Fractional CMO & senior advisor for founder-led businesses

I help founders figure out what they're actually saying, and then we build it.

Let's Talk How I Work
How I work
01 Brand & story → 02 The website → 03 Go-to-market → 04 The capital raise → 05 Social & marketing → 06 Ongoing advisory →
✦Brand & Story✦Websites✦Go-To-Market✦Capital Raise✦Social & Content✦Brand & Story✦Websites✦Go-To-Market✦Capital Raise✦Social & Content
Who I work with

Founder-led businesses who are rewriting their story.

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Businesses at an inflection point: a new chapter, a bigger market, an evolving vision.

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Owners who are the best salesperson in the building and don't have time to be.

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People who've been burned by an agency that took six months to deliver something generic.

The gap

You know your business better than anyone.

You've been living inside it for years. But the version in your head is fuller and sharper than the version the market sees, and closing that gap is a different job than running the company.

So the website says less than it should. The pitch doesn't land the way it does when you explain it in person. The PR firm, the social agency, and the web developer are each working from their own idea of the business, and nobody is holding the whole thing together.

Not an agency

One senior leader, working directly with you

I'm the senior person you bring in for that. Not an agency, not a junior team learning on your account. One executive who has done this for over twenty years, working directly with you, on whatever is actually in the way.

How I work

Moving your business forward.

Brand & Story

The story, told right

Sometimes it's the brand and the story, because nothing else works until that's right.

Website

The fastest test there is

Sometimes it's a website, which is usually the fastest way to find out whether we've got the story right.

Go-To-Market

Positioning and the plan

Sometimes it's go-to-market, the positioning and the plan for reaching the people who should be buying from you.

Capital Raise

The same story, aimed at investors

Sometimes it's the capital raise, the investor narrative and the materials behind it, which is the same story aimed at a different audience.

Ongoing Marketing

The story, kept in motion

Sometimes it's the drumbeat: ongoing marketing, social media, and content that keep the story in front of the right people. For a founder-led business that usually starts with LinkedIn, where your voice is the company's strongest channel.

Ongoing Advisory

In the room, every couple of weeks

And sometimes it's ongoing, being in the room every couple of weeks as the person who asks the question nobody else is asking.

Proof

When the story is right, you can see it.

A website is the fastest litmus test of a brand story. If the thinking is muddy, the homepage shows it. Each of these began as a story problem: a startup with complex material to organize, a developer whose vision wasn't landing, an 80-year-old supplier that had never put into words what made it different.

One of the services I offer is building that test myself. The sites below are what the solved story looks like, live.

sidelot.build/
A recent Sidelot Partners project
// assembling bespoke build01 / 03
/ 01 Therapy TrAIner Story · Site · Demo +
Therapy TrAIner platform: an interactive practice session demo with an AI coach
The Story

Working closely with this startup, the goal was to take great care with a platform that has the potential to literally change the world of therapy. I built a custom interactive demo to showcase the platform, while organizing the complex material and messaging of Therapy TrAIner.

Visit the live site →
/ 02 Burman Real Estate Story · Site · Film +
Burman Real Estate: featured development projects including The Shops on Broadway
The Story

Burman Real Estate was looking for a fresh start after struggling to find a partner who could execute their vision. I quickly simplified the site structure, sharpened the copy, and created completely bespoke artwork and assets, including a homepage marquee movie, all from simple 2D renderings using the latest AI software.

Visit the live site →
/ 03 K&H Mission · Site · Marquee +
Kelly & Hayes: electrical, industrial and plumbing supplies since 1946
The Story

K&H's founder and CEO needed someone who could articulate what made his business distinct from others in the sector. I shaped that message and the company mission with him, then built a bespoke video marquee from his company logo.

Visit the live site →
About

Your ideas, in motion.

I spent over two decades working with visionary talent on incredible brands like MTV, VH1 and BuzzFeed.

I've seen brands flourish, and flounder.

I've seen great ideas die and bad ideas go way farther than they should have.

I'm at my best working with founders who have vision. But the idea is only the beginning: getting it to the finish line is what counts.

If you're stuck in the middle, that's normal. Let's get moving.

Paul Ricci, founder of Sidelot Partners
Paul Ricci · Founder
Let's talk

If the market isn't seeing the business you know you've built, I can help.

A short note is enough to get going. I'll come back with honest thoughts on fit, timing, and what it would take. No pressure, no jargon. You'll always be talking directly to the person doing the work.