VC FUNDS
Better Marketing Across Your Portfolio Means Better Returns.
Senior Fractional CMO, product and growth leadership available to your portfolio startups at every stage of the journey and beyond.
THE PORTFOLIO MARKETING PROBLEM
Marketing Is The Most Common Growth Blocker Across Your Portfolio. And The Hardest To Fix.
Most VC funds are well set up to support their portfolio companies with legal, finance, recruiting, and operational advice. Marketing is the persistent gap as it's the function that most early and growth stage companies get wrong and one of the primary reasons promising businesses stall between rounds.
The challenge isn't that good marketing advice doesn't exist. It's that most portfolio companies can't yet afford a senior full time marketing leader and the fractional or advisory alternatives are often too generic, too junior, or too disconnected from the commercial reality of a venture backed business.
The challenge isn't that good marketing advice doesn't exist. It's that most portfolio companies can't yet afford a senior full time marketing leader and the fractional or advisory alternatives are often too generic, too junior, or too disconnected from the commercial reality of a venture backed business.
What this looks like across a typical portfolio
COMMON PORTFOLIO PROBLEMS
- Founders making expensive marketing mistakes that could have been avoided with senior guidance
- Portfolio companies burning budget on channels that aren't right for their stage
- Inconsistent messaging that undermines fundraising narratives
- Slow growth between rounds with no clear diagnosis of why
- Marketing hires made too early or for the wrong roles
- No shared resource across the portfolio to raise the marketing baseline
WHAT A PORTFOLIO RESOURCE PROVIDES
- Senior marketing expertise available to every company in the portfolio on demand
- A consistent standard of marketing thinking across different stages and sectors
- Faster identification and fixing of growth blockers between rounds
- Better fundraising narratives built on credible marketing strategy
- Reduced risk of expensive early marketing mistakes
- A trusted resource that founders can access without the overhead of a full engagement
HOW IT WORKS
A Senior Marketing And Growth Resource Across Your Entire Portfolio
The portfolio resource model is structured to give your companies access to senior marketing expertise at the level and intensity they need without requiring each company to independently source, evaluate, and onboard their own marketing advisor.
01
Portfolio Onboarding
A structured introduction to each portfolio company understanding their stage, current marketing setup, team, and the most pressing growth challenges. This gives a clear picture of where the resource will be most valuable across the portfolio.
02
On Demand Access For Founders
Portfolio founders and their teams can access senior marketing support directly for strategy questions, challenge and advice sessions, audit reviews, or specific project work. The level of engagement scales to what each company needs.
03
Deeper Engagements
For companies with a specific, high priority marketing challenge such as a launch, a reposition, a growth stall or a more intensive engagement can be scoped and delivered at a portfolio rate. The breadth of services covers every stage and challenge type.
04
Portfolio Level Reporting
Regular reporting to the fund on marketing health and progress across the portfolio giving partners a clear picture of where marketing is a strength and where it remains a risk to growth and the next round narrative.
WHY THIS WORKS
The Gap Between Generic Advice And Real Expertise
Generic marketing advice is easy to find. A senior practitioner and growth operator who understands the commercial pressures of a venture backed business, thinks in outcomes not outputs, and can operate credibly at board level that's the gap this fills.
Versus A Marketing Mentor Network
Mentor networks provide access but not consistency or accountability. A dedicated portfolio resource provides senior expertise with a commercial orientation focused on outcomes, not advice.
Versus Each Company Hiring Independently
Sourcing, evaluating, and onboarding a marketing advisor takes time and carries risk at every company. A portfolio resource removes that friction and ensures a consistent quality of support across the fund.
Versus A Marketing Agency
Agencies execute channels. This engagement provides strategic leadership the thinking that determines which channels to use, how to position the business, and how to build a marketing and growth function that scales.
Versus Waiting Untill Series A
The most expensive marketing mistakes happen at the earliest stages before the business has the budget to absorb them. Early access to senior marketing thinking reduces that risk across every pre Series A company in the portfolio.
WHATS AVAILBALE ACROSS THE PORTFOLIO
The Full Range Of Services Available To Every Company
Every service available to individual clients is available to portfolio startups at rates and with the context of an advisor and operator who already understands the fund's investment thesis and stage focus.
Marketing Audit
Fast diagnosis of what's working, what isn't, and where to focus ideal for startups between rounds or stalling on growth.
Marketing Strategy
Brand or growth strategy built around each startups stage, audience, and objectives with a clear execution roadmap.
Go To Market
GTM strategy, playbook, and workshop for new product launches or market entries across the portfolio.
Fractional CMO
Embedded senior marketing leadership for companies that need a CMO level function without the full-time hire.
Growth Marketing
Sprint, retainer, or embedded growth leadership matched to the stage and intensity of the growth challenge.
Product Led Growth
PLG audit, strategy, and execution for consumer apps, SaaS businesses, and AI native products across the portfolio.
PROOF
A Track Record Built Across Every Stage Of The Venture Journey
From funding success, enterprise valuations and getting ready for an exit narrative.
£500M+
Value created across a portfolio of startups, scale-ups, and challenger brands
1x IPO
Marketing strategy and leadership supporting a successful public listing
4x
Acquisitions supported through marketing that built brand equity and commercial credibility
"Tait would run circles around marketing teams I’ve seen in major global startups.
He knows exactly what he’s doing when it comes to brand, marketing, product and growth. If you want results, you listen to him."
Founder & CEO
InsurTech
ABOUT
15+ Years Building Growth Engines.
Now I Bring That To You.
I'm Tait Lawson a fractional CMO and growth strategist with over 15 years building marketing and growth functions for startups and challenger brands across the UK, US, EU and Australia.
I've taken a company through IPO, supported four acquisitions, and helped businesses at every stage from seed to Series C build the marketing and growth engine that got them there. I work with an exclusive small number of clients at any one time to ensure I'm genuinely embedded.
I've taken a company through IPO, supported four acquisitions, and helped businesses at every stage from seed to Series C build the marketing and growth engine that got them there. I work with an exclusive small number of clients at any one time to ensure I'm genuinely embedded.
FAQS
Common Questions
How is the portfolio resource structured commercially?
What stages do you work best with across a portfolio?
Do you work across sectors or specialise?
What about family offices and angel networks
How do you avoid conflicts of interest across a portfolio?
Can individual portfolio startups or challenger brands engage independently?
GET STARTED
Ready To Give Your Portfolio A Genuine Marketing Advantage?
The best starting point is a conversation about your fund, portfolio, and what you're trying to solve.
Two ways to get that started.
Two ways to get that started.
GET STARTED NOW
Complete a short questionnaire
Tell us about your fund, portfolio size, stage focus, and what you're looking for in a marketing and growth resource. We'll review it and come back with a proposed structure within 48 hours.
Takes about 10 minutes. We'll be in touch within 48 hours.
BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL
Book a partner call
Book a 30 minute call to discuss your portfolio startups marketing and growth issues to explore whether the resource model is a fit for your VC fund.
Free, no obligation. I respond to all enquiries within 24 hours.