Strategy is a leadership act.
Marketing functions stall when activity outruns positioning. We start with the narrative that aligns founders, RevOps, product, and the board, then build everything underneath it.
§ fractional cmo
Human vision.
Machine velocity.
JUST Go To Market is the fractional CMO practice of Julia Stein. Senior marketing leadership for teams operating at the intersection of brand, product, and growth, fused with an integrated stack of generative and agentic AI that runs like a full-function team.
§ thesis
Built for ambitious teams in complex categories.
The most interesting marketing problems live at the edge of what is established, where the category is still being defined and the buyer needs to be educated before they can be converted. Deep experience across financial services, fintech, insurtech, luxury, and B2B SaaS.
Brand, product, and growth are one motion.
I grew up in agency and spent the last decade client side, so I know what brand needs to feel like, what product teams need to ship, and what growth needs to compound, measured in LTV, CAC, and payback, not vanity metrics.
AI is an org structure.
I operate with a roster of generative and agentic models wired into research, content, analytics, lifecycle, and ops. It performs like a 10-person team, costs a fraction, and ships at machine speed.
§ about
julia stein · toronto
Hi, I’m Julia.
I’m a senior marketing leader with 15+ years across financial services, fintech, insurtech, luxury, and global consumer brands including PepsiCo, Capital One, LVMH, Onlia, and Canaccord.
I started in agency, then spent nearly a decade client side in senior leadership roles, owning budgets up to $16M and teams of 20+. Across every role, I’ve operated at the intersection of brand, product, and growth, treating them as one motion rather than three separate functions. My recent agency work with Junto XP, where I was quoted in Strategy, is one recent proof point.
JUST Go To Market is the practice I built to keep doing the work I love at the pace it deserves: senior marketing leadership, augmented by an integrated AI stack that runs like a full team. Currently certifying in Generative & Agentic AI for Business Transformation at the Rotman School of Management.
brandproduct marketinggrowthlifecycleteam buildingai operating systems
§ services
Ways to work together.
engagement amulti-month retainer
Fractional CMO
Embedded marketing leadership. I sit on your leadership team, own the GTM number, and run the function across positioning, brand, product marketing, and channel execution.
- ICP, persona, and messaging architecture
- Full-funnel channel strategy & budget ownership
- LTV / CAC modeling, payback, and unit-economics discipline
- Team structure, hiring, and AI-augmented workflows
- Board & investor narrative
engagement b6–12 weeks
GTM sprint
A focused engagement to crack a specific problem: a launch, a repositioning, a category entry, a product narrative. You get the strategy and the assets shipped, with a clear handoff for what comes next.
- Category & competitive teardown
- Brand narrative & launch architecture
- Website, sales enablement, lifecycle assets
- Handoff playbook for in-house execution
engagement cburst or short-term
Senior marketing augmentation
Drop-in senior leadership or execution for a defined window. Cover a parental leave, hold the function between hires, or add horsepower to a launch without slowing the team you already have.
- Interim leadership or hands-on execution
- Burst capacity for launches and pitches
- Coaching and unblocking for in-house marketers
- Clean handoff when the engagement closes
engagement dadvisory + onboarding
First marketing hire, set up right
For founders ready to bring marketing in-house. I help scope the right role for the stage, sit alongside your new hire to set up the systems, rituals, and AI stack, so they walk into a function that works instead of a blank page.
- Role design, leveling, and JD
- Interview support and reference calls
- Operating system, tools, and AI workflows
- First 90-day plan and handoff
engagement ecustom scope
AI-native marketing build
I install the same agentic stack I use into your team: research agents, content engines, analytics dashboards, lifecycle automations. Your team operates with the same leverage I do.
- Agent roster design & integration
- Brand-trained knowledge base
- Workflow automation across CRM & content
- Team training & operating cadence
§ work
15+ years of work that moved the needle.
$100M
in new aum secured via targeted advisor outreach
Built and ran a multi-channel advisor acquisition program from a standing start; closed within 14 months.
optimize financial group
2.4M+
youtube views on the 'go online with onlia' campaign
Led creative strategy and media plan for a category-defining digital insurance launch in Canada.
onlia insurance
+40%
lift in brand awareness within 18 months
Repositioned a challenger insurance brand in a category dominated by incumbents 100x its size.
onlia insurance
13,600
annual policies, up from 10,000
36% YoY policy growth driven by lifecycle marketing, paid acquisition, and conversion optimization.
onlia insurance
2×
doubled agency revenue at two separate agencies
Rebuilt new-business motion end-to-end, positioning, pitch, and qualification, driving 100% revenue growth at each.
agency leadership
21→1
fragmented marketing function unified into one team
Consolidated 21 disparate vendors and contractors into a single in-house team with clear ownership.
optimize financial group
brands shaped, launched, or repositioned
TrustyOptimizeOnlia InsuranceAurora CannabisMercedes-BenzBeam SuntoryGallo WinesMaple Leaf FoodsSkyline REITJunto XPDDBCapital OnePepsiCoLVMHCanaccordTSX
§ how it works
Human led. AI supported.
Senior marketing leadership at the core, with AI quietly handling the repetitive work behind the scenes. You get the judgment of an executive and the throughput of a small team, without the headcount.
01Research & Insights
senior-led, ai-accelerated02Content & Copy
brand-trained, human-edited03Analytics & Reporting
always-on dashboards04Lifecycle & CRM
customer.io + hubspot05Design & Creative
in-house or partnership oversight + ai tooling06Workflow Orchestration
integrated end-to-end§ contact
Let’s build the market your category deserves.
Currently taking 2 new fractional engagements per quarter. If you’re a founder, a CEO, or a leadership team rebuilding a marketing function, send a note.
just go