Nikhil Hunshikatti ran a billion-dollar consumer revenue portfolio at Gannett before going fractional. He did not plan to go fractional. He tried three in-house leadership roles first, lost all three to internal candidates, and only then decided to hang his own shingle. Three years in, he has built a model that works, but not without losing 50% of his revenue in one quarter and spending 18 months too heads-down to do any pipeline work.
0:00 – Intro
1:50 – Background: USA Today, Gannett, and running a billion-dollar consumer revenue portfolio
3:52 – The moment that made him leave and why survival mode was the breaking point
5:12 – Going fractional by accident after three failed in-house leadership bids
8:26 – How the first client came in and why the Pro Football Hall of Fame made sense
12:11 – How fractional CMO engagements are structured and why it is different from a retainer
17:08 – The five Ps framework he runs through in every immersion workshop
23:04 – Sitting at the C-suite table as the only fractional and what that dynamic actually looks like
34:12 – Year one: three clients, full capacity, zero pipeline work, and what he would do differently
43:37 – Losing 50% of revenue at once and how he is navigating a slow market right now
44:51 – His advice for fractional CMOs who cannot find their first client
#FreelanceMarketing #FractionalCMO #ConsultingLife
Connect with the hosts:
Tim Davidson – https://linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41
Tas Bober – https://linkedin.com/in/tasbober
The Marketer's Exit – https://themarketersexit.com
Guest:
Nikhil Hunshikatti https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilhunshikatti/
