Fractional CMO for Scaleups: When It Works and When It Doesn’t (and What Investors Actually Expect)
- Laura Derbyshire
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
There’s a point in every scaleup’s journey where “good marketing” stops being enough.
The founder still has the vision. The team is busy. Activity is high. Spend is rising.
But growth feels harder than it should. Decisions take longer. Messaging fragments. Channels sprawl. And somewhere in the background, the question starts to surface: "Do we need a CMO yet?"
For many scaleups, the answer isn’t a full-time hire, not yet anyway. But it also isn’t another agency, freelancer, or head of growth operating in isolation.
This is where a fractional CMO can make sense. And where, done badly, it can quietly waste time and money.
This article is for founders, CEOs, and leadership teams who want to understand when a fractional CMO actually works, when it doesn’t, and how investors really view the role in growth-stage businesses.
What a Fractional CMO Is (and Isn’t)
A fractional CMO is not a part-time marketer.
At its best, the role provides executive-level marketing leadership without the cost, risk, or permanence of a full-time CMO hire.
The emphasis is on judgment, prioritisation, and leadership, not execution for execution’s sake. A good fractional CMO:
Sets direction before activity
Aligns brand, growth, sales, and leadership
Brings clarity to what matters now vs later
Makes decisions that hold up under investor scrutiny
They are not a stopgap delivery resource, an outsourced agency lead or someone to “own marketing” while leadership disengages
This distinction matters. Especially for scaleups.
When a Fractional CMO Works Best for Scaleups
In our experience, fractional CMOs create the most impact at specific inflection points.
Common triggers include:
Post-product-market fit, but pre-scale clarity
Growth plateau despite increased spend
Confusion over who should lead marketing (CMO vs Head of Growth vs agency)
Preparing for Series A/B, PE investment, or international expansion
Founder stepping back from day-to-day marketing decisions
A fractional CMO brings an external, senior perspective without the disruption of a full hire, and without locking the business into a structure it may outgrow.
When a Fractional CMO Is the Wrong Choice
Just as important: knowing when not to hire one.
A fractional CMO is unlikely to work if:
The business is still searching for product-market fit
Leadership wants execution without accountability
There is no appetite for prioritisation or trade-offs
The role is used to delay hard decisions on structure or investment
In these cases, the problem isn’t marketing leadership, it’s organisational readiness.
How Investors Actually View Fractional CMOs
This is where many founders get it wrong.
Investors don’t care whether your CMO is fractional or full-time. They care whether:
Growth is intentional, not accidental
Marketing decisions are coherent and defensible
Spend is aligned to long-term value, not short-term noise
Leadership understands the role marketing plays in scale
A well-deployed fractional CMO is often seen as a signal of maturity: that the business is serious about leadership, but disciplined about cost and timing.
Fractional CMO vs Full-Time CMO
For scaleups, this isn’t a binary choice; it’s a sequencing decision.
Fractional CMOs are most effective when used to:
Stabilise strategy
Build operating rhythm
Clarify roles and capability gaps
Prepare the ground for a future full-time hire
In many cases, a strong fractional period reduces the risk of a bad permanent CMO hire later.
Where OSER Fits
At OSER, we work with founders and CEOs at exactly this stage - where growth ambitions are real, but clarity is fragmented.
Our fractional CMO work sits at the intersection of: leadership, strategy, brand growth and investor readiness
The aim isn’t to “do marketing better.” It’s to help scaleups make fewer, better decisions and build momentum that holds.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAQs: Fractional CMO for Scaleups
When should a scaleup hire a fractional CMO?
Typically, after product-market fit, when growth slows, or complexity increases, and leadership needs senior marketing judgment rather than more execution.
Fractional CMO vs full-time CMO - which is right for a scaleup?
A fractional CMO is often the right step before a full-time hire, helping define the role, structure, and priorities so the eventual permanent hire succeeds.
How many days a month does a scaleup need a fractional CMO?
Most scaleups benefit from 2–6 days per month, depending on their growth stage, internal capability, and upcoming milestones such as funding or expansion.
Is a fractional CMO suitable before fundraising?
Yes - particularly to sharpen positioning, clarify metrics, align narrative, and ensure marketing supports investor confidence rather than undermines it.
How do investors view fractional CMOs?
Positively, when the role is clearly defined and linked to growth outcomes. Investors care about leadership quality and decision-making, not employment status.
