FITZGERALD Growth     Consulting

Build Right. Grow Fast.

Fractional CMO Services for Lower Middle Market Businesses & PE Firms

Strategy  ·  Foundation  ·  Performance

Our Services Start a Conversation
Who We Are

Fitzgerald Growth Consulting is a fractional CMO practice that helps lower middle market businesses and private equity firms close the gap between what a company is worth and how it shows up in the market.

The Problem We Solve

The Professionalization Gap

In the lower middle market, most businesses are good at what they do. They've survived. Many have thrived.

But there is a persistent, costly gap between what these companies are worth and how they present themselves in the market. Born from reactive marketing, unclear positioning, and no strategic foundation — it's the enemy we fight together.

Your competitors aren't better than you. They just look better.

Let's Talk
What the Gap Actually Costs You

The distance between what your business is worth and how the market perceives it suppresses revenue. It compresses exit multiples. It makes add-on integration harder than it needs to be. It hands market share to competitors who simply look more professional.

Unprofessional or outdated brands don't build trust — and in the lower middle market, trust is the currency that wins deals, customers, and exit multiples.

"Trust isn't claimed — it's signaled. When your brand reflects the real quality of your business, the market believes you. When it doesn't, they wonder what else is off."
Why FGC

The FGC Edge

Strategy First

We don't turn on the faucet until the pipes are in place. Before a dollar goes to media, the strategy, messaging, and brand must be built correctly. This is how we prevent the most common and costly marketing mistake.

PE-Calibrated Perspective

Our methodology was built inside a PE environment with nearly $1B AUM. We understand what drives exit multiples, aids add-on integration, and moves portfolio performance. We speak operator, GP, and LP.

A Proven Process Built for Reality

We don't show up with idealized timelines that collapse in week three. Our foundational framework is designed around real-world constraints — feedback loops, competing priorities, busy schedules.

"We are operators first. Direct, honest, and accountable to outcomes — not just recommendations."

Start the Conversation

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Brad Fitzgerald — Founder, Fitzgerald Growth Consulting
Founder

Brad Fitzgerald

Fractional CMO  ·  PE Operating Partner

While serving as a marketing operating partner for a lower middle market private equity firm with nearly $1 billion AUM, Brad developed a growth approach focused on professionalizing portfolio company brands to drive improved exit multiples, smoother add-on integration, and stronger performance marketing outcomes.

That framework — tested across industries, refined through real cycles, and built for the reality of how LMM businesses actually operate — is the foundation of what Fitzgerald Growth Consulting brings to private equity firms, portfolio companies, and owner-operated businesses today.

Guided by Christian values and the call to serve others first, Brad approaches every engagement with honesty, accountability, and a bias toward outcomes over activity.

Work with Brad
What We Do

Services

Our fractional CMO engagements are built around what the client actually needs. We start with access, audit, and a clear-eyed assessment of where the gaps are.

Fractional CMO
Embedded Marketing Leadership

Accountable marketing leadership on a fractional basis. We attend meetings, work directly with your people, manage vendors and agencies, and are responsible for results — not just recommendations.

  • Strategy, messaging, and brand foundation
  • Foundational framework
  • Performance marketing activation
  • Vendor and agency management
  • Annual marketing planning and reporting
Learn More Bring Brad In
Diligence & Analysis
Pre-Acquisition Marketing Assessment

Marketing due diligence for PE buyers evaluating a target company's brand, digital presence, and marketing infrastructure. Understand exactly what you're buying and what it will take to grow it.

  • Brand and messaging audit
  • Digital presence and SEO assessment
  • Marketing infrastructure review
  • Growth potential and gap analysis
  • Post-acquisition integration roadmap
Request a Diligence Review
Team Consulting
Strategic Guidance for In-House Teams

For companies with existing in-house marketing talent that need direction, structure, and accountability. We provide the strategic framework your team needs to execute at a higher level.

  • Positioning and messaging development
  • Strategic planning and roadmapping
  • Team structure and accountability systems
  • Performance measurement frameworks
Strengthen My Team
Exit Readiness
Pre-Market Brand & Digital Preparation

When a business goes to market, buyers form impressions before the first meeting. A dated website, inconsistent branding, or weak digital footprint raises doubt — and doubt compresses multiples. We rapidly assess, align, and professionalize a company's brand and digital presence so that what buyers find when they do their homework supports the value story — not undermines it.

  • Rapid brand and digital audit
  • Messaging alignment with the transaction value story
  • Website review and targeted refresh
  • Digital footprint cleanup — Google, LinkedIn, social, reviews
  • Compressed delivery built for deal timelines
Get Exit-Ready
How We Work

The Foundational Framework

Other firms share unrealistic timelines to win your business. We won't. Our approach bakes in the obvious hurdles — feedback loops, holidays, competing priorities, busy schedules. We always aim to move faster, but we build timelines around experience, not aspiration.

Need to move fast? This framework can be compressed to as few as 10 weeks for clients with the bandwidth and urgency to support an accelerated pace. We will tell you honestly whether your situation warrants it.

Step 1
Access, Audit & Cleanup
  • Gain access to all existing marketing platforms, analytics, and digital assets
  • Conduct a full audit of current brand, messaging, website, paid media, and digital presence
  • Identify quick wins and critical gaps
  • Clean up what needs to be cleaned up before building anything new
Step 2
Foundation Setting
  • Strategy — Define goals, target audiences, and competitive positioning
  • Messaging — Develop the strategic messaging platform
  • Branding Refresh — Align visual identity with positioning and strategy
  • Annual Plan — Build the 12-month marketing roadmap
Step 3
Website Rebuild & Social Media Overhaul
  • Rebuild the primary digital asset to reflect the new brand, messaging, and strategy
  • Optimize information architecture for lead generation and user experience
  • Integrate with CRM, analytics, and performance marketing infrastructure
  • Overhaul social channels and content to reflect the new brand and positioning
Step 4
Performance & Annual Plan Launch
  • Establish lead handling processes and tracking for proper marketing-to-sales handoff
  • Activate performance marketing channels with proper tracking and attribution
  • Launch the full annual marketing plan
  • Establish measurement, reporting cadence, and optimization process
Brad Fitzgerald in a client meeting
Core Values

What We Stand For

Honesty

We tell clients what they need to hear — not what they want to hear. No false promises, no unrealistic timelines, no spin. Our job is to give you the clearest picture possible so you can make the best decisions.

Integrity

We do what we say we will do — every time, without exception. Our word is our commitment. We do not take engagements we cannot win.

Results

We are in the business of outcomes, not optics. Every recommendation, every initiative, every dollar is filtered through one question: does this move the needle?

Faith

Guided by Christian values and the call of Isaiah 6:8 — "Here am I. Send me." We serve others first, steward trust faithfully, and treat every person with dignity.

Who We Serve

Built for the Lower Middle Market

Private Equity Firms

Lower middle market PE firms seeking marketing leadership for portfolio companies. We understand what GPs and LPs care about and how marketing drives the metrics that matter at exit.

  • Portfolio company needs to professionalize ahead of exit
  • Branding strategy to maximize add-on investments
  • Pre-acquisition marketing due diligence
  • Post-close integration and brand alignment
Owner-Operated Businesses

LMM businesses looking to professionalize, grow revenue, or prepare for a transaction. You're good at what you do. We help the market know it.

  • Business lacks strategic marketing leadership
  • Marketing is not performing — not sure why
  • Value proposition and brand positioning need re-alignment
  • Preparing to scale revenue or prepare for a transaction
Start the Conversation

We'll tell you exactly what we'd do, and why.

We start with an honest assessment. No overselling the opportunity, no underselling the challenges. If it's a fit, we'll move fast. If it's not, we'll tell you that too.

Thank you — Brad will be in touch shortly.
fitzgeraldbrad@gmail.com  ·  fitzgeraldgrowth.co

Brad Fitzgerald  ·  Fractional CMO  ·  PE Search