Fractional Head of Growth
AI-native fractional operator. A definition, a comparison vs alternatives (Fractional CMO, growth agency, full-time hire), and the engagement model Yaniv uses with post-PMF B2B SaaS, B2C, and e-commerce companies.
A Fractional Head of Growth is a senior operator who joins your company part-time and owns the entire growth function end-to-end: acquisition, activation, retention, attribution, and the marketing data stack. They join the leadership cadence and are accountable for revenue, not deliverables.
The engagement is between an agency (single channel, deliverable-based) and a full-time CMO (six-figure salary, 6-12 month ramp). 4-5 hours/day per client, 2-3 clients at a time, 6-12 month engagements.
What "Fractional" Actually Means
Fractional means part-time, but at the same level of seniority, ownership, and accountability as a full-time hire. It is not "fewer hours of an agency" or "advisor on retainer." It is a senior operator embedded in your team, in your tools, and in your weekly leadership cadence, working the equivalent of one to two full days a week per client.
The model exists because mid-stage post-PMF companies need senior growth leadership before they can justify a $300K+ all-in CMO salary. The math works because senior operators can spread that level of seniority across 2-3 companies without losing depth.
Fractional Head of Growth vs Alternatives
| Option | What you get | Cost | Time to value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing agency | Single-channel execution. Junior team. Bills against deliverables. | $5K-$30K/mo | Weeks |
| Growth advisor | 2-4 hours per month of strategy. No execution. No accountability. | $1K-$5K/mo | One call |
| Fractional Head of Growth | Senior, embedded, owns the whole funnel. 4-5 hrs/day. | $8K-$25K/mo | 2 weeks |
| Full-time CMO | Senior, dedicated, owns the whole org. Hiring, team building. | $300K-$500K/yr loaded | 3-6 mo recruit + 6-12 mo ramp |
Two Stages, Two Engagement Shapes
Same operator, different shape depending on stage.
Stage 1: Pre-PMF / Earliest Post-PMF
Sub-$1M ARR. 4-10 person team. No marketing team yet. Hunting for the first 100/week signups, then 500/week. Hands-on operator who owns paid, content, SEO, GEO, lifecycle, and community in one head.
- ✓Funded AI / SaaS startups (seed or pre-Series A)
- ✓Founders who need a generalist operator, not a strategist
- ✓$5K-$8K/mo plus equity warrant or outcome bonus
Stage 2: Post-PMF Scaling
$1M-$20M ARR. Existing marketing team. Senior leadership unblocking specific bottlenecks: paid acquisition at scale, GEO, attribution, retention, lifecycle.
- ✓Acquisition plateaued, need senior rebuild
- ✓Funnel leaking, need diagnostic + execution leader
- ✓$8K-$25K/mo retainer, 4-5 hrs/day average
When It's the Wrong Hire
- Pre-product startup still searching for ICP (no PMF, no funding)
- Want only paid media management or single-channel work (hire an agency)
- Want a brand strategy deck (hire a brand consultant)
- Enterprise sales motion with $100K+ ACVs (different operator profile)
Hard Prerequisite: Tracking
If you can't measure it, Yaniv won't run it.
Mixpanel/Amplitude/Segment, Stripe, server-side conversion tracking: either connected before week 1, or connected during week 1. No exceptions.
Fractional retainers get wasted in one of two ways: bad strategy, or great strategy on broken measurement. The second is more common. We fix the measurement layer first, every time.
The AI-Native Operating Stack
Yaniv runs the same infrastructure he installs in client businesses.
Most fractional CMOs talk about AI. Yaniv lives it. 80% of his day runs on his VPS with Claude Code as the primary tool. Coolify manages 40+ applications on subdomains. n8n runs the marketing automation. Everything is connected to Telegram for real-time signal. The same stack he would install in your business if you asked.
The advantage compounds. Where most operators launch one A/B test per week, Yaniv launches ten. AI doesn't replace operator judgment; it removes the bottleneck on operator throughput.
How Yaniv Sequences Channels
Most CMOs run channels. Operators sequence them.
Google Ads first
Search intent is the cleanest buy signal in marketing. Lowest CAC, fastest learning. Build from search up.
LinkedIn second
Once Google reveals which personas convert, LinkedIn targets them with surgical precision. Expensive clicks, qualified users.
Meta + Reddit + TikTok at 50+ signups/week
Below 50/week you're feeding noise. Above 50/week the platform AI starts to work. Volume unlocks algorithmic optimization.
Influencers when the math works
The right creator can 5x conversion. Most don't. Test, double down, or cut. This is a default, not a template. The work is knowing when to break it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fractional CMO is a title. Fractional Head of Growth describes the scope: end-to-end ownership of the growth function, not just marketing strategy. A fractional CMO might give you a strategy deck. A fractional head of growth lives in your Mixpanel, runs your ads, writes your emails, and is accountable for revenue metrics. Yaniv does both, but the engagement is operator-shaped, not consultant-shaped.
4-5 hours per day on average, up to 9 during intensive periods. 2-3 clients at a time. This isn't advisory, it's embedded operation. You'll see me in your Slack, your analytics, your weekly leadership meeting.
6 months. Growth compounds. A 3-month engagement is too short to build systems that outlast the engagement. If after 3 months we're not seeing measurable progress, I'll tell you.
Both. I operate directly (ads, analytics, content strategy, technical implementation) and lead existing marketing team members. I don't bring a sub-team. I work with what you have and hire when the data says to hire.
B2B SaaS, B2C subscription products, and e-commerce. Post-PMF. The common thread is measurable growth with a digital acquisition model. If your sales cycle is 12+ months with $100K+ ACVs, a different operator profile fits better.
Ready for Senior Growth Leadership?
15 minutes to see if the fit is right. No decks. No proposals. Just a conversation about your growth bottleneck.
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