Justine HerlinSenior, hands-on marketing ownership for seed and early Series A startups with traction. I build the function across positioning, GTM, demand, systems and measurement, then keep it running lean as the company grows.
Direct answer
A Fractional Founding Marketer builds and runs a startup's first marketing function on a part-time, embedded basis, with capacity matched to the mandate. Unlike an agency or a junior hire, the same person owns positioning, channels, systems and execution end to end, so the company gets a working marketing system instead of scattered activity.
Why this service exists
The titles are less important than the work your company actually needs.
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| Founding Marketer | Fractional CMO | Agency / Specialist | Marketing Manager | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary activity | Building the function from zero | Strategic leadership | Producing specified deliverables | Executing within a system |
| Best stage | Seed / early Series A | Series B+, existing team | Brief is clear, someone internal owns the system | When the system already exists |
| Delivers | Marketing strategy and execution | Direction, team oversight | Campaigns, content or ads against a brief | Execution within a playbook |
| AI workflows | Builds and runs the AI workflows | Directs others to use AI tools | Uses AI tools internally, not handed to the client | Inherits the existing stack |
| Builds independently | Yes | No, needs a team | No, needs a brief and an internal owner | No, needs a brief |
What gets built
There is no universal startup marketing checklist. What gets built depends on the product, market, ACV, sales motion, customers, existing team and what is already working.
The underlying system usually needs the following seven layers. Each summary expands to the full scope.
I use existing customer evidence, interviews, sales insight and market research to clarify who buys, why they buy, which signals point to stronger fit, who should not be prioritized and where the biggest uncertainties remain.
That means category and competitive context, customer problem, value proposition, proof, objections, messaging hierarchy and language that can be tested in real channels.
Positioning only becomes useful when it reaches the market and helps real conversations move forward. Depending on the business, I personally build or direct website copy, case studies, founder and company content, sales decks, one-pagers, launch material, email sequences and objection-handling assets.
Early-stage teams cannot execute every plausible growth idea. A major part of the work is deciding: what matters now? Which assumptions need evidence? Which customer segments deserve focus? Which channels are worth testing? What should explicitly not be done yet? Prioritization is part of the deliverable.
Once the fundamentals are strong enough, hypotheses need to meet the market. Depending on the business, that can mean content, SEO, outbound, paid acquisition, partnerships, community or other channels, each tested for useful signal before more time and budget go into it.
Marketing cannot become systematic if every decision is based on anecdotes. That means CRM, lead capture, analytics, attribution, campaign tracking, dashboards, reporting, and automation where it genuinely removes manual work. The business requirement comes first. The tool comes second.
Tools and campaigns are not enough to make marketing run. It needs an operating rhythm: priorities, reporting, experiment tracking, documentation, decision rationale, reusable workflows and clear ownership of recurring work.
A leaner operating model
A small internal team can own a broad marketing function when systems, technology and specialist capacity expand the work around it.
What the company needs marketing to own.
How the internal team expands capacity.
Who owns the function and remains accountable.
How it works
Fractional describes the amount of capacity you are buying. It does not mean fractional ownership of the outcome.
The engagement runs on a repeating cycle rather than a fixed project plan: diagnose, prioritize, build, run, learn, adjust, reinforce. Capacity is matched to the mandate and embedded directly in your Slack, tools and meetings. Fractional engagements have a three-month minimum; most mandates run around two years.
Capacity is matched to the mandate. I work embedded in your Slack, tools and meetings, not as an advisor who joins a monthly call and leaves recommendations behind.
I work closely enough with the founder and the people carrying customer context to understand what is changing and stay involved in the work those decisions create.
Capacity is matched to the mandate based on the level of ownership, complexity and execution required. I work embedded directly in your Slack, tools and meetings rather than on a fixed advisory cadence.
Three months minimum. Most run around two years, evolving as the company's priorities change.
The engagement moves into a repeating cycle: run, learn, adjust, reinforce, so the system keeps compounding instead of sitting still.
For the right mission, yes. Some engagements convert to a full-time role when the scope justifies it.
Some engagements continue on an advisory basis to support that hire and transition ownership fully to the team.
Proof
Les Ateliers Hauts-de-France
NexTrend
Transport & Environment
Investment
This is senior embedded marketing ownership, scoped to the mandate.
The engagement prioritizes the decisions and highest-leverage work first, with capacity increasing only when the mandate requires it.
If the company mainly needs isolated execution or a few hours of advice each month, this is probably not the right model.
Fractional engagement
€6,000/mo
Scope and capacity are matched to the mandate.
Fee reflects the level of ownership and complexity required. Larger embedded or interim engagements are scoped separately.
It is set for the mandate and reviewed if the scope, ownership or complexity materially changes.
Most mandates continue on a rolling monthly basis. Some later shift to an advisory retainer as an internal hire takes over.
If this sounds close to what you need, we can talk it through. Book a call (opens in a new tab)
Fit
Testimonials
In their own words, from the leaders I have worked alongside.
Women as One
What I could not have expected is that she would completely transform the way we operate. Justine possesses an impressive combination of a strategic mindset and incredibly detailed execution.
Rebecca OrtegaManaging Director
We hired Justine to support marketing and digital efforts for our start up organization. What I could not have expected is that she would completely transform the way we operate. Justine possesses an impressive combination of a strategic mindset and incredibly detailed execution. She's highly analytical, hyper organized and wonderfully creative. She's also scrupulously fair and thoughtful, which stands out as being exceptional for a contractor. Any organization would be lucky to have her keen eye and deep well of experience at their disposal. I know we are!
Transport & Environment
We have worked with Justine on several projects (selecting and introducing a new CRM, then a project and task management solution) and have really enjoyed the collaboration. Justine is really proactive, systematic and focused on our needs.
Jens MüllerDeputy Director, Clean Cities Campaign
We have worked with Justine on several projects (selecting and introducing a new CRM, then a project and task management solution) and have really enjoyed the collaboration. Justine is really proactive, systematic and focused on our needs. I can highly recommend her for this kind of projects, and would like to thank her for her invaluable support. Merci beaucoup!
Mantu
It’s rare that you come across standout talent like Justine. ‘Ridiculously efficient’ is the phrase that comes to my mind when I think about our work together.
Anouck HoetDigital Marketing Director
It’s rare that you come across standout talent like Justine. ‘Ridiculously efficient’ is the phrase that comes to my mind when I think about our work together. Justine expertly filled the role of social media strategist for my digital team. I had the pleasure of working with Justine for 1,5 year, collaborating on several projects. Her ability to juggle multiple projects is impressive as is her solid work ethic. She is a dedicated, forward-thinking with a strong hand-on mentality. And ofcourse her enthusiasm is a true asset to the team. As a team member or a manager, Justine earns my highest recommendation. Any company will be lucky to have her!
Get in touch
If your company has traction but marketing still lacks one senior owner, we can use a 30-minute call to understand what exists, what is missing and whether a Fractional Founding Marketer is the right next step.