Services //
Start-up Marketing Advisory
Is your proposition ready for the market? Let’s find out.
Proposition audits, market stress-testing, and the commercial narrative that gets early-stage businesses taken seriously by investors and customers.
In short //
- 01
Stress-test the proposition
Pressure-test your pitch against real market conditions before you launch.
- 02
Find the real opportunity
Market sizing and ideal-customer clarity so you aim at the right thing.
- 03
Investor-ready narrative
The commercial story that gets early-stage businesses taken seriously.
What I cover
- Audit of your existing proposition pack, pitch deck, or go-to-market materials
- Stress-testing the proposition against real market conditions and competitor landscape
- Market opportunity sizing and penetration analysis
- Audience definition and ideal customer profiling
- Messaging and positioning development
- Identifying the gaps between where you are and what investors, partners, or customers need to see
- A prioritised programme of work to close those gaps
What this covers //
Most start-ups have a product. Fewer have a proposition. There’s a significant difference, and it tends to show up at the worst possible moment: when you’re pitching investors, approaching your first major partners, or trying to explain what you do to the people who should be buying it.
Right for you if //
You’re pre-launch or early-stage and want an experienced outside eye on your proposition before you take it to market. Or you’ve launched, the traction isn’t what you expected, and you want to understand why. Or you’re preparing for a funding round and need your marketing story to be airtight.
Related work //
Adzemble
5.5 million UK small businesses spend real money on paid ads with no way to know whether the creative will work, and an enterprise-grade capability that could finally give them the answer, priced and positioned for them.
The Ashbrook Foundation
A brand-new grant-making foundation with a name, a founder and some money to give away, and nothing else. No brand, no website, no public voice.
Elevate by ICMP
ICMP had spent thirty years teaching musicians on campus. Elevate was the business we built to reach everyone who wasn't ready to walk through the door: courses from £15, online, taught by the people the industry actually hires.
Hobbify
An affiliate business set up from nothing: the market intelligence, the niche economics, the brand, and an AI-visible content engine. Hobbify is the independent editorial layer over the UK craft market, built to earn its commission by saying the things platforms can't credibly say about themselves.
Other services //
Fractional CMO Board-level marketing leadership on a flexible, retained basis. I set the strategy, own the numbers, manage the team and the agencies, and sit in the meetings where decisions actually get made, for an agreed number of days a month rather than a permanent hire.
Marketing Strategy Positioning, audience, channels, and a roadmap connected to revenue.
Marketing Audit An honest view of what’s working, what isn’t, and what to fix.
Team Building & Mentoring Build the marketing function your business actually needs.
AI Marketing & Adoption Use AI where it genuinely helps, safely, and built into how your team works.
Brand & Positioning Define what you stand for, who you’re for, and why you’re the right choice.
Bid Writing Bid writing, grant applications and award entries that win: millions secured.
Creative & Brand Production Concepts, campaigns and brand assets, designed and produced end to end.
PPC & Paid Media PPC and paid media accountable to pipeline, not clicks: planned, run, optimised.
SEO Consultant, AEO & GEO An SEO consultant for search engines and the AI that increasingly answers instead of them.
Video & AI Production Video from concept to cut, including AI-generated motion from static imagery.
Related reading //
Go-to-market strategy: a practical guide for founders
A go-to-market strategy is an ordered set of decisions (proposition, audience, channel and timing), not a list of launch tasks.
7 min read
How to market a startup with little or no budget
Practical, no-cost ways to market a startup: a sharp proposition, one focused channel, real customer conversations, and earned attention over paid.
6 min read
What is product-market fit, and how do you know?
What product-market fit means in practice, the honest signs you have it, and why marketing cannot fake it.
6 min read
Next //
Strategy with vision. Impact that lasts.
Start with a conversation.
Every engagement begins by understanding where you are and what you need — a clear-headed discussion.
Brighton · London · UK-wide and internationally · LinkedIn