Fractional CMO · Cybersecurity & B2B SaaS

The GTM decisions you make early
are the hardest ones to undo.

P1 provides senior marketing leadership and hands-on execution for cybersecurity founders who need to get the foundations right before they scale the wrong thing.

Book a 30-Minute Call See how P1 works →

What P1 Is

Senior judgment and hands-on execution. Not an agency.

P1 Growth Marketing is a fractional CMO practice serving seed to Series B cybersecurity startups. Roark works directly with founders as a player-coach: setting priorities, making trade-offs, and personally executing the foundational GTM work that needs to happen now.

The scope spans positioning and narrative, go-to-market clarity, early execution, and sales enablement. Every engagement is built around what the company actually needs at its current stage, not a generic growth playbook applied from the outside.

What this is not: P1 is not a demand generation agency, a lead-volume shop, or a replacement for a full in-house marketing team. If campaign management or SDR oversight is the primary need, P1 is not the right fit.

Who P1 Works With

Built for founders at a specific kind of inflection point.

P1 is most valuable when the stakes are high, the timeline is real, and the cost of getting it wrong, in capital, board confidence, or growth trajectory, is significant.

Pre-Fundraise

Marketing is still founder-led. The board is asking about positioning, pipeline, and GTM plans. A credible marketing foundation is needed before the raise.

Post-Raise, Pre-First Hire

Capital is in. Pressure to start marketing has arrived. But there is no senior marketing leadership in place and the wrong hire now is expensive.

Reset After a False Start

An agency or early hire did not deliver. Messaging is unclear. The board is asking harder questions. The foundation needs rebuilding before anything scales.

Advisory Need

Execution capacity exists but senior judgment is missing. A trusted marketing partner at the leadership level, without adding another operator, is what is needed.

Not sure you fit? P1 primarily serves cybersecurity companies, but also works with B2B SaaS and technical founders outside the space where the GTM challenges are similar. See the full FAQ →

How P1 Helps

The work that makes everything else scale.

P1 focuses on the foundational GTM work that unlocks real progress, not campaign volume or vanity metrics.

Positioning, Narrative & Market Clarity

Defining how the company shows up to buyers, investors, and analysts, then turning that clarity into messaging used across sales and marketing. This is the hardest work to fix once it scales wrong.

Early GTM Execution

Roark personally executes the highest-leverage foundational work: messaging, website narrative, content strategy, PR readiness, and early GTM experiments. Progress is real, not theoretical.

Sales & Channel Enablement

Ensuring marketing shows up correctly in revenue conversations. Sales pitch refinement, enablement materials, objection framing, and tight feedback loops between sales and marketing.

See the full scope of P1's work →

Results

What this looks like in practice.

Selected outcomes from engagements across cybersecurity companies at seed through Series B, spanning OT/ICS, EDR, software supply chain, network security, and secure access.

250%

Marketing-sourced qualified pipeline growth in three quarters at a critical infrastructure security company following a full GTM build

150%

Total qualified pipeline growth year-over-year; ARR grew from $2.1M to $3.8M in 12 months

~50%

Marketing-sourced share of total sales opportunities at a managed detection and response company, supporting a successful transaction

105%

Qualified pipeline growth in one year at an OT security company, including two North American lighthouse customer wins

"Roark transformed Xona's marketing, building the function from scratch, launching our enterprise platform story, positioning us as the industry leader in secure access for critical infrastructure, and ramping our sales pipeline."

Bill MooreFounder and CEO, Xona Systems

"Roark helped us bring discipline and clarity to NetRise's go-to-market at a critical stage. He quickly assessed our GTM readiness, helped reposition the company from firmware security to software supply chain security, and built a clear, credible data-driven narrative for enterprise buyers. His impact went well beyond typical advisory support."

Thomas PaceCo-Founder and CEO, NetRise

Engagement Models

Three ways to work with P1.

Engagements are tailored to the company's stage, urgency, and internal capacity. In every model, Roark Pollock provides the senior leadership directly.

Retainer

Fractional CMO

Ongoing senior marketing leadership and hands-on execution. Most common when a company needs consistent direction before a first marketing hire, around a fundraise, or after a reset. Typically 3 to 6 months.

Project

Focused Engagement

A clearly defined initiative: positioning reset, messaging overhaul, website narrative, or fundraise-ready marketing foundations. Clear outcome, scope, and timeline. Often a natural precursor to a retainer.

Advisory

Senior Guidance

For companies with execution capacity that lack senior marketing judgment. Ongoing strategic guidance, pressure-testing plans, and confident decision-making support without day-to-day execution.

See full engagement details →

Cybersecurity Domain

Depth that generalists cannot replicate.

Roark brings direct, hands-on experience across technically complex cybersecurity markets. That means faster orientation, sharper positioning, and fewer expensive mistakes in a space where buyer psychology, technical credibility, and sales cycles are highly specific.

Roark also works with B2B SaaS founders outside cybersecurity where the GTM challenges are similar: complex buyers, long sales cycles, and a need to build credibility before demand scales.

About Roark's background →

Network Security

Network detection, monitoring, and access control

EDR & Endpoint

Endpoint detection and response platforms

Software Supply Chain

SBOM, firmware security, and supply chain risk

Secure Access & Identity

Zero trust, privileged access, and identity security

OT / ICS Security

Operational technology and industrial control systems

Rail Cybersecurity

Critical transportation infrastructure security

About

Roark Pollock

Founder & Fractional CMO, P1 Growth Marketing

Roark is a senior cybersecurity marketing operator with 20+ years of hands-on experience building and resetting go-to-market functions at companies including Xona Systems, NetRise, Cylus, Gradient Cyber, Mission Secure, Ixia, and TippingPoint. He has served as CMO and CEO, completed a successful exit, and understands the board and investor dynamic from the inside.

P1 is built on the conviction that the right GTM decisions, made early and executed with discipline, compound into durable competitive advantage. That is the work.

Full background →LinkedIn ↗

Ready to talk?

If the timing is right, a 30-minute call is the right next step.

No pitch. No intake form. A direct conversation with Roark about your situation, your stage, and whether P1 can help. If there is a fit, you will know by the end of the call.

Book a Call with Roark 30 minutes · No commitment · Direct with Roark

The GTM decisions you make earlyare the hardest ones to undo.