How torching a 700K-strong audience made my business unstoppable

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Picture this: It’s 2022. I’m sitting in my office, staring at the screen. A contract for a full-time CMO role at a data SaaS company is open in front of me. It’s a big opportunity—one that confirms what I’ve known for a while.

I can’t keep straddling two worlds.

Can you see it? Good.

Now, let me explain.

For a decade, I had built a business that blended data consulting and growth strategy. I had supported the expansion of 10% of Fortune 100 companies, built a 750K-strong audience, and had a steady flow of revenue. But there was one problem.

I was playing it safe.

Sure, I knew how to scale tech startups, craft go-to-market strategies, and build revenue engines from scratch—but I was still splitting my focus, half in the world of hands-on data work, half in growth strategy.

And the truth? The data side was no longer mine to own. I had been hiring teams to execute that work for years.

So I had a choice:

🫢 Keep running a business that wasn’t fully aligned.
🔥 Or burn it down and go all in on what I was actually meant to do—helping tech founders engineer predictable, scalable growth.

I chose the fire.

… I walked away from the audience I spent a decade building.
… I sacrificed most of my revenue overnight.
… I tore my business down to rebuild it from the ground up.

And let me tell you: It was terrifying.

But also? The best decision I ever made.

Now, I run a business that’s fully aligned.

I work exclusively with VC-backed and bootstrapped founders who are scaling fast and need reliable growth systems—not guesswork.

And instead of chasing leads, I spend my time helping founders unlock the revenue they’ve deserved all along.

Like…

✅ Helping a SaaS founder grow 200x in users in just one month

✅ Driving an 85x increase in website traffic for a startup on the brink of scaling

✅ Taking pre-revenue startups to $300K+ in contracts within months

In this newsletter, I’ll be sharing the exact frameworks, strategies, and growth playbooks that make this kind of traction possible.

Because here’s what I know: Marketing shouldn’t feel like a gamble. It should be a system that works—predictably, reliably, and repeatedly.

So tell me—where are you stuck right now?

What’s the #1 growth challenge standing in the way of your next big win?

Hit reply and let me know. I read every response.

Talk soon,

Lillian Pierson

Lillian Pierson, P.E.

Author, The Data & AI Imperative
Fractional CMO & Growth Advisor

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