High Caliber AI
    In-houseas VP Marketing, StoryhunterVideo Production Marketplace

    Fractional CMO playbook in action

    How a video marketplace tripled its qualified pipeline — with less team and less budget

    Storyhunter needed enterprise-grade marketing on a startup budget. The result: 200% MQL growth quarter-over-quarter, 57% revenue growth, and meetings with Bloomberg, Chick-Fil-A, and T-Mobile.

    200%
    MQL increase (Q2 vs Q1)
    57%
    Revenue growth
    3
    Enterprise logos opened

    How David was engaged: This was an in-house engagement — David led marketing as VP Marketing at Storyhunter. Results reflect a team effort he led, not solo work.

    David's work & commentary featured in

    The New York TimesThe Wall Street JournalAd AgeAdweekForbesDigidayFast CompanyVentureBeat

    Storyhunter is the video production marketplace connecting brands and broadcasters with vetted filmmakers worldwide. When David joined as VP Marketing, the company had a strong supply side but no repeatable enterprise demand engine — and the team was being asked to deliver agency-tier marketing on a fraction of an agency-tier budget.

    The challenge

    Marketing was generating activity, not pipeline. There was no shared definition of what a real lead was, content didn't match how enterprise buyers searched, and the brand felt more 'startup directory' than 'enterprise-ready partner.' Sales had no air cover and no inbound to work.

    What we actually did

    Rather than chase a single shiny tactic, the playbook was full-funnel: define the lead, fix the brand, capture the buyer's actual search intent, and personally open the doors that would prove the model.

    1. Defined MQLs vs SQLs with sales — for real

    Wrote the joint definitions, instrumented them in HubSpot, and made the funnel legible end-to-end. Suddenly the team could optimize for pipeline instead of vanity metrics.

    2. Rebuilt the content engine around buyer questions

    Pivoted the blog from thought-piece content to high-intent SEO answers. 'Video production costs' hit page one of Google — the exact query enterprise buyers Google before requesting a quote.

    3. Rebranded for enterprise credibility

    Wrote the brief, sourced a lean design partner, and shipped a refreshed identity and customer experience that made Bloomberg-tier procurement teams comfortable signing.

    4. Led BD personally into target accounts

    Hands-on outbound into priority enterprise targets. Booked meetings with Bloomberg, Chick-Fil-A, T-Mobile, and others — turning marketing into a real revenue function instead of a service desk.

    "We stopped paying for activity and started building pipeline. The funnel finally made sense."

    What it produced

    Within two quarters the marketing org went from cost center to growth engine — and did it on a leaner budget than peer companies were spending to get worse outcomes.

    • 200% increase in MQLs Q2 vs Q1, with shared SDR + marketing definitions in place
    • 57% revenue growth attributable to the new pipeline + brand motion
    • Meetings booked with Bloomberg, Chick-Fil-A, T-Mobile, and other Fortune 500 buyers
    • Lower headcount and budget than competitors assumed was necessary to compete

    Frequently asked

    What was David Berkowitz's role at Storyhunter?

    VP of Marketing — an in-house operating role, not a fractional engagement. He owned the marketing org end-to-end: brand, content, demand gen, and direct enterprise BD.

    How quickly did MQLs grow?

    MQLs grew 200% from Q1 to Q2 once joint marketing/sales definitions were in place and the content engine was retargeted at high-intent buyer queries.

    What enterprise accounts opened up?

    Direct meetings with Bloomberg, Chick-Fil-A, T-Mobile and other Fortune 500 video buyers.

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