What exactly is a growth partner and how does it differ from an agency?

A growth partner is an external ally that co-owns your company's growth KPIs and operates the full system (strategy + execution + measurement), not an isolated channel. An agency executes within a specific channel (Google Ads, SEO, content) with output KPIs (clicks, leads). A growth partner works on outcome KPIs (attributed pipeline, MRR, LTV) with a retainer + variable model, sharing risk.

When should a B2B company hire a growth partner?

It makes sense in three scenarios: validated product but stalled growth for 2-4 quarters despite marketing spend, imminent high-impact decisions (new market, second product line, pricing change), or saturated internal team without resources to build the full growth function. If you haven't validated product-market fit yet or revenue is below €300K, the problem isn't the system, it's the product.

How much does a growth partner cost in Spain and what ROI to expect?

Typical B2B Spain ranges: €2,000-5,000/month for €500K-€2M revenue companies, €5,000-12,000/month for €2M-€10M, €12,000-25,000/month for €10M+. All with a variable component tied to milestones. Documented ROI between 3x and 10x on the investment over 12-18 months, measured on attributed pipeline and incremental MRR.

What should a growth partner deliver in the first 90 days?

Days 1-30: full diagnosis, prioritized roadmap with baseline KPIs, owners assigned. Days 31-60: quick-win implementation, operating cadence (weekly reporting, monthly business review), first measurable improvements in CAC or conversion. Days 61-90: documented system, consolidated attribution (server-side if needed), structural improvements in unit economics, scaling plan for the next 90 days.

How do I choose the right growth partner and what red flags to avoid?

Six critical criteria: verifiable cases with real metrics in comparable companies, pricing model with variable tied to outcome, in-house multidisciplinary capacity (strategy/paid/content/data/dev), declared tech stack and documented attribution, own operating cadence (weekly/monthly/quarterly), minimum 12-18 month commitment. Avoid partners selling 3-month cycles, subcontracting everything, or lacking public cases.

How is the ROI of a growth partner measured beyond revenue growth?

Leading indicators that fuel sustainable growth: stage-by-stage conversion rates, retention and churn, CAC efficiency by channel, sales cycle length, pipeline quality (lead-to-opportunity ratio), forecasting accuracy. Internal impact: decision speed, marketing-sales alignment, bottleneck reduction, documented process maturity. Baseline before starting, target at 60-90 days, weekly review tying actions to measurable movement.

What risk does a growth partner take on and how is it shared?

A serious growth partner shares risk through a variable component tied to agreed KPIs. At CRONUTS.DIGITAL, 35% of compensation depends on business milestones (CAC, conversion, incremental MRR, retention). This aligns incentives from day 1: if your business doesn't move, our fee doesn't either. A traditional agency charges the same fee regardless of result; that misalignment is the root of chronic dissatisfaction with B2B marketing services.

Does a growth partner replace my CMO or in-house head of growth?

No, it complements. A growth partner works as an extension of internal leadership when the CMO/head of growth is saturated, multidisciplinary operating capacity is missing, or specific knowledge is required (advanced attribution, applied AI, expansion). In companies without a CMO, it can operate as a fractional CMO during the partnership. Transitioning to an autonomous internal team is one of the explicit outputs of the model, not a resistance.

B2B Growth Partner · Fractional CMO

B2B Growth Partner that operates as your fractional CMO.

Growth Partner format: a senior PM + squad (SEO + Paid + Growth + Analytics) that operates as your permanent fractional CMO. Ideal for B2B companies in the €1-10M range without an in-house CMO. Daily standups, quarterly roadmap, retrospectives. From €14,000/month. 12+ months.

Book discovery call → See structure

14K€/m

Partner retainer from

1-10M€

Revenue sweet spot

Daily

Standups with team

12+m

Minimum · annual renewal

In short

What is a Growth Partner and when should you hire one?

A Growth Partner is a hybrid between a traditional agency and an in-house CMO: a dedicated team (PM + SEO + Paid + Growth + Analytics) that operates as an extension of your company with daily standups, a signed quarterly roadmap, continuous retrospectives and end-to-end ownership of growth. It is not a "40-client agency"; it is a fractional CMO.

Ideal for: B2B companies in the €1-10M range without an in-house CMO + a founder/CEO who needs ownership of growth but cannot hire a senior CMO (€120-180K/year all-in). The cronuts Growth Partner costs €14,000-28,000/month (= €168-336K/year) but includes a full team, not just one person. Minimum 12 months, annually renewable with retrospective.

B2B companies with web development + CRO by cronuts

A senior B2B CMO costs €150K/year all-in + 3-6 months of ramp-up + bad-hire risk. Growth Partner: full team operating from day 1 at a lower annual cost.

Request a quote →

What's included · Growth Partner

Six capabilities of a complete fractional CMO.

Growth Partner is not a "multi-channel retainer". It is ownership of growth with daily operations, a signed quarterly strategy, hiring and managing the squad, founder sparring and fundraising support when relevant. We operate as an in-house CMO without being employees.

Capability 1 · strategy

Signed quarterly roadmap

Quarterly growth OKRs signed with founder/CEO. Channel mix defined by data. ICE-prioritized hypotheses. Data-driven budget allocation. Retrospective every quarter with adjustments.

Included

Capability 2 · squad

PM + integrated specialists

Dedicated senior PM + SEO + Paid + Growth + Analytics specialists (partly dedicated depending on scope). Internal daily standups. Weekly sync with your team. Zero rotation.

5-8 people

Capability 3 · operations

End-to-end execution

Full execution: content publishing, ad campaign launches, A/B test deploys, data analysis, executive reporting. No dependency on your internal team to run growth.

Operational

Capability 4 · founder sparring

CMO-level strategic advice

1:1 sparring with founder/CEO: pricing, positioning, channel mix, hires, pivots, fundraising narrative. CMO-level experience applied to your context. 2-4 sessions/month.

Included

Capability 5 · hiring growth

Interview + in-house team onboarding

We help you hire Head of Growth / Demand Gen / Content Lead in-house when you are ready. Candidate interviewing + onboarding + progressive ownership handover. Documented exit plan.

Optional

Capability 6 · fundraising

Data room + investor narrative

If fundraising applies: data room preparation (cohort analysis, LTV/CAC, MER, retention curves), investor narrative, deck review, intros to allied VCs. No extra charge.

If applicable

Working structure · daily ops

Daily operations. Like a real CMO.

Key difference vs multi-channel retainer: Growth Partner has daily ownership, not weekly check-ins. Async Slack 24/7, daily standups with the in-house team, ownership of crisis response, weekly 1:1 with founder/CEO.

Daily 15-min standup (9:30 CET) · cronuts team + 1 client rep
Weekly 60-min founder/CEO 1:1 · strategic + top decisions
Monthly executive all-hands · report + adjusted roadmap
Quarterly OKR setting 4 h · retrospective + new OKRs for next quarter
Async Slack #growth channel · 24/7 communication (4 business-hour SLA)
Shared Notion workspace · roadmap + experiments + docs
Shared Looker dashboard · real-time KPIs
Crisis response playbook · founder active 24/7 in critical cases

When to hire a Growth Partner

01

B2B revenue €1-10M

Sweet spot · justifies fractional CMO cost

Ideal fit
02

No in-house CMO

Cannot hire senior · growth plateau

Ideal fit
03

Validated product

Product-market fit · growth means scaling

Ideal fit
04

Overloaded founder

CEO wears 10 hats · growth has no owner

Ideal fit
05

< €500K revenue

Doesn't justify cost · spot consultant is better

Not a fit
06

In-house CMO already exists

Overlap · org noise · channel retainer is better

Not a fit
07

Enterprise > €50M

Full in-house team is better · cronuts as squad support

Not a fit
08

Want overnight magic

Growth Partner is 12-month compounding · not a quick fix

Not a fit

See Growth Consultant · lighter ticket →

Maximum 3 active Growth Partners

Extremely limited capacity: 3 active partners simultaneously. Each one demands seniority + real PM time + founders in monthly reviews. Typical waitlist 3-6 months. Bilateral interview before signing: cultural fit mandatory.

How we kick off

Three phases. Discovery, 30-day onboarding, ownership.

Thorough discovery in 2-4 weeks. 30-day onboarding (full audit + signed Q1 OKRs + daily ops activated). Full ownership from day 31. Annual renewal with deep retrospective.

Phase 01 · Discovery

2-4 weeks · mutual fit

Sessions with founder + exec team. Deep audit of business + growth + current stack. Definition of OKRs + budget + capacity. Signed contract + SLAs. Discovery is paid (€4,800-8,500) and counts toward the first month if we sign.

Week 1–4Discovery signed

Phase 02 · 30-day onboarding

Audit + OKRs + ops activated

Full growth audit (AARRR 360 points) + signed Q1 OKRs + team onboarded + daily standups kick off + weekly founder 1:1 + Notion + Looker activated. End of month 1 = full ownership.

Month 1Ownership active

Phase 03 · Ownership + iteration

Daily ops + quarterly retrospective

Daily standups + weekly founder 1:1 + monthly all-hands + quarterly OKR setting. Continuous iteration. Deep annual retrospective with decision: renew, upgrade to in-house team + consulting, or end. Transparent.

Month 2+Active partner

Real cases · Growth Partners

Growth Partners that transformed companies.

Eninter case — Industrial B2B Growth Partner

Industrial B2B · 24-mo partner

+175 % leads

Eninter: 24 months as Growth Partner. +175% leads + data-driven culture + internal CMO hire.

24 months AARRR CMO handoff

View case →

JAX case — USA B2B Series A Growth Partner

USA B2B · 18-mo partner

4,600 MQLs

JAX USA: 18-month Growth Partner. 4,600 MQLs + $8M Series A fundraise with cronuts data room.

Fundraising Data room Series A

View case →

Grup Olivé case — Multi-location hospitality Growth Partner

Hospitality · 12-mo partner

+42 % bookings

Grup Olivé: 12-month partner. +42% bookings + expansion 8 → 12 restaurants with growth framework.

Expansion Multi-location Framework

View case →

See all cases 32 published cases

Growth Partner truths 2026

Six things about a fractional CMO.

An in-house CMO costs €150K/year all-in + 6-month ramp + hire risk. Partner: day-1 ops.

Growth Partner > traditional agency. Daily ownership vs weekly check-in.

Without a validated product + revenue > €500K, it's premature. A spot consultant is better.

Partner requires mandatory cultural fit. Bilateral interview. We don't sign with everyone.

A sustainable format demands at least 12 months. Compounding effect emerges in months 6-9.

Exit plan signed on day 1: transition to in-house CMO when growth matures and you can hire.

Verified reviews · founders and CEOs

Partners that founders call "our fractional CMO".

★★★★★ 4.9 / 5 · +34 verified reviews

See all on Google →

Frequently asked questions

What founders and CEOs ask us about Growth Partner.

How much does a Growth Partner cost?

Ranges: €14,000/month (base squad): senior PM + SEO + Paid + Growth + Analytics partly dedicated. €22,000/month (standard squad): same + higher dedication + creative producer. €28,000/month (full squad): PM + 6 fully dedicated specialists + weekly founder 1:1 + fundraising support. Comparable: in-house CMO €150-180K/year all-in.

When to hire a Growth Partner vs an in-house CMO?

Partner: revenue €1-10M, no in-house CMO, validated product, overloaded founder, you need a full team now. In-house CMO: revenue > €10M, you can pay €150K+/year, you have 6 months for ramp, you want a person-in-the-seat vs a team. Clear transition between the two as the company matures.

Which companies are NOT a good fit?

Pre-product-market-fit: you need clear product + pricing before scaling growth. < €500K revenue: doesn't justify the partner cost. Existing in-house CMO: overlap = org noise. Better to use a multi-channel retainer. > €50M: you need a full in-house team + us as external consulting.

Do you sign outcome SLAs or process SLAs?

Process SLAs: daily standups, weekly founder 1:1, monthly executive, quarterly OKRs, async Slack 4 h, crisis response 2 h. Outcome OKRs: signed quarterly (e.g., MQLs +30%, CAC -20%). If they aren't met for two consecutive quarters, deep retrospective with adjustments or planned exit.

What capacity do you have?

Maximum 3 active Growth Partners at any time. Reason: each partner demands seniority + real PM time + founders in monthly reviews. Typical waitlist 3-6 months. Bilateral discovery interviews: we don't sign with everyone who asks.

What is the discovery like?

Discovery is paid (€4,800-8,500) and counts toward the first month if we sign as partner. It runs 2-4 weeks: sessions with founder + exec team, deep audit of business + growth + stack, definition of OKRs + budget + capacity. Output: go/no-go decision + detailed contract proposal.

When and how do you exit / transition to an in-house CMO?

When renewing in year 2 or 3 (case by case), we discuss transition: documented exit plan with a Head of Growth / in-house CMO hire, 3-6 months parallel onboarding, SOP handoff, full documentation. Cronuts can stay on as spot consulting post-transition or run a clean exit.

How does this connect with other cronuts formats?

Partner > multi-channel retainer (more ownership) > growth retainer (specialized). Pre-partner: spot growth consultant to validate fit. Post-partner: ongoing maintenance consulting.

Discovery call · 30 min · fit check

Discovery call to evaluate Growth Partner.

Book 30 min with Albert for a bilateral fit check. We evaluate whether your company + timing + expectations match the Growth Partner format. If not, we recommend an alternative cronuts format or tell you when to come back.

Maximum 3 active partners · typical waitlist 3-6 months · bilateral interview mandatory.