On this episode of Oh Frac!, host Adir Ron sits down with growth and marketing leader Thomas Kuchling—ex-CMO at fast-growing European startups and now a fractional CMO, advisor, angel investor, and mentor. Thomas pulls no punches on the #1 scaling mistake he sees from Seed to Series A: mistaking early traction for true product-market fit and papering cracks with ad spend instead of fixing retention, pricing, and lifecycle fundamentals. We dig into channel strategy when search volume is thin, why social push beats “just run Google” for many modern products, and how AI lets a sharp fractional compete with entire teams on speed and quality. Thomas also shares a gnarly turnaround story, his creative frameworks, and practical advice for founders and aspiring fractionals. This one’s packed with signal.   Key takeaways:* Early PMF signals can be misleading; validate across multiple channels before scaling.* Don’t treat paid as a crutch - optimize LTV drivers (retention, pricing models, reactivation) first.* In low-awareness categories, push channels (Meta/TikTok/YouTube Shorts) often outperform search.* Creative strategy is more critical than channel hacks: use customer-awareness stages, benefits over features, JTBD.* Small, high-intent Google keyword sets are useful baselines - but not your growth engine.* AI can extend a fractional’s range across creative, analysis, and ops - speed and cohesion win.* “Channel fit” ≠ “market fit”; if only one channel works, you likely don’t have PMF yet.* Expectation alignment and trust cadence make or break fractional/client success.* Angel operators can accelerate early GTM by installing foundations and first hires.* Specialize: niche + proof beats generalist promises when selling fractional services.   Chapters:00:00 Cold open & guest intro04:30 Icebreaker: urgency, speed, and founder reality09:00 Do founders really know what they need?13:30 Thomas’s path to fractional leadership18:00 Making the leap: uncertainty, pipeline, retention of clients22:30 The big mistake: PMF, pricing, and LTV vs more ads27:00 Channels that actually start the fire: social push vs. search31:30 AI’s edge: how a fractional competes with teams36:00 Angel operator role, ICPs, and regulated industries40:30 Frac’d-up turnaround, quickfire, and one-piece advice   Thomas Kuchling’s LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kuchling/  Adir’s LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/adir-ron/   Keywords:Oh Frac!, Adir Ron, Thomas Kuchling, fractional CMO, fractional leadership, startup growth, product-market fit, retention, lifetime value, pricing tests, reactivation, social ads, Meta ads, TikTok ads, YouTube Shorts, push marketing, B2B marketing, B2C growth, creative frameworks, customer awareness stages, jobs to be done, AI in marketing, angel investor, go-to-market, early stage, Seed to Series A