Selected work · Founder and operator relationships
I built an independent practice around working directly with founders. The commercial judgment I developed there now informs my founder-side M&A work.
Founder · Fractional CMO & Growth AdvisorPractice established in 2022
Independent advisory work alongside founders and executive teams.
Polymail, Cirrus Capital Partners, and SaaS Academy.
Cirrus Capital Partners: organic subscribers in six months.
Cirrus Capital Partners newsletter.
The context
I worked on positioning, demand generation, launches, and the customer lifecycle across SaaS and AI. Some projects called for an assessment. Others meant working closely with a founder over months to rebuild the commercial operation. These relationships and strategy samples show that part of my career.
The work
Three long-running client relationships gave me room to understand the business and work with the people making decisions.
I partnered with the new owner-operator of a power inbox with 1,300+ active subscribers. We worked through positioning, acquisition, onboarding, lifecycle, retention, and expansion, including customer stories, release communications, and referral programs. The work began with understanding what users valued and where the business needed attention.
I worked with Founder and CEO Ryan Ridgway to launch Altitude News and write its posts. The newsletter reached 2,500 organic subscribers in six months with a 64% open rate, giving the firm an ongoing way to share its perspective with founders, lenders, and deal partners.
I led content and demand work across three core programs during a founder transition. The scope included SEO, community, lifecycle, sales enablement, and CEO-led distribution. Programs drove a 67% increase in MQLs, a 5,000+ book waitlist, and 22% growth in the private founder community.
First, understand where the business is getting stuck. Then decide what would actually help.
I looked at the product, the people using it, and how the company explained its value. That often meant working across the website, sales conversations, onboarding, and customer communications.
An audit had to lead to decisions. I gave founders and teams a focused set of commercial priorities, then helped turn those priorities into copy, campaigns, publishing, or customer journeys.
Retainers gave me a better view of what changed after the work shipped. I could see how a team operated, how customers responded, and where the next constraint appeared.
Working across businesses taught me to ask what a product is useful for, who values it, and how to explain that value clearly.
Those questions matter when a founder explores a sale. I can get close to the technology and its market, then help frame why a particular buyer would want to own it.
I learned that I am more valuable working with founders in an advisory capacity. My work today centers on strategic sales of pre-revenue and early-stage software, AI products, and technology IP.
Selected artifacts
Client relationships, assessments, proposals, and published examples from the independent practice.
An ongoing commercial relationship with the new owner-operator.
The newsletter and founder-led publishing work.
Content and demand work across three programs.
A strategy for reaching rare specialist talent.
Enterprise alignment, partnerships, content, and organization.
Founder-facing content and community thinking.
An editorial and search opportunity assessment.
Editorial, search, and distribution thinking.
Content, search, outbound, community, and enterprise demand.
Positioning, content, search, community, and sales enablement thinking.
Search, account-based programs, and sales enablement.
Owned and earned media narrative thinking.
Messaging and launch work for digital signage.
A commercial strategy sample from the licensing business.
GTM planning and investor-story work. Email me for a sample.
Category framing, market entry, and investor materials.
Homepage, buyer targeting, and intake experience.
Looking back
My strongest relationships give me direct access to the founder and room to connect product, customer, and commercial priorities.
Today, I help founders explore a strategic sale of early-stage software, AI products, and technology IP.
The work today
My operating and founder experience now informs a focused M&A practice for early-stage software, AI products, and technology IP.