What a Fractional Growth Director Does
A fractional growth director brings systematic, data-driven expertise to scaling customer acquisition and revenue. They typically own:
Acquisition
- Channel strategy and mix
- Paid acquisition optimization
- Organic growth initiatives
- CAC reduction strategies
Activation
- Onboarding optimization
- Time-to-value reduction
- Conversion rate optimization
- User experience improvements
Retention
- Churn analysis and reduction
- Engagement optimization
- Lifecycle marketing
- Customer success alignment
Experimentation
- A/B testing frameworks
- Growth experiment design
- Data analysis and insights
- Growth model development
When to Hire a Fractional Growth Director
Post Product-Market Fit
You've validated your product and need to scale acquisition efficiently.
Growth Plateau
Initial growth has slowed and you need fresh expertise to find new levers.
Unit Economics Challenge
CAC is too high, LTV is too low—need someone to optimize the growth engine.
Building Growth Team
Hiring growth marketers and need experienced leadership to structure and lead the function.
Fundraising Preparation
Need to demonstrate growth capability and improve metrics before your next round.
Fractional Growth Director Costs
The AARRR Framework
Fractional growth directors often work within the Reforge-style growth framework, addressing each stage of the customer journey:
Acquisition
How do users find you? Channel mix, paid/organic, partnerships.
Activation
Do users have a great first experience? Onboarding, time-to-value.
Retention
Do users come back? Engagement, churn reduction, stickiness.
Revenue
How do you monetize? Pricing, upsells, expansion revenue.
Referral
Do users tell others? Virality, referral programs, word-of-mouth.
What to Look for in a Fractional Growth Director
- Stage experience: Has scaled companies at your stage (seed, Series A, etc.)
- Channel expertise: Deep knowledge of channels relevant to your business
- Data fluency: Can build models, run experiments, and draw insights
- Technical capability: Understands product and can work with engineering
- Experimentation mindset: Hypothesis-driven, comfortable with failure
Summary: A fractional growth director provides part-time (1-3 days/week) growth leadership at £700-£1,200/day—ideal for post-PMF startups scaling acquisition and improving unit economics.