You're launching 3+ products per year but every launch feels like starting from scratch. No systems, no playbooks—just heroic individual efforts that don't scale.
For Series A–C fintech and crypto companies
Strategic marketing leadership without the full-time commitment.
Get a trusted senior advisor in your corner month after month—the sustained guidance you need to navigate regulated markets, launch products consistently, and scale with confidence.
Month-to-month commitment · $5K–$9K/month
Why most fintech marketing teams hit the same wall
Your team needs senior strategic guidance but a $300K+ CMO hire takes 6 months to recruit and another 6 months to ramp. You need expertise now, not in a year.
You're buried in execution details with no one connecting the dots between daily work and long-term growth. Strategic direction exists only in founder's heads.
The strategic retainer: your ongoing marketing partner
Monthly sessions to design roadmaps, optimize positioning, and coach your team through complex decisions—without full-time executive overhead.
Traditional CMO
- $200K–400K annually + equity
- 6 months to hire and ramp
- Full-time commitment required
- Owns execution and operations
Strategic Retainer
- $5K–9K/month, no equity
- Start immediately
- Flexible, on-demand access
- Pure strategy focus
What you get every month
Monthly 2-hour strategy session
Deep-dive on growth roadmap, positioning, and channel optimization. Tackle your most pressing strategic questions with someone who's scaled 4 exchanges to $300M+.
Channel optimization and positioning review
Quarterly audits of performance marketing, content strategy, and SEO. Data-driven recommendations to improve CAC and conversion rates.
Growth roadmap design
Annual planning broken into quarterly execution sprints. OKR frameworks that connect daily work to revenue goals.
Board presentation prep
Slide deck review, narrative coaching, and metric framing. Show investors the story behind the numbers.
Team coaching and mentorship
Monthly 1:1s with your marketing leads for skill development. Build strategic capabilities while executing.
Priority Slack and email access
Same-business-day response for urgent strategic questions. Get guidance when you're stuck.
The partnership flow
How we work together to build your growth engine. We establish clear KPIs from day one and iterate monthly based on what's working.
Month 1: Foundation
- Comprehensive audit of current marketing state
- Stakeholder interviews (CEO, product, sales)
- Establish KPIs and success metrics
- Create 12-month growth roadmap
Months 2–3: Optimization
- Implement quick-win improvements
- Build systematic processes
- Coach team on framework execution
- Monthly strategy sessions to refine
Months 4+: Scale and iterate
- Refine strategy based on results
- Quarterly board presentations
- Ongoing team mentorship
- Trusted advisor month after month
This partnership is perfect if you...
Good fit
- You have a marketing team that executes, and you need senior strategy
- You want guidance without a full-time executive hire
- You launch often and need a system, not another hero
- You want month-to-month, not a long contract
Not a fit
- You need someone to own execution and the team day to day
- You want an agency to run the work
- You have no one to implement the frameworks
Investment and terms
Per month
$5K–$9K
Based on complexity and access level.
- No long-term contracts
- Cancel with 30-day notice if priorities change
- Priority access, quarterly reviews, board prep, and team coaching included
Against a full-time hire
30–40% of the cost
A full-time CMO costs $200K–$400K annually plus equity, plus 6 months of recruitment. This starts immediately.
Results from strategic partnerships
Global cryptocurrency exchange · Strategic retainer · 12 months
Michael Rodriguez, CMO
"We went from reactive ad-hoc execution to predictable, delegatable growth. Within 12 months, we shipped 9 product launches with a playbook the entire team can use. The monthly strategy sessions keep us ahead of market shifts and ensure we're always optimizing for the next quarter, not just the next week."
9 Systematized launches
60% CAC reduction
3x Faster execution
Common questions about strategic retainers
How is this different from hiring a fractional CMO?
A fractional CMO owns execution and team management (hiring, budget allocation, day-to-day operations). The Strategic Retainer is purely advisory—focused on high-leverage strategy, coaching, and guidance. Your team continues to execute; I help them execute smarter with proven frameworks and strategic clarity. If you need hands-on leadership, see the Fractional CMO offering.
What if we already have a marketing team?
Perfect. Most of my retainer clients have teams of 3–20 people. I come in as strategic leadership to architect systems, build playbooks, and train your team to execute independently. Think of it as installing the operating system your team needs to scale.
Can we upgrade to more hands-on support if needed?
Absolutely. Many clients start with the Strategic Retainer and upgrade to Project-Based (for specific launches) or Fractional CMO (for hands-on leadership) as needs evolve. The retainer is month-to-month, so you can adjust your engagement level based on what's most valuable at each stage.
How do you measure success?
We establish clear KPIs in Month 1 tied to your revenue goals (CAC reduction, conversion rate improvement, launch velocity, team capability building). Success looks like your team executing launches independently with documented playbooks, improved marketing efficiency metrics, and strategic clarity that translates to board-level confidence in your growth trajectory.