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Hello!
I am Manu Prasad

A Fractional CMO for startups and SMBs.

With over two decades of experience in companies such as Myntra, Urban Ladder & most recently Scripbox, where I was the CMO, I am a full stack marketer, having led diverse teams across brand, digital marketing, growth, social media, content and PR. 

Since 2024, I have worked as a Fractional CMO on brand and growth initiatives, for startups in multiple domains – foodtech, omnichannel D2C, mobility, global staffing etc. 

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Manu Prasad | Fractional CMO
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tl; dr version

All about the Fractional CMO in 1 minute

What is this organism?

A Fractional CMO works with the founding/ leadership/ marketing team on brand and growth challenges, until the organisation is ready to hire a full-time CMO.

Who are your clients?

Early to growth-stage startups and bootstrapped businesses that wants smart, lean marketing. Mature startups with a specific problem in growth, brand, content etc

What do you do for them?

Clarity : On brand and marketing objectives
Momentum: With processes and execution discipline
Outcomes: Using dashboards and metrics that matter
In essence, accountability at a fraction of the cost

The Fractional CMO toolkit

I call it OTP for ATM. No, not money, and not 24/7,
Own The Problem for All Things Marketing.

Brand Strategy

Aligning the brand to the business, and creating positioning and value propositions to drive growth.

Communication Strategy

Converting the brand strategy into creative effectiveness across multiple consumer touchpoints - digital and offline.

Growth: Acquisition & Retention

Creating efficient methods of acquiring customers through paid and organic means, and making them profitable.

Marketing Analytics

Setting up a cadence, and dashboards, to monitor and improve brand and business metrics.

Stakeholder Management

Handling internal (leadership, marketing team, investors) and external (vendors, agencies) stakeholders for all things marketing

Hiring & Mentoring

Building and equipping a team with processes and a mindset to help the organisation meet business goals

We've not come this far to only come this far

Let’s connect to understand your needs, and find a way to work together.

SAY HELLO

The Fractional CMO you need


The 'ex' axis

Two decades of experience across legacy brands, agency & startups in India

I have worked in diverse domains – from fashion to media to wealth management, and furniture and lingerie in between. This helps me understand your context faster, recognise patterns from unrelated categories, and implement frameworks that fit.

myntra logo
scripbox logo
Urban Ladder logo
Times of India logo
GroupM
MidDay logo

The 'why' axis

A full stack marketer with leadership expertise in brand, digital, and growth

The chart gives you a quick read of how long in my 21 year career I have been working on specific domains. The youngest is PR (‘only’ 7 years). I can help you with a holistic perspective, or a deep dive into one or more specific marketing domains.

Brand Management
90%
Performance Marketing
60%
Content
80%
Social Media
60%
PR
35%
Marketing Automation
40%

As seen on

Fractional CMO ET Brand Equity
Manu Prasad Fractional CMO

& more

A sense of kaam

Creatively effective. Boringly efficient. 

Manu Prasad | Brand Campaign | Positioning

Brand, Positioning, Campaign

Scripbox - Invest with Confidence

Manu Prasad | Brand Campaign| Influencer Marketing

Brand, Lead generation, Campaign, Influencers

Scripbox Tax Saver

Manu Prasad | Digital Marketing| MarTech

MarTech, Marketing Automation

Scripbox Martech

Manu Prasad | Startup Mentor| Accel

Startups, Mentorship

Accel : Seed to Scale

MORE PLEASE

Ready to get, set, grow?

LET'S CHAT

Brandwidth

A full stack marketing podcast 

From the blog

Recent posts, media contributions, and more

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KEEP READING

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Manu Prasad?

 

Manu Prasad is a leading Fractional CMO, based in Bangalore, India. He is a full stack marketing leader with 24+ years of experience. His last full-time role was as CMO of Scripbox. He has worked in leadership positions across startups and established brands such as Myntra, Urban Ladder, Times of India, and Group M, and mentored startups as part of Accel’s Seed to Scale program. 

Since 2024, he has worked as a Fractional CMO for startups in India and beyond – helping businesses scale with brand, growth, and digital strategies. (ET, afaqs)

How can Manu Prasad help?

 

As a Fractional CMO, Manu Prasad partners with founders and teams, part-time or on a project basis to:

  • Define positioning, brand story, and GTM (go-to-market) plans.
  • Build repeatable acquisition and retention loops.
  • Align marketing goals with business metrics that matter.
  • Mentor internal teams and set up processes that scale.

This provides

  • Clarity – on brand and marketing objectives.
  • Momentum – with processes and execution discipline.
  • Outcomes – using dashboards and metrics that matter.

You get the expertise of a CMO – strategy, execution, team alignment and oversight, without the full-time cost.

Q: What makes Manu Prasad an ideal Fractional CMO for Indian companies?

Diverse domain Experience: From 2011-2023, he has worked in leading early-mid stage startups across categories – Myntra, Urban Ladder, Scripbox. As a Fractional CMO he has worked with clients in foodtech, Fashion D2C, Mobility – used 2 wheelers, Global gray/blue collar staffing , Building materials ecom,, and Medtech. Different customers, different contexts, different playbooks, and different models. 

Full stack expertise: Strategic and hands-on experience in all facets of brand and marketing – consumer insights, brand management and advertising, digital acquisition and retention, content, PR, martech, social media – helps him talk strategy and ops with equal fluency to CXOs and operators. 

Leadership: In addition to leading and aligning teams who have managed different aspects of brand and marketing, he has also mentored startups as part of Accel’s Seed to Scale program.


When should a startup hire Manu Prasad as your Fractional CMO?

When you’ve found early traction, need sustainable growth, or require someone to unify brand, marketing, and GTM strategy. If you’re ready to grow but can’t justify a full-time CMO, I can bridge that gap – bringing strategy, structure, and scalability. It’s the bridge between founder-led marketing and hiring a full-time CMO. 

You might need a Fractional CMO if:

  • Your marketing team executes but doesn’t think strategically.
  • You want to start brand and marketing but don’t know where to begin.
  • You have direct reports in marketing but no senior leader for direction or guidance.
  • You’re ready to scale but don’t have the budget for a full-time CMO.
Why hire a Fractional CMO and not a consultant or an agency or a full-time CMO?

A consultant advises. I don’t just advise, I own your marketing function. I build systems, lead teams, and drive accountability across strategy and execution.

Engagement Variable

Fractional CMO (Manu Prasad)

Full-Time CMO

Marketing Agency

Primary Focus

Strategy, internal team mentorship, and growth alignment.

Long-term corporate scaling and full department oversight.

Channel execution, asset creation, and campaign pacing.

Time Investment

15–40 hours per month (Highly Flexible).

40+ hours per week (Permanent).

Variable hours based on active projects.

Typical Cost

Low overhead; flexible monthly retainer.

High fixed cost; equity, bonuses, and lengthy exit clauses.

Monthly fee per channel or percentage of ad spend.

Speed to Deploy

Immediate onboarding (Within days).

Lengthy 3–6 month hiring and recruitment loops.

Moderate; requires setup and asset handoff.

Objectivity

High; independent perspective untangled from office politics.

Moderate; influenced by corporate structures.

Low; often incentivized to increase ad budgets.

This is not Marvel, there is no post-credits scene. 

But can I interest you in my pitch for startups and SMBs?