Notes from the
operator's seat
Practical takes on paid media, measurement, SEO, and growth — written by the person doing the work, not a content calendar.
Why Search Funds and Private Equity Need a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer
Search funders and PE operators don't have time to run marketing. A fractional Chief Marketing Officer owns growth, proves ROI, and hires their own replacement.
Read the post →
Claude Fable 5 After July 7: What Usage Credits Cost and Whether Your Subscription Still Makes Sense
Claude Fable 5 leaves Pro, Max, and Team plans after July 7, 2026. Here's what usage credits cost, why it happened, and whether your subscription still makes sense.
Read the post →
Marketing Compliance in Regulated Industries: HIPAA, FTC, TCPA, CAN-SPAM, and FDIC — What's Actually Getting Companies Fined in 2026
The $100M+ in HIPAA pixel penalties, the TCPA consent landscape post-11th Circuit, CAN-SPAM's per-email fines, FDIC digital advertising rules, and cookie compliance across all industries — a practitioner's guide to what regulators are actually pursuing.
Read the post →
The Missing Seat at the Table: Why Private Equity Staffs Every Function Except Growth
PE firms staff operations, finance, legal, IT, and cybersecurity as portfolio functions. Growth, the function that decides whether the thesis comes true, is the one they leave unstaffed. Why the gap exists, where it shows up by industry, and how to fill the seat.
Read the post →
AI's Place in Performance-Based Marketing: Using Claude to Build Smarter Funnels, Not Just More Content
AI is not a magic media buyer — it's a thinking partner, funnel architect, and QA layer. How to use Claude across customer research, campaign angles, landing pages, creative testing, nurture, and launch QA.
Read the post →
The May 2026 Google Core Update: What People Are Seeing, and What to Do Now That the Data Is Clean
The second core update of 2026 wrapped on June 2 after a choppy twelve-day rollout that hit harder than March. The clean Search Console window just opened — here's what the community is reporting and the analysis worth running this week.
Read the post →