A founder-led, mission-driven company, small or early-stage (roughly 2 to 50 people), that needs to build and launch its next piece of digital marketing but can't quite name what's missing. I find the gap and own it end to end. Often that's an influencer program, a first marketing function, or a launch campaign: I build it, launch it fast, and either train their team to run it or stay on part-time fractionally and run it myself. I'm especially drawn to consumer, wellness, and lifestyle brands.
The problem usually comes first, and the founder can't always name the fix. That's my job.
"We made something great and the right people don't know it exists."
→ Influencer program
Credible creators putting them in front of an audience that already trusts them.
"We know we should be showing up online, but our content and email are sporadic at best."
→ A content + email engine
A steady presence that builds an audience, not a weekly scramble.
"People ask AI tools about our category now, and we're nowhere in the answers."
→ GEO: visibility in AI search
They show up when buyers ask AI, not just Google.
"We're launching and it's chaos. We don't have the muscle."
→ Go-to-market / launch
A launch that actually ships, coordinated and on time.
"Marketing is a hundred half-finished things and I'm drowning."
→ First digital marketing function + systems
It runs on a system, off the founder's plate.
Underneath all of them: motion, but not momentum. Real effort and a real product, but the next thing that needs to get built and launched isn't happening, and they can't justify a full-time hire. I find that gap, build the fix, and get it running.
I'm the left-hand partner for founders and lean teams. I embed as an operator and own the build end to end. Hands-on, not a strategy deck. I ship fast, and from there it's their call: train their team to run it, or keep me on to run it myself. Most people in this work quietly engineer dependency. I would rather earn the ongoing role than lock them into it.
The whole piece, embedded. Fractional CMOs advise but don't execute. Agencies pitch a senior team, then hand the work to junior staff. I'm the senior operator doing the actual build, in the room with them, and can stay on part-time as long as they need.
Deep community and digital roots. I began my digital marketing career in 1998 and served 14 years on the advisory board of SXSW Interactive, through the formative years of building online. I've been the paid, pitched creator myself, so I build relationship-first, not transaction-first.
Seasoned, and AI-fluent. Nearly three decades in marketing, paired with fluency in AI, so a small team punches above its weight and every dollar stretches. GEO, getting found in AI search, rests on exactly that depth of content experience.
Recent builds, from zero to running.
Built an influencer program from scratch for a consumer brand (outreach, seeding, reporting), operational within 30 days.
Launched a new co-working concept (brand, website, event programming, community), live within weeks of starting.
Set up everything the founders needed to launch their wellness coaching business: built and designed the website, podcast, and email newsletter, and every tool behind them.
"WOW. I got lucky. Sooz jumped in, grasped the idea, helped research, built our site, set up our tools, took command of social media, helped design the product, edited, used her network to refer several other people we worked with (design, UX, coding, hula hoopers), project managed, supported advisors and clients, ran operations, and did this all hours because we are in 5 time zones, and all in a high-energy breathless way, just like this sentence."
— Dan, Founder and CEO, CircleSpace
Swap the name and send. Pick whichever fits how you'd naturally reach out. Just replace [Name] with the person you're referring.
Subject: Intro: [Name] x Sooz
[Name], meet Sooz. She's a fractional consultant who builds and launches what you're missing (an influencer program, a first marketing function, a launch) from zero to live. From there she either trains your team to run it or stays on part-time as it grows. Based on what you're working on, I think you two should connect. I'll let you take it from here.
You can book a time with her directly at sooz.com/meet-sooz.
Her LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ohhellosooz.
Hey [Name], I know someone who could help with your marketing, or getting a launch off the ground. Her name's Sooz, a fractional consultant who builds and launches this kind of thing from scratch, with the option to stay on part-time once it's running. Here's her LinkedIn if you want a look: linkedin.com/in/ohhellosooz. Want me to connect you?
Have you met Sooz? She's a fractional consultant who builds and launches marketing and programs from zero and can stay on part-time. I think she's worth 30 minutes of your time. Book here: sooz.com/meet-sooz.
Thank you for thinking of me. If a founder comes to mind, an introduction means a lot, and I'll take good care of them. They can also book a call with me directly.