GTM strategy · Launches · First marketing hire · Fractional leadership
I help startups turn great tech into revenue.
You built the hard part. I handle the rest: getting users to understand it, adopt it, and pay for it.
Eran Yacobovitch is a marketing advisor and fractional CMO for technical founders and marketing leaders at AI startups and tech companies, mostly in Israel, from pre-seed to unicorn. Two unicorns and 13 years in-house before advising: first marketing hire at Lightricks, CMO at AI21 Labs, and most recently the lead on the global launch of LTX Model.
Recognition & press
Companies I've worked with
- Twingate
- Novee
- Materialspace
- HoneyBook
- Zenzap
- LTX
- Lightricks
- Melio
- Wix
- Hour One
- Rylo
- Ollie
- Loora
- Munch
- daily.dev
- Faireez
- AI21 Labs
By the numbers
- $600M+ in funding I played a key role in raising
- $230M+ in ARR I was directly involved in growing
- 80+ marketers recruited and managed, across levels and disciplines
Client feedback
In their words
Eran led the search for our VP of Marketing and helped onboard her — she went on to build and scale the department. His strategic advisory early on was just as valuable.
Eran stepped in early and worked side-by-side with us on both marketing and strategy. He helped us build a clear ICP, sharper positioning, and a story that actually resonated with customers. Practical, execution-focused, and always dialed in when it matters most.
Eran helped us think clearly about how to bring a technical product to market. He asked sharp questions, quickly understood what we were building, and helped shape a go-to-market approach that connected the tech to the actual users. It was practical, focused, and filled a gap we didn't have covered in-house.
Eran mentored me through my first year leading marketing — the strategy, the calls I wasn't sure about. He never handed me the answer, just asked the questions that got me there faster. I came out of that year a much more confident leader.
What makes Eran exceptional is how effortlessly he moves between the big picture and the fine print, connecting high-level strategy to day-to-day execution. He'll shape the vision with you, then get into the weeds to make sure it happens.
Eran's advisory goes well beyond marketing — he's a strategic sounding board on the decisions that shape the company. A couple of hours with him each week often save us from heading in the wrong direction.
Eran guided us through hiring our first marketing lead, and it was a great hire — she's been with us for over two years now. He was super helpful at every step!
What I do
The marketing leader you don't have to hire
Go-to-Market & Launch
Positioning, narrative, and launch strategy — from product releases to category-defining moves. Making sure the launch lands as hard as the tech.
Fractional / Interim Marketing Leadership
I step in and run the function: strategy, budget, hiring, weekly execution rhythm. Useful between marketing leaders, before your first one, or when performance has stalled and nobody owns it.
Building the Function from Scratch
First hires, budgets, infrastructure, measurement, experiment frameworks. I've built marketing teams from zero three times. I'll build yours so it works without me.
Advisor to Marketing Leaders
A weekly outside voice for CMOs and VPs: prioritization, fundraise-grade growth metrics, and the things nobody inside the company will say out loud.
Making Marketing Teams AI-Native
Leading your marketing org through the AI leap: building the context, embedding AI into daily workflows with real tools, and transforming how the team ships — so marketing works the way it's done today, not three years ago.
Marketing Audit & Diagnosis
When growth has stalled and nobody can say why. I go through your positioning, funnel, team, and spend — and come back with a plain-language read of what's not working and a plan to fix it.
Case studies
Names left out, numbers real
From no marketing team to $50M ARR
B2C startup, Seed · Advisor
When I came in, the founders were running growth themselves. As their advisor, I helped set the positioning, build the first growth engine, and hire the marketing team, including the leader who took it over. Then I stepped back and they ran it.
$2M → $50M ARR · advisor for 6 months
One story, one plan, and a pipeline that doubled
B2B SaaS, Series A · Fractional CMO
Strong product, no marketing lead, and a pitch that changed with every sales call. I stepped in 1.5 days a week as the marketing lead: defined the ICP, rebuilt the positioning and core story, set the plan and budget, and ran the weekly rhythm with the team.
Pipeline 2× in two quarters · 8 months as fractional CMO
6 marketing leaders hired. All 6 still there a year later.
Seed to Series B · Hiring
Your first marketing leader is the hire you can least afford to get wrong. I run the search end to end: define what the company needs at its stage, work with the hiring team, design the exercise, and interview. Then I onboard the hire through their first 30–90 days, so they start with a plan and the trust of the CEO or CMO they report to.
6/6 still there after 12+ months · roles from first marketing lead to VP Marketing · longest 2+ years
7 technical founders through their first months running marketing
Technical founders · Advisory
Founders who ended up owning marketing by default, usually on top of product and sales. We met weekly to decide what to prioritize, which channels to test, how to read the numbers, and when to make the first marketing hire. The job was to build their judgment, then help them hand marketing to someone who would own it.
5 of 7 went on to hire their first marketing lead · weekly sessions for 3–8 months
Instead of what?
Every option has a catch
Hire a CMO / VP Marketing now
Months to find one, and a salary built for a team you don't have yet. Hire the wrong one and you've lost a year.
Bring in an agency
The senior partner pitches, juniors deliver. Agencies execute a brief well, but someone still has to write the right brief.
Hire a junior marketer
Eager and affordable, and learning the playbook on your runway. Without someone senior setting direction, they stay busy and the numbers don't move.
Do it yourself with AI
AI will write the posts, the emails and the landing page in an afternoon. It won't tell you which market to go after, or why deals stall.
Working with me
Senior judgment now, a function that runs without me later. Two unicorns and three marketing teams built from zero. I set the strategy, make the first hires, and get it working, at a fraction of a full-time exec's cost. Month to month, so I only stay while I'm adding value.
Ways to work together
Three ways in
- Advisory
- Recurring sessions with you or your marketing lead. Strategy, prioritization, hiring, and an honest outside read.
- Fractional / Interim
- 1–3 days a week inside your company, owning the function or a critical piece of it.
- Project
- A launch, a positioning sprint, a marketing audit, or a hiring process. Defined scope, defined outcome.
Flexible, month-to-month contracts. No long-term lock-ins — if I don't create value, I stop.
What I don't do: If you're looking for someone to run ads, manage a content calendar, or take orders on a fixed brief, I'm not the right partner.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How do engagements work?
Every engagement is month-to-month. Advisory is recurring sessions; fractional is 1–3 days a week inside your company; projects have a defined scope and outcome. If it's not working, either of us can stop — no notice needed.
Is there a long-term commitment?
No. Everything runs on an ongoing monthly basis with no commitment required — either of us can stop at any time, no advance notice needed. If it's working, we keep going; if it's not, we don't.
We already have a marketing person. Is this still relevant?
Often, yes. A lot of what I do is advise marketing execs — CMOs and VPs who want a senior outside eye on positioning, priorities, and the things nobody inside the company will say out loud. If you already have someone strong in the seat, I make them sharper rather than redundant.
Who do you work with?
Technical founders and marketing leaders at AI startups and tech companies — mostly in Israel, from pre-seed to unicorn. If you're deciding between your first marketing hire and outside help, that's exactly the conversation to have.
Are you hands-on or advisory only?
Both, depending on the engagement. In advisory I'm a weekly outside voice. In fractional and project work I'm inside the company: writing positioning, running the launch, hiring, owning the weekly execution rhythm.
How fast can we start?
I take on a small number of engagements at a time, so it depends on the current load. Write me with where marketing stands today — if it's a fit, we usually start within a couple of weeks.
What's included in a retainer?
Everything the work needs: prep, meetings, communication and documentation, plus general availability on WhatsApp or Slack for advice, updates, and quick consultations between sessions. Front-facing work too — leadership presentations, team sessions, interviews.
How does pricing work?
A flat monthly retainer, scoped to the weekly time the engagement needs — no hourly billing, no surprises. Scope changes are agreed in writing before anything shifts, and everything we discuss stays confidential.
About me
The marketing leader for the AI era
I work with founders and marketing leaders on the hardest part of growth: turning a product that works into a market that buys it. Positioning, go-to-market, launches, and building the marketing function from zero.
Today I run an advisory practice with a small portfolio of companies across AI (B2B and consumer), cybersecurity and defense. Some engagements are a weekly session with a CMO. Others are fractional, where I run marketing one to three days a week from inside the team. At one of them, ARR doubled quarter over quarter.
Before that I spent 13 years in-house. I was Lightricks' first marketing hire and grew with it from $3M to $230M in revenue. I was the first CMO at AI21 Labs, where the team went from 2 to 30 and the valuation tripled to $1.4B. In 2025 I led the global launch of LTX Model, the #1 open-source model in its category.
I live in Zichron Ya'akov and co-founded HiTech Problems (צרות בהייטק), Israel's largest tech community and one of its top tech podcasts. Most importantly, I'm a full-time dad.
Experience & milestones
- 2026 — Advisory practice, full time. Fractional CMO and advisor across AI (B2B and consumer), cybersecurity and defense, including a well-funded stealth defense startup. As fractional CMO at one client, ARR doubled quarter over quarter.
- 2025 — Led the global launch of LTX Model. Paused the practice to build and lead the AI model marketing team at Lightricks. #1 open-source audio-video model, 3M+ Hugging Face downloads in month one.
- 2024 — Founded the advisory practice. Started a boutique practice helping AI startups build marketing foundations, find traction and hire their marketing leaders. Six leaders hired for clients, all still in the role a year later.
- 2022 — First CMO, AI21 Labs. Built the department from 2 to 30, helped triple the valuation to $1.4B, and secured $282M from investors including Google and Nvidia.
- 2015 — Co-founder, HiTech Problems (צרות בהייטק). Built Israel's largest hi-tech community (180K+ members) and co-host its podcast, voted Israel's #1 tech podcast of 2021 (Geektime). Named one of TheMarker's 100 most influential people of 2021.
- 2013 — First marketing hire, Lightricks. Recruited by the co-founders. Built the performance marketing team, then a full marketing division for 7 apps and 200M+ users. Revenue grew from $3M to $230M.
- 2011 — The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. B.A. in Communications & Journalism and Philosophy. Later selected for the Hebrew University 40 Under 40 alumni list (2024).
- 2010 — SEO & Online Campaign Manager, Kidumit Group. Where it started: SEO for some of Israel's largest companies, then AdWords, e-commerce and paid social, back when people still poked each other on Facebook.
Where I think out loud
The podcast — HiTech Problems (צרות בהייטק). I co-founded one of Israel's top tech podcasts and communities — 180K+ members. Honest conversations about how this industry really works. It's how I keep my ear to the ground. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
The newsletter. What marketing becomes when AI takes over the execution layer. Subscribe on Substack.
Contact
Let's work together
Tell me what you're building and where marketing stands today. I take on a small number of engagements at a time.