Fractional CMO Leadership for Startups That Need Executive Strategy, Not a $300k Salary

The problem

You’re spending money on marketing, but nobody is owning the bottom line.

You’ve got freelancers running ads, you're tweaking your website for SEO, and pulling devs away from product to help with GTM. You need a single executive connecting the dots, setting real priorities, and holding your marketing team accountable for driving real revenue.

The solution

Propel Collective steps in as your plug-and-play executive marketing leader.

We take complete ownership of your marketing engine and embed ourselves into your team. We will align your existing channels, manage your vendors, optimiz your strategy and ad spend, and give you actionable reporting that clearly shows how your marketing efforts are driving revenue. Our team gives you true executive leadership at a fraction of a full-time executive salary.

Services included

What does a fractional CMO engagement from Propel Collective include?

  • Marketing strategy and roadmap ownership, so every campaign ladders up to a single growth plan instead of a list of disconnected tactics
  • Leadership for your in-house team, agencies, and freelancers, so everyone is executing against the same priorities
  • Budget planning and channel prioritization, so spend goes toward the channels most likely to produce revenue, not the ones that are trendiest
  • Hiring and team-building guidance for when you are ready to bring marketing in-house
  • Board and investor-ready reporting that explains what marketing is doing and why it matters in language that non-marketers understand
  • Brand and messaging development and oversight, so positioning stays consistent as your team and channels grow
  • Vendor and agency management, including evaluating and directing any specialists already working with you
  • A standing seat in your leadership meetings, bringing a marketing point of view to product, sales, and company-wide decisions

The comparison

Why a Fractional CMO Beats the Alternatives

Full-Time CMO
$300k+ salary + equity & benefits
3-6 months to source & hire
High financial burn rate for early stage
Marketing Agency
Incentivized to upsell specific scope & deliverables
Focuses on execution, not company strategy
Doesn't sit in executive meetings or drive business decisions
Fractional CMO (Propel Collective)
Senior strategic guidance at a fraction of the cost
Immediate impact from day one
Plugs directly into your leadership team

Related content

You don't need another freelancer or campaign. You need someone accountable for the whole strategy

Let's talk about fractional CMO support →