Growth
Marketing, Sales, Product and Retention as one Revenue system
Growth, operated — not advised.
I run the full growth function, as the owner, not the consultant. Twenty-two years operating growth across regulated enterprise, AI-native categories, and platform plays. Most recent build: LangOptima.
The shape of the problem
Most growth functions I've worked in were split — a marketing lead owning demand, a sales lead owning pipeline, a success lead owning renewals, and no single person accountable for the number that connects them. From what I've seen, that seam is usually where growth suffers: acquisition pours into a leaky bucket, the motion is wrong before the tactics are, and everyone optimizes their own slice.
I don't know whether that's the picture at your company. The first call is one question: what does growth leadership look like there today, and what needs to be true in twelve to eighteen months that isn't true now?
What I actually do
I operate. I live in your Slack, your CRM, and your planning tools, and I run a weekly cadence with your CEO. I own the function and the outcome for the term we agree — not a deck and a quarterly check-in.
The difference from a consultant is ownership. A consultant advises and leaves. I own the number.
How I work
Five principles, applied in order:
- Own the full surface. Growth runs from demand to referral. I won't carve off one channel and call it growth leadership — the whole surface or none of it.
- Diagnose the motion before the tactic. Product-led, sales-led, hybrid, platform, partner-led. The wrong motion is the root cause behind most growth plans that stall, in my experience.
- Retention before acquisition. A leaky bucket can't be filled. I read the retention math first; if it's broken, more acquisition spend destroys value rather than creating it.
- Cut first, add second. Most growth orgs I've seen carry more channels, more tooling, and more headcount than the strategy needs. Subtraction comes before addition.
- Operate, don't advise. I work inside the team's tools, not from the outside.
The seven pillars I own
1) Demand: Category narrative, positioning, content authority, discovery across AI surfaces
2) Acquisition: Ideal-customer definition, outbound architecture, inbound funnel, account-based motion, paid mix, partner pipeline
3) Activation: Onboarding, first-value engineering, trial-to-paid or pilot-to-production
4) Conversion: Sales process, deal mechanics, ROI cases, objection handling, pricing
5) Retention: Customer-health model, churn-risk identification, renewal motion, success-org design
6) Expansion: Net revenue retention, account growth, upgrade triggers, cross-sell
7) Referral: Advocacy, partner referrals, community-driven distribution
Splitting this across a marketing chief and a revenue chief who don't share a number is, from what I've seen, how the function suffers. One owner keeps it whole.
How to engage
Five ways to work together, plus a day rate and one target outcome above all of them. We calibrate scope and terms together on the first call.
- Growth Diagnostic: A two-week senior read of the growth function: where it stands, what to fix first, and a documented next step. One executive-ready document at the end. The fastest way to find out whether bringing me in is the right call.
- 90-day Growth Sprint: A hard-stop season. Diagnose, decide, and ship one tangible growth result: motion named, retention addressed, a north-star metric and its inputs set, and a written handover so the work outlives the engagement.
- Fractional Chief Growth Officer (CGO): Recurring operating leadership. I embed one to two days a week, run a weekly CEO cadence, and own the pillars we agree. Available on three-, six-, and twelve-month terms.
- Conference Concierge: I attend industry conferences on your behalf; from a market-intelligence read to running your floor presence to full proxy representation.
- Growth Advisor: A lighter monthly relationship for earlier-stage founders: a standing call, async access, and a quarterly growth review. Cash or equity.
Day rate is available for executive offsites, board prep, or a single-day operating review.
A full-time CGO seat: if you're hiring for it, say so.
The longer you commit, the lower the rate
Pricing is set on the first call based on fit. As a guide, the deeper the commitment, the lower the effective rate against my day rate:
- 90-day Sprint: Project, ~15% lower
- Fractional CGO: Three months, ~25% lower
- Fractional CGO: Six months, ~30% lower
- Fractional CGO: Twelve months. ~35% lower
- Full-time seat: Salaried, ~55% lower
The day rate is the most granular way to bring me in; everything else rewards commitment. Exact terms are scoped together.
What the first 90 days look like
- Day 30 — A one-page diagnostic to the CEO: five findings, three recommendations, one decision that's yours to make.
- Day 60 — Motion named. North-star metric defined with three input metrics and named owners. Concurrent initiatives cut by half. A twelve-month team plan signed.
- Day 90 — The plan in motion. One tangible growth result shipped. Reporting cadence operational, and a written playbook so the discipline holds whether I stay or hand it over.
In their words
"Edwin has a deep understanding of marketing and growth strategies and a strong ability to leverage product data to drive measurable outcomes. His leadership during a high-velocity, month-long marketing push across products at Move AI accelerated growth and delivered clear results."
Deeptaroop Majumdar — Cloud/DevOps/MLOps Engineer, Move AI
"I had the pleasure of working with Edwin across a particularly intense online business build. He helped me in many different ways to pull everything together and ensure we reached our goals in the most cost- and time-efficient way. I highly recommend his services."
Jane Bayler — Founder, Chosen First System and The Pocket MBA
"Edwin's transfer to the United Kingdom will prove a considerable challenge for me. He will be greatly missed, and I reckon it will be nearly impossible to find a suitable replacement. Without hesitation, I recommend him. Frankly, you'd be crazy not to hire him."
Shane Granger — Director of Marketing and Public Relations, AICF
Questions I get
Why not just hire a head of marketing or a VP of sales?
Because growth is the full surface, not one channel. Splitting demand-through-referral across two leaders who don't share a number is, from what I've seen, where most growth functions break.
How is this different from a growth consultant?
I operate. I live in your tools and run a weekly cadence with your CEO. Consultants advise and move on; I own the function and the outcome for the term we agree.
Do you take equity?
For operating retainers, cash with optional equity. For earlier-stage relationships, the Growth Advisor track is built for equity.
What happens after the engagement?
Every engagement leaves a written playbook and a reporting cadence, so the discipline holds whether I stay, convert to the next mode, or hand over.
Close
One question on the first call: what does growth leadership look like at your company today, and what needs to be true twelve to eighteen months from now that isn't true today?
Book a discovery call — fit before terms.
Where LangOptima fits
LangOptima is what I built: through a partner we have an AI-native enterprise knowledge-graph platform, taken from zero to vertical pilots in regulated industries. On this page it's a case study — proof that I've owned the full growth surface as an operator, not a slide about it.
If your actual need is a knowledge graph for enterprise data, that's a separate conversation and I'll point you to it. This page is about growth leadership. Here's other ways how LangOptima can help you in regards to growth:
Go-To-Market (GTM)
We have experts who can help your company launch locally or internationally, depending on your needs. We will help define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and help build your messaging and positioning. We can create playbooks in-collaboration with your Product and Engineering teams to enable your Sales and Marketing teams.
Cutting Edge Technology
We use the latest Marketing Technology (MarTech) and RevOps strategies and tactics to power scalable modern workflow for your inbound and outbound activities.
Digital Marketing Strategy
In an age of sophisticated automation and personalization technology, the starting point is a documented digital marketing strategy that reflects the who, what, when, and how at the intersection of the buyer’s journey and your marketing and sales objectives.
Web Development/Design
With our partners, we can quickly create powerful websites without the usual exorbitant upfront cost. We pair that with professional design that enhances the user experience while never losing sight of performance and conversion.
Content and Copy Creation
Our pioneering approach to crafting words that work keeps you in step with the constantly changing digital landscape while expanding the power of your brand. Our expertise in text, audio, video, and infographic production will fuel your specifically tailored digital marketing strategy.
Seach Engine Optimization
Google loves content, and we create content that people concurrently love as well. We can also help with a myriad of SEO challenges that can limit your performance in search engine results, all while never losing sight of the fact that conversion is still the goal, not just raw traffic.
Social Media Marketing
Your prospect base is an audience with audiences of their own, thanks to social media. We expertly marry content to social media in a strategic manner that develops authority, influence, and leadership, while also expanding brand awareness and direct conversion.
Digital Advertising
The traffic game is constantly changing, and search and social media are increasingly pay-to-play. When it comes to PPC, social advertising, and digital display, our strategies ensure near-term return on investment, while simultaneously building you an enduring audience asset over time.
