How to Build a High-Performing Marketing Stack for CMO Success
February 3, 2024
FRACTIONAL CMO: LOS ANGELES, CA
Los Angeles has emerged as a dynamic and vibrant hub for tech, innovation, and business. Companies like SpaceX, Snap Inc., Bird, and Netflix have disrupted their respective industries and put the city on the global map. Los Angeles' thriving startup scene and its ability to produce unicorn companies demonstrate its attractiveness as a destination for entrepreneurs and investors.
City of Angels
It’s time we look beyond Hollywood. Los Angeles, California, in it’s own right, has established itself as a thriving hotbed of tech, innovation, and business. A multitude of companies have propelled the city’s explosive growth. In fact, it is the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the U.S. according to dot.la.
Blasting Into the Future
There is perhaps no company more emblematic of that rocket like growth than SpaceX. In case you didn’t know, SpaceX (founded by Elon Musk) was first in El Segundo and then later moved to Hawthorne, CA (both in the LA metropolitan area). SpaceX has revolutionized the aerospace industry with its ambitious goal of enabling human colonization of Mars. Whether we ever make it to Mars or not, Space X has already developed groundbreaking achievements in reusable rocket technology.
I’ll never forget the first time I saw a video of a SpaceX rocket landing. So amazing I though it was a fake (playing a blast off in reverse). The “Starship” will carry the largest payload ever taken to space and is the largest rocket ever built. Currently SpaceX is the world leader in space exploration. Eat your heart out, Russians!
Snapping Up Opportunity
Another prominent company that has made waves in Los Angeles is Snapchat. With its distinct focus on ephemeral messaging and augmented reality, Snapchat has captured the attention of about 347 million Daily Active Users (DAU) worldwide. The company’s commitment to innovation and its ability to stay at the forefront of social media trends have solidified its presence. Yet another star is born in LA.
Startup Scene
According to BuiltInLA.com, there are at least 15 unicorns that hail from Southern California. The list includes Snapchat, SpaceX, Procore, Tinder, Age or Learning, The Honest Company, CrowdStrike, Cylance, Hulu, NantOmics, Razer, Tech StyleOS, Cornerstone OnDemand, and NantHealth.
Los Angeles plays host to accelerators like AmplifyLA, IdeaLab, TechStars LA, Grid110, Science Inc. Studio, MuckerLab, SAM Preccelrator and more. It’s no wonder BuiltInLA.com claims there are over 2 million tech pros and 6,300+ startups in the area.
According to LAStartups.com, hot startups to watch right now include Kernel, Ruth Health, Heal, WhatNot, Thrilling, Reel, Toucan, Subject, Crexi, Afterparty, Hidden Leaf Games, Mythical Games, Metafy, Blavity, Intro, Kitchen United, Elementary Robotics and Vanilla.
And then there is LA TechWeek (June), which always draws a large number of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.
Yes, Tinseltown
No article about Los Angeles would be complete without the obligatory tip of the hat to its entertainment and media industry. A perfect home as you might imagine for Netflix, the global streaming giant. With its innovative approach to content distribution and production, Netflix has revolutionized the entertainment landscape, challenging traditional television networks and reshaping consumer viewing habits. The company’s influence and success have continued Los Angeles’ star-studded status as the entertainment capital of the world.
Private Equity
We spoke to Andrew Pierno about Los Angeles, Co-Founder of XO Capital, a private equity firm that buys and operates B2B SaaS companies. “LA has also been an amazing place to hire talent,” he says. “Between UCLA, USC, LMU, and other colleges nearby in Orange County, there’s no shortage of talent here. Most of them would rather be here than in San Francisco, myself included!” Indeed. As Silicon Valley has lost some (though not all) of its luster, others have stepped into the spotlight.
Between UCLA, USC, LMU, and other colleges nearby in Orange County, there's no shortage of talent here.
As so there is no doubt that Los Angeles has emerged as a dynamic and vibrant hub for tech, innovation, and business. Its thriving startup scene and its ability to produce unicorn companies demonstrate its attractiveness as a destination for entrepreneurs and investors alike. With a unique blend of technology, entertainment, and media, Los Angeles continues to foster an environment of growth and creativity. It will continue to shape the future on a global scale for years to come.
Los Angeles Fractional CMOs
With all that is happening there, it’s no surprise we have a heavy number of exceptional fractional CMOs currently located in the LA area. All kinds of backgrounds representing a wide range of industries. Their availability will change constantly. Never fear. Our roster is currently expanding at a rate of 5-7 superstars per week +/-. The best thing to do is to contact us and explain your exact needs so we can research who we currently have available that will be the best fit.
That said, IMHO, domain expertise is more important than location. I wrote an entire article about it called “Choosing a Fractional CMO Agency.”
Also, here is a link where you can learn more about our pricing structure: Hire a Fractional CMO
Ready to Book a Call?
Ready to talk about how a Fractional CMO can help your business? Click the button below and schedule a free strategy session.
Domain Knowledge Matters
When you’re looking for help, it’s important to look beyond a big agency brand name. The best talent often doesn’t report to an agency. They don’t have to. These individuals might not have as big online presence, but with a matchmaking service like GROKKETSHIP, you can find them.
Here’s why it’s a bad idea to only look at the company’s reputation:
Let’s say you hire someone from that company, like Jane Doe. What really matters is what Jane Doe knows about your needs and how she can help your company grow. If the company is famous for helping with cybersecurity and software, but you run a local car parts store, their reputation might not mean much for you. It’s easy to paint with a broad brush and say you have experts in every industry, but let’s be realistic. Domain knowledge matters.
You should focus on the qualifications of the specific person you’re hiring, not just an agency’s reputation. If you remove all the good things you heard about the company that are NOT related to your industry, there might not be much left.
I’m not saying it’s okay to work with a company with a bad reputation, but you should look beyond just the company’s name. Understand what the person you’re hiring can do for YOU and your specific needs.
Take a look at our articles titled A Fractional CMO for Startups, Unlocking the Benefits of a B2B Fractional CMO, and Why a SaaS Fractional CMO is a No-Brainer.
Ready to Book a Call?
Ready to talk about how a Fractional CMO can help your business? Click the button below and schedule a free strategy session.
Example Fractional CMOs from Southern California (partial list)
CMO 28: $18K mo. / 4 mo. term
- Founder of highly successful 5-year-old fractional CMO business
- Author, guest lecturer, executive coach and brand strategy consultant in the film, media and entertainment business
- Led global TV franchise development to $4B in global retail sales
- Drove $1B in sales and additional $500M in franchising for film franchise marketing company
- Senior VP of Marketing for $70B media and entertainment company
- Led branding and P&L for some of the biggest TV shows in the world
- Senior VP of Marketing for $7B media and entertainment company
- Increased agency’s new business by 25%
- VP of Marketing for $100B media and entertainment company
- Drove $10B in new sales
- Brand reposition created $50M in retail toys
- Drove over $50M in additional retail sales at Walmart
CMO 20: $18K mo. / 4 mo. term
- Master D2C growth strategist hails from CA.
- CMO for D2C real estate investment coaching company.
- Growth improvement from $1m to $170M annual over 15 years.
- $45M annual marketing budget.
- Annually: 4M outbound calls, 5,000 events, 156K service tickets, 6M organic site visits
- Was the first non-founder employee to a now 500+ person company
- Grew department from 1 to 9.
- Marketer of the Year for Direct Response Marketing
- SaaS – created learning platform with 80K users
- Founder of mortgage lending company
- $0 to 8M in 5 years
- Strategy, analytics, team building, stakeholder engagement, direct mail, digital and social, TV ads, PPC, SEO, SEM, brand and UI/UX strategy.
- Software dev background.
CMO 5: $18K mo. / 4 mo. term
- Brilliant introvert with Australian accent resides in So.Cal
- Ex-Managing Director and Global Lead of one of the most heavily awarded media agencies in CA. Manages a staff of 100+ with a special focus on:
- C-Level B2B client engagement
- SEO and SEM
- Team structure and development
- Platform partnerships
- Full P&L accountability
- Agency background provides broad industry experience B2B, B2C and D2C
- Created massive turnaround as CMO for enterprise level D2C in the vacation package, travel and cruise line industry
- General Manager for Compass in Real Estate, B2C
- Social media and channel strategy expert, having managed over $1 billion in search and social media budgets.
CMO 6: $18K mo. / 4 mo. term
- Highly successful CMO of a 300 store company (home renovation product), Direct to Consumer.
- Transitioned company from all brick and mortar to more of a D2C model, yet expanded total store count
- Special focus on GROWTH marketing and LEADS
- 20-30% Growth YoY for every year he was there.
- 50% close rate on all leads.
- Founded and ran several companies, including a marketing agency.
- Director at the American Homeowners Association.
- Brilliantly smart, worked on a patented marketing system for the AHA with a heavy metrics focus.
- Currently has his own fractional CMO consultancy business.
- Omnicron fellowship winner, and an MBA student Wharton School of business.
- 20+ years of experience at Director level or above.
Need A Few More Reasons to Hire a Fractional CMO?
1. Scale your business with someone who has done it before in your industry
2. Hire true C-Level strategic leadership, far beyond marketing managers and individual contributors with myopic skill sets.
3. Get full-time results with part-time costs.
4. Avoid bias. Marketing agencies might prioritize “solutions” that happen to utilize the resources they happen to have in-house.
5. Focus on your main business while a pro handles marketing.
6. Deploy a comprehensive Go To Market (GTM) strategy
7. Create systems to efficiently manage marketing and prioritize tasks.
8. Audit your ICP and your customer acquisition channels.
9. Get fresh ideas and expertise from someone with industry knowledge.
10. Improve communication and efficiency in your business.
11. Hire a great marketing team.
Our basic process involves onboarding, improving customer segmentation, auditing marketing channels, setting clear goals, creating loops for learning, and developing a comprehensive marketing strategy. In about 4 weeks we will build out a scalable growth engine. We will help automate processes and monitor data to ensure growth. Our guiding principles include focusing on customer needs, using data analytics, accelerating growth, and building long-term relationships with customers.
Maybe it’s worth a conversation to learn more?
Ready to Book a Call?
Ready to talk about how a Fractional CMO can help your business? Click the button below and schedule a free strategy session.
Author Bio
Benjamin Arritt
Global B2B sales & marketing executive that loves a fast-paced, customer-centric, high tech entrepreneurial environment. We help 50+ fractional CFOs and 93+ fractional CMOs find more work. Hire someone who has already done what you are trying to do. Follow me on X: @grokketship
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