Fractional Leaders feat. Steph Giansante

Meet Steph Giansante, founder of Bold Natives and a marketing strategist with 15+ years of experience. After leading growth for brands like JD Sports and Huel, Steph launched a fractional consultancy in 2024 to help businesses scale efficiently.

In this Fractional Leaders blog, Steph shares insights on impact, client growth, and smart marketing strategies for scale-ups.

Can you please introduce yourself and your journey to becoming a Fractional Leader?

I’ve spent over 15 years navigating every side of the marketing world; client-side, agency-side, and in-house for eCommerce brands. My journey began leading marketing teams for brands like Music Magpie, Flannels, JD Sports, Li & Fung, and Public Desire. Later, I transitioned to the agency world as Performance and Strategy Director, where I mentored teams and developed growth strategies for brands including Huel, Purdy & Figg, Cole Buxton, and Beards & Daisies.

In 2024, I took the leap to ‘go fractional’ by launching Bold Natives, a growth consultancy designed to provide flexible, fractional support to brands and agencies. Whether acting as a Growth Director auditing and advising brand-side or a Strategist supporting new business proposals, I offer the expertise businesses need without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.

What excites me most about working fractionally is the opportunity to truly embed myself within a business, take ownership of their growth, and deliver on KPIs. The variety of working across sectors like FMCG, services, and agencies means I can pull from a wealth of experience to accelerate growth and drive impact.

Let’s talk impact, what achievements are you proud of the most?
On a functional level, I’m proud of the trust and long-term relationships I’ve built with brands and agencies. Many of my initial projects were short-term engagements designed to prove the value of my support. I’m thrilled to say that over 80% of those projects have transitioned into ongoing fractional partnerships, which is a testament to the results I deliver.

I also take pride in the smaller wins that create big impacts: reducing customer acquisition costs (CAC) for several brands, launching new-to-market businesses, and securing new client wins for agencies. These achievements happen frequently, and I love celebrating them alongside my clients. It’s incredibly rewarding to see the tangible impact of my work on their growth journeys.

Based on your work with start-ups and scale-ups, do you have any pieces of wisdom you could share with businesses in scale-up mode? 
Take a step back so you can plan forward. Many business owners I work with know where they want to go but struggle to see the path to get there. My approach starts with a full audit of all marketing channels; Meta, Google, TikTok, creative, brand, email, CRM, and offline. Then, I step into the customer’s shoes to uncover opportunities and identify the gaps holding them back from hitting their KPIs.

One piece of advice I often share is that marketing doesn’t have to be overly complicated. At its core, it’s about connecting with a “human truth” to trigger an action. Of course, the layers of forecasting, data analysis, and testing strategies are crucial, but businesses need to first understand their unique value propositions and simplify their message. With that foundation in place, scaling becomes a matter of executing strategically and staying laser focused on results.

If you’re a business interested in hearing more about our Fractional Leadership offering you can:

Find out more here

If you are a fractional leader and would like to be featured as part of the “Fractional Leaders” series please get in touch.