Growth leadership for consumer apps finding their first real users.
I have spent 15+ years growing consumer products in gaming, social, and dating, from a team of three to a $12M+ budget. I work with early-stage founders as a part-time marketing leader, so you get that experience without a full-time CMO hire.
How is marketing a consumer app different?
Consumer apps win or lose on a few things B2B marketing rarely has to think about. You are marketing to individuals, often on a small budget, and your growth has to come from people wanting to use the product and tell others about it. The work is finding the audience that cares, getting them in the door without overspending, and making sure they stay. A fractional CMO with consumer experience helps you sequence that work, so you spend your time and money on the right problem first.
How I help consumer app founders.
Find your audience
Audience research and user personas that tell you who the product is really for, where they spend time, and what makes them care.
Win your first users
A plan for the first few thousand users, built around viral and organic tactics and creators and communities, and designed to work on lean budgets.
Creator and community growth
Sourcing, recruiting, and partnering with creators, and growing communities that build trust, engagement, and word of mouth.
Paid acquisition that pays back
Performance marketing and channel strategy, with a focus on finding cost-effective acquisition and cutting what is not working.
Activation and retention
Getting people from download to real use, and keeping them. Many consumer apps have a bigger problem after the install than before it.
Metrics and board updates
The numbers that tell you what is working, and clear updates for your team and your board.
Common starting points.
You have a product and no audience yet
We define who you are building for, find where they are, and plan the first users you want.
You are getting installs, but people do not stick
We look at the whole funnel and find where people drop off, so you fix the right thing before you spend more.
Growth depends on one channel
We build a channel mix that does not fall apart when one source slows down.
I have done this in consumer products.
Head of Marketing
Drove a viral TikTok strategy that acquired 6M users and reached 600K MAU on an $8K/month budget. Backyard was acquired by Discord.
Co-founder and CMO
Launched a dating app with a team of three and acquired 300K users, leading to an acqui-hire by if(we).
The Meet Group
Repositioned a dating app into a live-streaming entertainment platform, generating $55M in incremental revenue.
Performance marketing
Helped establish the growth performance function, built the performance marketing team, and managed a $12M+ budget.
Product marketing lead
Was the product marketing lead and led the go-to-market for the launch of Activities.
Consumer app growth, answered.
How do I get the first users for a consumer app on a small budget?
Start with a specific audience, not everyone. Then focus on channels where you can learn cheaply, such as organic and viral content, creators, and communities, before you commit real money to paid ads. I have done this on small budgets, including a viral TikTok strategy that grew to 600K MAU on $8K a month.
Why do consumer apps need different marketing than B2B?
Consumer buyers decide quickly, often on feeling, and rarely have a sales conversation. That puts more weight on positioning, creative, community, and word of mouth, and on keeping people after the first download.
When should a consumer startup bring in a fractional CMO?
Usually when marketing matters but nobody senior owns it. That might be before launch, when you are trying to find your first audience, or when installs are coming in and growth has stalled.
Which kinds of consumer products do you work with?
Gaming, social, dating, edtech, fintech, healthcare, and media, from pre-seed through Series B.
How do we get started?
Send me a note and we will talk through where you are and what you need. If you would rather start with one focused question, you can book a paid session through Hubble. Pricing for ongoing work depends on scope, so we will cover that on our first call.
Let's talk about your users.
Tell me what you are building and where growth is stuck. We will figure out whether a fractional CMO is the right move.