Unit economics first
CAC, LTV, payback. Before any channel test. If the maths doesn't work, no amount of cleverness fixes it.
Growth for startups
Growth that doesn't burn the runway.
Pre-seed to Series B founders don't need a CMO. They need someone who's run growth at scale and can teach them to do it without an agency, without a team, and without lighting the runway on fire. That's what advisory looks like at this stage.
0Startups advised
0Joined as advisor (equity)
0Channels assumed; all tested
0Founder-friend mode
The problem
Most startup marketing is rich-company marketing on a poor budget.
You don't need a brand book. You don't need a 12-channel attribution stack. You need ten conversions, then a hundred, then a thousand — each one cheaper than the last. The rest is theatre.
How I help
What you get
One channel at a time
Pick one. Make it work. Then the next. Founders running six half-built channels are the most common pattern I see — and the most fixable.
Founder-led growth
For early-stage, the founder is the best marketer. I coach the founder to do LinkedIn, content, sales calls — properly.
Bring-in-team-later
You don't need a CMO at seed. You need a senior advisor a few hours a month. I'll write the JD when you do need to hire.
How it works
Operating cadence
Audit
Two-week audit of stage, runway, motion. Honest answer on whether you need an advisor or just a kick.
Plan
One channel, one experiment, one metric. Not an annual plan.
Coach
Bi-weekly session. Async support. I'll show you what I'd do, then watch you do it.
Hand-over
At Series B, I write the CMO/VP Marketing JD and help you hire.
Selected work
Recent engagements
Anonymised at client request — substance unchanged.
SaaS · Self-built (Vyndeal)Indian B2B SaaS · pipeline ops
InsurTech · GTMIndia-Europe insurance-tech platform
FinTech · BrandEquity-research advisory SaaS
HR-tech · Demand genMulti-country HR-tech platform
D2C · Marketing transformationTop-3 Indian baby & kids D2C platform
FMCG · BrandFortune 500 US FMCG brand · Hispanic markets
For early-stage founders
Vyndeal — free for early-stage.
Pipeline visibility shouldn't cost ₹50K a month at seed stage. Vyndeal's free tier handles your first 100 deals, and the GST-compliant quoting layer alone justifies it.
Try Vyndeal freeWhen you do need a team
Fractional execution without the agency contract.
At Series A, when a campaign needs to ship fast, Quiamo plugs in for two-month builds without a long retainer.
See QuiamoFAQ
Common questions
Do you take equity?
For pre-seed and seed startups, yes — I have three companies on advisory equity. The bar is high.
How is this different from a fractional CMO?
Fractional CMO runs the function. Advisor coaches the founder to run the function. At early stage, the founder running marketing themselves is almost always the right answer.
What's the typical engagement size?
₹50–80K/month for cash advisory, or 0.25–1% equity for equity advisory, depending on stage and time commitment.
Will you intro me to investors?
Sometimes — only if I genuinely believe the round is fundable. I won't do shotgun intros.
Can you help us hire our first marketing person?
Yes. Writing the JD, sourcing candidates from my network, interviewing — all part of the engagement.
Ready to talk?
Book a 30-minute discovery call. We'll work out fit, scope and shape — no deck, no preamble.