Growth/Marketing
I don't replace your execution. I grow it from inside.
Rather than outsourcing strategy for a few months, this work builds the judgment, structure, and leadership capacity of the people already running marketing. I work with founders, CEOs, VPs, and marketing leads.
- 25organizations advised
- 6+ yrsas an external advisor (since 2020)
- 3+ yrslongest interim CMO retainer
- 100%came through referrals
What I do
My work sits at the intersection of strategic advisory, leadership development, and organizational design. Rather than acting as an outsourced executor, I typically work as an external advisor focused on developing internal marketing leadership.
- Advising founders and executives on marketing and growth decisions
- Supporting new or emerging marketing leads as they step into leadership
- Helping organizations define the right marketing structure for their stage
- Strengthening decision-making, prioritization, and communication around growth
- Building systems, frameworks, and operating rhythms the team can sustain internally
- Designing thoughtful transition or exit paths once the internal team is ready
In many cases the real question is not “What campaign should we run next?” but: who inside the organization is becoming capable of leading marketing well — and what structure will help them succeed? That is the level I care about most.
Who this is for
- A founder or CEO is still carrying too much of the marketing decision-making load
- A new marketing lead or VP has joined and needs structured support
- The company needs senior marketing judgment, but not a full-time executive yet
- The team has solid executors, but lacks leadership clarity or strategic coherence
- Hiring is delayed, difficult, or risky, and an interim external thought partner would help
- The organization wants to grow internal capability rather than depend on outside execution
Across the 25 organizations I worked with, the context was always different. Some teams had just hired a new marketing lead. Some needed to build systems around a mostly execution-focused team. Others were redefining leadership from within an existing structure. That variation is exactly why I do not use a one-size-fits-all model.
Growth and marketing in the AI era
As the cost of building converges on zero, “can we build it” stops being a differentiator. What remains is a marketing question — what makes this product different, and what taste and point of view are we proposing.
- Not how much content you can produce, but which point of view you repeat
- Not how fast you can run experiments, but what tells you to stop one and push another
- Not what to automate, but what stays a human judgment call to the end
- Not adopting AI tools, but setting the judgment standards of the team using them
I work on these questions from a marketer's seat. AI lowers the cost of execution; what to execute is still a question of point of view.
Depending on what the work needs, growth/marketing consulting and AI training · AX consulting run alongside each other or one after the other.
How I work
- 1. CMO Development
The core of my consulting work. I help an internal marketing leader — often someone stepping into a bigger role than they have held before — grow into it. This includes leadership coaching in an organizational context, strategic feedback, communication support, decision-making frameworks, and role design. The goal is not dependence on me. The goal is a stronger internal leader.
- 2. Marketing / Growth Advisory
I advise on growth strategy, channel prioritization, team structure, KPI logic, resource allocation, and stage-appropriate marketing decisions. Particularly useful when leadership needs senior perspective without immediately making a full-time executive hire.
- 3. Transition & Exit Design
A good advisory relationship should not drag on without purpose. It works best when there is clarity about what capability is being built, what decisions are becoming easier internally, and what would make the partnership complete. Consulting is not just about starting well — it is about exiting well.
- 4. AX Consulting
As the cost of building converges on zero, the question turns back into a marketing one — not what can we build, but what makes this product different, and what taste and point of view are we proposing. AI adoption that does not stop at training: I help design the actual shift in how work gets done, and keep asking what that shift is for, from a marketer's seat.
What makes this different
There are many consultants who can audit channels, suggest tactics, or create decks. My work is different in a few ways.
- Leadership internalization
The long-term value of consulting is not just better ideas from outside. It is stronger capability left inside the company.
- Where strategy meets coaching
Some organizational problems are strategic. Others are structural. Others are deeply human: confidence, communication, ownership, role ambiguity, accumulated stress. My background across startup leadership, marketing, and coaching lets me work across those layers.
- Six years, all by referral
No outbound sales. No marketing funnel. Just repeated introductions and trust built through the work itself — which led to 25 organizations.
- Clear, lightweight engagements
Working across cities and time zones shaped a consulting style with no overhead: in the room where that matters, online where that is enough, and conversation-based throughout.
- Sense built on the ground
I planned and ran site-specific projects on the ground in 10 countries. That is how I learned to read place, behavior, audience sensitivity, and the emotional logic behind lifestyle and culture-driven services — especially relevant for brands building in global, cross-cultural, or community-centered contexts.
Fees
- Direct startup & company engagementsKRW 1,000,000
Typically structured as CMO development consulting.
- VC & accelerator projectsCase by case
Depending on the context and purpose of the collaboration, selected projects have been priced separately, or offered on a pro bono or reduced-fee basis.
Frequently asked
Do you work only with large organizations?
No. Much of my consulting work has been with startups and growing teams navigating leadership, hiring, and marketing structure in moments of transition. What matters most is not company size, but whether there is a real need for stronger internal marketing leadership and strategic clarity.
Do you offer execution as well, or only advisory?
My core role is advisory rather than outsourced execution. I work best when the goal is to strengthen internal leadership, decision-making, and organizational capability. In some cases this includes lightweight strategic feedback on execution, but the primary focus is not to become an external marketing team.
Do you use AI in your consulting work?
Yes — extensively in my own founder and solopreneur practice, and selectively in consulting where it genuinely improves research, synthesis, strategic exploration, communication, or team learning. I regularly work with tools like Claude, GPT, and Gemini. But I do not treat AI as a substitute for leadership or judgment. What matters most is still the human capacity to make sense of complexity, decide, and build resilient organizations.
How are engagements usually structured?
Each engagement is shaped around the organization's stage, leadership context, and specific need. Some focus on supporting an emerging marketing leader. Others center on founder advisory, team structure, growth decision-making, or transition design. I do not use a one-size-fits-all model.
How do you know when the consulting should end?
A good advisory relationship should not continue without purpose. I look at whether internal capability is growing, whether leadership decisions are becoming clearer, and whether the team can increasingly move forward without depending on me. Part of the work is knowing how to exit well.
Why bring in an external advisor instead of hiring a full-time CMO?
Sometimes a company needs senior judgment, structure, and leadership support before it is ready for a full-time executive hire. In other cases, the more important task is helping an existing or emerging internal leader grow into that role. External advisory can create clarity and momentum before long-term hiring decisions are made.
Is this the conversation you're in?
- Do we need a full-time CMO yet, or a stronger interim structure first?
- How do we help a promising marketing lead grow into real leadership?
- How should the founder, VP, and marketing lead divide decision-making?
- What kind of advisory support would actually build internal capability?
- How do we know when an external advisor is no longer needed?
The long version
Five years in, I wrote up what advising had taught me so far — what worked, what didn't, and when an outside advisor stops being useful.