B) Broker Lead Generation Program in North America
Conversion up 20% and $5M more policy value than planned, with the model now scaling globally.
Go deeper
Further Reading
FAQ
Questions We Get
What is private equity value creation?
Private equity value creation is the set of operational and commercial changes an owner makes during the hold period to raise the company's value at exit. On the commercial side it means revenue quality: winnable segments, pricing discipline, a credible forecast, and expansion of existing customers.
What is a value creation plan?
A value creation plan turns the investment thesis into dated initiatives with owners and metrics for the hold period. Its commercial part should say plainly where new revenue will come from, what it will cost to win, and how the board will see progress.
How fast can a fractional executive show results before an exit?
Strategic clarity and pipeline improvements are often visible within the first quarter. The deeper results that move valuation typically build over two to four quarters, depending on scope.
Can one fractional executive cover multiple portfolio companies?
Yes. It is one of the practical advantages of the model for firms managing several portfolio companies with similar leadership gaps.
What's the difference between a private equity marketing agency and a fractional CMO?
An agency executes campaigns for a fee. A fractional CMO sits in the executive seat with direct accountability for the value creation plan, not just campaign deliverables.
What does a fractional CMO or CRO cost for a portfolio company?
Pricing scales with scope and engagement type. The models are on the Fractional CMO and Fractional CRO services pages.
Should a portfolio company hire a fractional CMO or a full-time one?
A fractional CMO fits when the value creation plan needs commercial leadership now and the business is not yet carrying a full-time executive, or when the right permanent hire is not yet defined. A full-time hire fits once the motion is proven and the team is large enough to need a leader every day. Many portfolio companies use a fractional executive to reach that point and to write the job description for it.
What does a fractional CMO do in the first 100 days after an acquisition?
Agree one definition of a qualified opportunity across sales and marketing, set the baseline the board will be measured against, put the first programs live against it, and move spend to what the data supports. By day 100 the plan is running and reporting is consistent between management and the board.
Ready to talk?
One conversation with an executive who has operated in your sector, not a generalist reading your website.