Frequently Asked Questions

A Portfolio CMO works inside multiple companies at the same time, not as a consultant advising from the outside, but as the actual CMO. Embedded in the leadership team, owning KPIs, running or mentoring the marketing team. The difference from a full-time hire is cost and exclusivity. The work is the same.

A Fractional CMO usually bills by the hour or retainer and advises from outside the company. An Portfolio CMO is inside: in the leadership meetings, owning the pipeline number, managing or mentoring the team, reporting to the CEO. I use "Fractional CMO" on this website for SEO and LLMs. The distinction is accountability. One tracks hours. The other tracks outcomes.

"Fractional" implies a divided share of someone's time. That's not the model here. A small number of companies, each getting real embedded leadership, not a fraction of attention spread thin. Tom keeps the list to two or three active engagements. Fewer clients means more focus. That's the whole point.

Primarily B2B SaaS at Series A or B, roughly $1M to $20M ARR, with real product-market fit. The common thread is a product that works and a pipeline that isn't moving fast enough. Pre-PMF companies aren't the right fit long-term Portfolio CMO, but perhaps an advisory role. The GTM work requires a real ICP and a product customers already want.

No. The background is in B2B SaaS with a direct or inside sales motion. B2C, marketplace, consumer subscription, and agency-model businesses are outside that lane.

The value and the outputs of your team increases sharply. Most Series A companies have made a good hire who's stuck because there's no senior direction above them. They execute well inside their lane. They just don't have a map. Tom provides that layer: direction, priorities, and direct mentorship. Most founders describe it as getting two people performing instead of one.

When you have real PMF and the pipeline isn't moving at the pace the business needs. A few specific signals: your marketer is executing but nobody is setting the direction above them; you just closed a Series A and need to build a real GTM function; PLG is plateauing and you need an enterprise motion; you have a board meeting in 90 days and no clear story on how marketing is moving ARR. Any one of those is worth a conversation.

Month one is diagnostic: GTM audit, positioning review, ICP assessment, funnel health. By month two there's a 12-month roadmap with sequenced priorities. Weekly presence in leadership and pipeline meetings. Direct management or mentorship of the existing marketing team. Hiring support. Board reporting. Two to three days a week. Starts with a 90-day commitment and moves to month-to-month after that. See the full details on the Embedded CMO page.

Four weeks, fixed scope. You get a full GTM audit, ICP and competitive analysis, a positioning brief, a funnel health assessment, and a prioritized 90-day roadmap with named owners. Delivered as a written report with a live readout. Flat fee. Most clients use it as the starting point before committing to embedded work. Full details on the services page.

A founder session, sales team interviews, two to three customer conversations, a full messaging audit, funnel health review, and team structure assessment. Everything goes into a written report with ranked recommendations and an executive summary. Delivered before a live debrief. Full details on the Advisory and Audit page.

Yes. The Audit and Sprint are designed as starting points, not commitments. They give both sides a chance to work together and validate fit before a longer engagement. But they also stand on their own. No obligation to continue either way.

Usually within a week. The first 30 days are structured as a diagnostic, not an onboarding. By day 31 there's a strategy and something is already moving.

$6,000 flat. No retainer, no ongoing commitment. Four weeks from kickoff to written report and live debrief.

$2,000 a month, month-to-month. One 60-minute strategy session, async email access in between, review of one major deliverable per month, and a quarterly priority check.

The Portfolio CMO engagement is outcome-linked pricing is structured around the specific goals agreed upon at the start of the engagement. Contact info@bergercmo.ai to discuss your situation and get specifics. GTM Sprint pricing is also a flat fee contact for details.

25 years in B2B SaaS marketing. First marketing hire at Sift. In addition to Marketing, Tom led the BDR function and events which became the largest pipeline source within a year. VP Marketing at DigitalOcean through a period of significant ARR growth ~$100M-250M. Head of Marketing at BioRender, building the enterprise GTM and Marketing Growth function from scratch. VP Marketing at Bolt as the first leader brought in through a major $600M+ fundraising process. Additionally Tom has experience at post-IPO companies, Ciena, and Fortune 500 companies, Iron Mountain.Full background here.

Developer tools and cloud infrastructure at DigitalOcean. Hardware SaaS at Sift. Life sciences software at BioRender. Fintech infrastructure at Bolt. Both PLG-first companies building an enterprise motion and pure enterprise sales motions from scratch. Additionally Tom has worked at enterprise SaaS companies such as Progress Software, and logistics companies such as Iron Mountain.

The About page has the full career history, company background, and philosophy. Or just reach out directly: info@bergercmo.ai.