Flexible Marketing Leadership Built for Growth, Scale, and Portfolio Value

Sparkline Growth delivers senior marketing leadership designed to systematically eliminate pipeline friction, protect capital, and grow leads and revenue.

“Kathy is a strategic marketer who knows the value of partnering with sales. By taking the time to listen to inside sales' needs, Kathy built a lead-generation engine where marketing identified, qualified, and handed off quality MQLs to the Inside Sales Team, doubling our SQLs. Ongoing communication ensured that sales and marketing remained aligned and targets were surpassed.”
— Scott Lill

Right-Sized Marketing Leadership to Meet Next Phase Demands

Choose the level of operational leadership your organization needs to eliminate pipeline friction, protect capital, and drive repeatable revenue.

Here’s how I work with companies to build more from their marketing

Fractional CMO Leadership

Hands-on executive leadership for private equity portfolios and high-growth B2B companies

When your business outgrows basic marketing tactics and needs seasoned executive leadership to create a sales engine, hiring a permanent CMO to start the department from first principles stalls momentum while eating away at your budget. As a seasoned Fractional CMO, I step inside the organization ready to lead the marketing function and connect stakeholders across the organization at the pace you’re already moving.

Best Fit

Private equity portfolio companies scaling toward a founder exit or launching post-merger integrations
Growth-stage B2B firms transitioning past founder-led sales to dedicated commercial teams
Companies seeking an experienced leader to direct an existing marketing team and manage outside production talent

What’s Included

Growth-Focused Marketing Strategy: Every engagement starts with a targeted diagnostic assessment to identify friction, evaluate resources, and prioritize capital deployment. This includes defining your ICP and buyer journey, creating playbooks and processes to create a high-converting pipeline.
Sales & Marketing Alignment: Objective lead qualification criteria (MQL/SQL), clean handoffs, and mutual accountability that drive higher close rates
Objective Idea Prioritization: Deployment of FOCUS FILTER™ proprietary decision tool to score initiatives against resource demand, timeline, reach, and speed of ROI before capital is spent
Execution Oversight: Direct internal staff and deploy vetted external specialists to execute all strategic initiatives.
Attribution & Board Reporting: Closed-loop reporting that ties marketing spend directly to pipeline generation, revenue metrics, and EBITDA

Typical Engagement

6 to 12 months of embedded engagement followed by strategic advisory support on retainer

Growth & Revenue Roadmap

A targeted diagnostic assessment to identify friction, evaluate resources, and prioritize capital deployment

Before committing to full-time hires, major agency retainers, or uninformed ad spend, it is crucial to gain objective clarity on what is already working and where revenue engines are likely to stall. Over an intensive few weeks, I audit your systems, evaluate brand positioning across teams, and review sales-marketing cohesion to build a clear execution blueprint.

Best Fit

CEOs preparing for an aggressive scaling phase, new funding round, or major commercial restructuring
PE operating partners conducting early 100-day operational evaluations of new platform assets
Companies seeking an objective third-party audit before setting annual marketing budgets

What’s Included

Pipeline & Handoff Audit: Review lead qualification stages, conversion friction, and sales team feedback to uncover pipeline leaks
Brand & Messaging Clarity Assessment: Evaluate core value propositions for sales impact and buyer resonance
Tech Stack & Attribution Review: Assess marketing and CRM tools to ensure data integrity and actionable pipeline reporting
Prioritized Action Plan: A phased 90-day to 1-year execution roadmap with clear resource, budget, and timeline estimates for leadership and board review

Typical Engagement

2 to 4 weeks of focused stakeholder interviews, asset reviews, and pipeline analysis

Strategic Marketing Advisor

Retained executive counsel for CEOs, PE operating partners, and in-house marketing directors

Secure high-level marketing guidance from an experienced executive sounding board without the commitment of outsourced CMO services. In an advisory role, I serve as an objective partner to help pressure-test campaigns, evaluate agency proposals, audit performance metrics, and steer high-stakes commercial transitions.

Best Fit

Companies with an internal or external marketing team that lacks senior executive leadership
PE operating partners seeking an experienced eye across multiple portfolio companies
Leadership teams navigating a critical repositioning, rebrand, or agency evaluation

What’s Included

Executive Sounding Board: Regular strategic sessions with the CEO, COO, or PE operating partner to evaluate ideas through the FOCUS FILTER™ decision tool
Vendor & Budget Vetting: Objective reviews of external agency proposals, software investments, and marketing budget requests to optimize marketing spend
High-Stakes Project Oversight: Senior guidance on major strategic milestones, such as post-acquisition rebrands, website overhauls, or commercial team restructuring
Internal Team Mentorship: Executive guidance to elevate the strategic capabilities of internal teams

Typical Engagement

Monthly advisory retainer with defined review cadences

Build a Marketing Foundation That Scales Revenue

Let’s review your current systems, pinpoint where missing infrastructure is slowing growth, and outline a clear plan to drive predictable revenue.