We flip on the light where others can’t see.
Growth strategy, marketing leadership, and product architecture for venture-backed founders who need clarity and momentum — not another deck.
Past and current work includes
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What We Do
Six ways we plug into your company. Each one scoped to a specific outcome — not a retainer that drifts.
Fractional CMO Leadership
Strategic marketing leadership without the full-time commitment. Brand positioning, go-to-market strategy, and team alignment.
Outcome: Clear marketing direction & accelerated growth.
Growth System Design
Build the testing machine: clean data, tight hypotheses, and weekly decisions that compound.
Outcome: Predictable testing velocity & decision hygiene.
Leverage Architecture (Flywheels)
Find the few moves that create durable loops (not press spikes). Install, measure, and scale only what compounds.
Outcome: Sustainable growth mechanisms instead of press spikes.
Product Mechanics & Activation
Remove friction, sharpen aha, shape habit and revenue ladders.
Outcome: Higher activation, retention, ARPU.
Decision Docs & Proof
Clear narratives, ROI models, and readouts that earn decisions (decks included, hype excluded).
Outcome: Credibility that converts without hype.
Pragmatic AI in the Stack
Practical automation where it truly saves time.
Outcome: Faster teams, no gimmicks.
Who We Are
The builder behind the switch.
Nick Kuzma
Founder · Operator · Growth Strategist
I’ve spent my career building growth systems inside venture-backed startups — the kind where your marketing strategy, product mechanics, and unit economics all have to work together or nothing works at all.
I’ve led growth at companies like Dupe.com, Zero Grocery, and Chptr — designing go-to-market engines from first dollar to scale and building the testing frameworks that turned ambiguity into traction.
Today I take on a small number of fractional CMO engagements, typically Series A through B founders who have product-market fit but not yet a repeatable growth model. I’m also building Stesso, my own startup, and co-founded Portland Strength Collective — a CrossFit gym that hit breakeven in its first month. I don’t just advise builders. I am one.
- • Founder & CEO, Stesso
- • Co-founder, Portland Strength Collective
- • Based in Portland, OR · Came up in San Francisco
The Namesake
My mother was a graduate student, the kind who stayed so late at the university library that she’d become the one to turn the lights off on her way out. One night she flipped the switch, a voice called out from deep in the stacks, and she turned them back on. That’s how she met my father.
A light switch flipped, and two people found each other. For us, that’s more than a family story — it’s a working philosophy. The deepest insight is already in the room. Someone just has to turn the light on.
What that means for you.
You have something — a signal in the data, a conviction you can’t yet prove, a market that’s moving and you need to move with it. Our work is to go deep, find what’s actually there, and light the path from hypothesis to traction.
Ready to turn on the light?
A 30-minute working session where we look at your growth model, find the highest-leverage gap, and decide if there’s a fit.