About Michael

Built at unicorns.
Applied to your stage.

I'm a fractional CMO who works exclusively with venture-backed B2B SaaS companies. Twenty engagements. Five years. A methodology developed at companies like Benevity and Neo Financial — and refined specifically for the post-raise, pre-scale moment your company is in right now.

Engagements completed

45^%

Clients raised subsequent rounds

18^%

Clients since acquired

Michael Gaudet, Fractional CMO — Eighty Twenty CMO

Background

Not a consultant who learned SaaS.
A SaaS operator who consults.

My career was built inside high-growth B2B SaaS companies before I ever consulted for one. I was employee #63 at Benevity — hired immediately after their Series A — and stayed long enough to see the company grow from a scrappy startup to a 700-person unicorn valued at over $1B. I was promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing Operations, responsible for all demand generation and revenue operations, including pipeline forecasting directly to the board.

Before that, I built Digital Marketing as a function at iStockphoto/Getty Images, led the full digital team at Vovia agency (SEM, SEO, analytics), and served as Head of Marketing, Communications, Product and Digital at Swoop, the WestJet subsidiary, where I drove profitability in the airline's first operating year. I also spent time at Harvest Builders — a Calgary venture builder — helping launch portfolio companies including Neo Financial, now a second unicorn.

I launched Eighty Twenty CMO in June 2020 with a specific mission: apply the playbooks I ran inside funded B2B SaaS companies to the exact moment when founders need them most — right after raising, before they have marketing leadership in place.

I also completed my MBA at the Haskayne School of Business (University of Calgary) on nights and weekends while leading all execution at a top-tier digital ad agency. I hold a Certificate in Advanced Web Analytics from UBC. I'm based in Calgary, Alberta.

Career History

Where the methodology was built.

2020 – Present

Eighty Twenty CMO

Principal, Fractional CMO

20 completed 12-week engagements across B2B SaaS verticals including FinTech, InsurTech, IndustrialTech, and Energy SaaS. 45% of clients have raised subsequent rounds. 18% have been acquired.

2018 – 2020

Harvest Builders

Head of Performance Marketing

Led marketing for the prairie-based venture builder and its portfolio companies — including Neo Financial, which has since achieved unicorn status at a $1B+ valuation.

Neo Financial → Unicorn

2016 – 2018

Swoop (WestJet)

Head of Marketing, Communications, Digital & Product

Oversaw all marketing and digital for the WestJet low-cost subsidiary. Drove profitability in the first year of operations through data-led marketing, A/B testing, and HubSpot-powered communications automation.

2011 – 2016

Benevity

Director, Sales & Marketing Operations

Employee #63, hired right after the Series A. Grew with the company from startup to 700+ employees. As the youngest Director at Benevity, ran all demand generation (inbound and outbound) and revenue operations including executive-level pipeline forecasting.

Benevity → Unicorn ($1B+)

2009 – 2011

Vovia Digital Agency

Digital Marketing Lead

Senior SME in SEM/PPC for the agency's largest accounts. Promoted within a year to lead the full digital marketing team across SEM, SEO, and analytics.

2006 – 2009

iStockphoto / Getty Images

Digital Marketing SME

Subject matter expert in SEO, SEM/PPC, programmatic display, web analytics, and affiliate marketing at one of the world's leading digital content marketplaces.

Teaching

A methodology
rigorous enough to teach.

I teach the fractional CMO methodology to hundreds of active and aspiring fractional leaders. Not because I needed a side project — because the process I built across 20 engagements is structured, repeatable, and transferable.

For founders, this matters: you're not working with someone who is figuring it out as they go. You're working with someone whose approach is documented, tested, and taught to other practitioners.

Maven Course

How Fractional Leaders Can Create a Killer Value Proposition

A practitioner-built course for fractional leaders on how to position, price, and build a sustainable fractional practice — based on my own methodology, refined across five years and 20 engagements. Taught to hundreds of active fractional professionals.

View the course →

Built at unicorns.Applied to your stage.

Not a consultant who learned SaaS.A SaaS operator who consults.

Where the methodology was built.

A methodologyrigorous enough to teach.

Want to work with someone who has done this before?

Built at unicorns.
Applied to your stage.

Not a consultant who learned SaaS.
A SaaS operator who consults.

A methodology
rigorous enough to teach.