In partnership with

Hey ,

You’ve probably heard it before: “If you’re serious about scaling, you need a full-time CMO.”

But here’s the thing—hiring a full-time CMO too early could actually slow your growth and drain your resources.

Here’s why:

1. The Cost is Astronomical:
A solid CMO can easily run you $250K+ per year. That’s a huge commitment when your startup is still finding its footing. Worse yet, without proven, scalable growth strategies in place, your CMO might spend more time figuring things out than driving actual results.

2. Execution Gets Slower:
Full-time CMOs often operate like high-level executives—not hands-on growth partners. You might get strategy decks and long-term plans, but what you really need at this stage are quick wins, fast implementation, and measurable traction.

3. You’re Putting All Your Eggs in One Basket:
If your growth strategy doesn’t work out, you’ve sunk significant resources into one person. Instead of flexibility, you’re stuck with a high-cost role that may not deliver fast enough.

There’s a Smarter Alternative:

Instead of a full-time CMO, consider bringing in a fractional growth partner—someone who works with you either as a fractional CMO, or even as biweekly or weekly advisor with async support throughout the week. 

You’ll get:

• Proven strategies from day one—no guesswork.
  

• Hands-on support without the full-time price tag.
  

• Lean, flexible executional support that adapts as your business grows.
  

I’ve helped tech startups achieve massive growth—like driving over 10,000 MQLs organically for a VC-backed SaaS company and increasing website traffic by 85x in under a year for another—all without the hefty costs of hiring a CMO too soon.

If you’re curious how we could make this work for your startup, hit ‘Reply’ or schedule a quick chat here.

Talk soon,

Lillian Pierson, P.E.

Author, The Data & AI Imperative
Fractional CMO & Founder, Data-Mania

Grow smarter: Reallocate ad spend, boost ROAS with affiliates

Ad costs are rising. Clicks aren’t converting like they used to. And ROAS? It’s all over the place.

Here’s the thing: ad spend will always be part of your mix. But it doesn’t have to be your only lever.

Levanta’s Affiliate Shift Calculator helps you model what could happen if you reallocated a portion of your ad budget into affiliate marketing—a channel that only charges when it drives actual results.

It’s not a generic tool. Your scenario is reviewed by an affiliate expert and built around your real inputs.

You’ll get a custom forecast with projected ROAS, revenue lift, and estimated efficiency—delivered

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It’s free to try, takes just two minutes to get started, and could shift the way you grow.

Get My Custom Forecast