Go-to-market engineering
Growth consulting and agile project management, with the building done by the same person.
A founding team needs a go-to-market plan, a website, tracking and a CRM before its first marketing hire. A marketing team's CRM and ad platforms count leads differently, and nobody owns the fix.
Both are go-to-market engineering: the commercial decisions and the project management, with the code written by the same person rather than a third supplier. Larger software companies hire for it as a GTM engineer. I do it as a fractional consultant. The decisions on what to build and what to buy come first. Then I run the work in sprints and write the code myself, or the requirements for the team that will.
The blend comes from 11 years in growth marketing, agency-side and then as a founder. I write code, so tracking and landing pages go live without waiting on a separate web team.
Which situation sounds like yours?
Growth consulting
You need a go-to-market plan before you hire for it
Positioning, pricing and the funnel from landing page to activation, with the tracking to measure each stage. The output is a roadmap the first hires can pick up, with the reasoning behind each decision written down.
Project management
Your build has several teams and nobody sequencing them
Developers, designers, content and the client side, each waiting on the other. I write the requirements to dev detail, run the work in sprints and own the sign-offs, so the search and tracking scope survives to launch.
Build
You want a working prototype before a bigger build or hire
A working version in weeks, on open-source frameworks, hosted cheaply and instrumented from the first release. Enough to put real users on it and learn whether the idea holds.
Systems
Your CRM and your ad platforms count leads differently
One data layer with a single definition of a lead, sent to every platform with consent handled. Conversions flow back to the platforms that bid on them, and the weekly spreadsheet export stops.
What the work covers
Go-to-market roadmap and positioning
Customer research, positioning, pricing and packaging, and the self-serve funnel from landing page to activation.
Requirements and sprints
A backlog the whole team can see, requirements a developer can work from, fortnightly sprints with a demo at the end of each.
Prototypes and minimum viable products
A working version of the product or feature, on a stack a hired developer can pick up, with analytics on it from the first release.
Tracking and integrations
Event tracking and data layer, consent mode, CRM and ad platform integrations, and the dashboards the team reports from.
Automation and internal tools
Lead enrichment, routing, reporting and alerts that run without a person in the loop. Small internal apps where the off-the-shelf tool doesn't fit. At an agency I took a generative AI tool suite from prototype to daily use by 5 client teams.
Prototypes have their own page. Working examples of the small tools are on the AI tools page.
How an engagement runs
Step 1
A short fit call
A short call to check the work suits both sides and agree which starting point fits: an existing stack to untangle, or something new to plan and build.
Step 2
Scoping audit or discovery
Existing stack: a scoping audit, from £564 + VAT. I review the tracking and the integrations between website, CRM, ad platforms and analytics, then the manual work in between. Quick fixes go in as I find them. New product or tool: a discovery session on the problem, the users, the constraints and the tools already in place, priced per project after the call.
Step 3
Recommendation and plan
What to build and what to buy, with the reasoning. A prioritised backlog for an existing stack, or a prototype brief and build estimate for a new one. You keep the plan whatever you decide next.
Step 4
Build and handover
Fortnightly sprints on a fractional basis, from £1.8k a month, either shipping the work myself or writing the requirements for your developers. Code sits in your repositories and workflows in your accounts. A walkthrough with whoever runs them is part of the scope.
or see pricing. Prices are indicative, and each package is scoped to the project.
I work with what you've got
Integrations go into the accounts and platforms you already run. New builds go on frameworks with a large hiring pool, so a prototype doesn't need rewriting when a developer joins.
Web and product
Next.js, React, Vercel, Sanity, Shopify
CRM and automation
HubSpot, Salesforce, Active Campaign, Marketo, Klaviyo
Analytics and tracking
GA4, Tag Manager, Consent Mode, Looker Studio
Ad platforms
Google, Bing, Meta, LinkedIn, and their APIs
Recent builds and prototypes are on the portfolio.
Where this work has run
GTM engineer is a recent job title. The blend behind it has run on my own products and on client projects.
Own products
Client projects
FAQs
What is a go-to-market engineer?
A marketer who codes. The role sits between the commercial team and engineering, and builds the data layer, integrations, automation and internal tools that sales and marketing run on. Larger software companies now hire for it full time. Small teams rarely need a full-time hire, which is where a fractional arrangement fits.
How is this different from the Build service?
Build is a site scoped around search demand. Go-to-market engineering is the plan and the systems around it: the roadmap, the CRM, the ad platforms, the tracking and the internal tools. Larger builds often need both, and I run them as one backlog.
Do you replace our developers or agency?
No. I've briefed and worked alongside developers since 2018. When your team is building, I write the requirements and run the sprints. When nobody owns the work, I ship it myself.
Do you use AI coding tools?
Yes, with review. AI tools speed up the drafting. What they produce is checked by tests before it ships, and the calls on what ships stay mine.
Can we get the advice without the build?
Yes. The recommendation and plan stand on their own. You can take them to an in-house team or an agency, and the build is there when nobody else owns it.
Start with a fit call
For an existing stack, a scoping audit follows, from £564 + VAT. For a new product or tool, a discovery session scoped on the call.