When does it make sense to bring on a Fractional CMO, and what should you expect from one?

In this episode, Asia and Kim dig into the ins and outs of Fractional CMOs: what they do, when to hire one, how they’re different from heads of marketing or full-time CMOs, and the biggest risks and rewards founders should know.

Asia also reflects on her current work as a Fractional CMO and shares how she approaches structure, team-building, and strategy without getting stuck in the weeds.

Got a question you'd like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here.

• (00:02:05) - Fractional vs. full-time: what’s the difference and when does each make sense?
• (00:03:30) - A CMO’s core responsibilities: budget, strategy, and team.
• (00:05:30) - You don’t need a team in place already to hire a CMO, but you do need budget and runway.
• (00:07:00) - Heads of marketing often get hired like CMOs, but they’re not the same.
• (00:11:45) - A head of marketing thinks in channels, whereas a CMO thinks in markets, products, and investment strategy.
• (00:13:45) - Product marketing, demand gen, hiring, retention, and outsourcing are important parts of a CMO's responsibilities.
• (00:16:15) - Attribution and analytics, even if it's messy, is something that a CMO should take ownership of.
• (00:21:30) - You might need a CMO if you’re making investments that aren’t paying off and no one’s connecting the dots.
• (00:23:15) - Trial periods are worthwhile when you're hiring for a CMO role since hiring the wrong person in a c-level role is costly.
• (00:26:50) - There are different types of CMOs, some are more visionary and others are more operational.
• (00:33:15) - The biggest thing to monitor with a fractional role is if marketing falls behind because there isn't a full-time leader.
• (00:36:00) - Less time can lead to more focus. A great fractional CMO will have a high level of clarity about priorities.

Growth isn’t just marketing. And if you’re stuck and growth isn’t happening, you’ll need to look beyond marketing and acquisition.

In this episode of the In Demand Podcast, Asia and Kim break down what it means to troubleshoot growth. They explain how growth work goes beyond campaigns and into retention, expansion, pricing, onboarding, and more.

Plus, they dive into how product marketing overlaps and differs from growth and why founders often under-invest in the real levers that move growth.

Got a question you'd like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here.

• (00:01:44) - Growth marketing vs. head of growth: very different roles.
• (00:04:47) - A head of growth looks across the whole business, not just marketing.
• (00:05:40) - An early mistake founders often make is to focus only on marketing and acquisition when they are trying to solve growth problems.
• (00:08:07) - The moment Asia realized marketing wasn’t enough and how that led her into growth.
• (00:12:40) - Troubleshooting growth means identifying why growth is slow or stuck.
• (00:15:00) - Step by step on troubleshooting growth and benchmarks that matter.
• (00:22:45) - Troubleshooting = identifying root causes and giving you a clear plan to fix them.
• (00:30:30) - Product marketing overlaps with growth, but it's not the same job.
• (00:35:56) - Recap of what differences exist between a product marketer, a VP of growth, and a marketer.

Most SaaS companies hit growth plateaus, and too many founders assume the problem is either unsolvable or too complex to fix. In reality, that's rarely true.

In this episode of In Demand, Asia and Kim unpack how to shift your mindset from "This can't be solved" to "Who's already solved this, and how can I learn from them?"

They also introduce CUES, a prioritization framework that helps you focus on the right growth ideas instead of spinning your wheels.

Got a question you'd like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here.

• (00:00:55) - Why founders often treat growth problems like they’re unsolvable.
• (00:05:22) - There are a lot of founders creating pain for themselves by trying to reinvent the wheel.
• (00:08:02) - Almost every single growth problem has been solved before, you just need to find the people who did it.
• (00:09:00) - Books, articles, and experts: where to actually look for answers.
• (00:14:10) - Learning enough to get started and putting your knowledge into practice.
• (00:19:15) - One of the things founders need to be able to do at a high level is understand trade offs.
• (00:24:00) - What does the process look like for troubleshooting growth?
• (00:25:00) - What net revenue retention tells you and how to find and use it in ProfitWell.
• (00:34:00) - Spotting the levers: activation, positioning, and pricing.
• (00:39:00) - Prioritization traps: why common frameworks like ICE often fail.
• (00:42:55) - Try CUES instead: Confidence, Understanding, Ease, and Speed.
• (00:55:05) - Recapping what was covered on this episode.