Fractional CMO · Comparison
Innovative Group vs Right Side Up.
Side by side
The structural comparison.
Numbers below are taken from each firm's own public materials, current as of June 2026.
| Dimension | Innovative Group | Right Side Up |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Three published tiers: $2,500 / $7,500 / $15,000+ per month. Rates on the page. | Not publicly published. Sales-gated. Range varies by senior operator placement. |
| Pricing transparency | Exact prices on the page. No qualification step to see the number. | Sales call required to see pricing. Conservative positioning. |
| Bench depth | Six specialty teams under one P&L. Moves with the operator on every engagement. | Senior-vetted collective of marketing operators. Each placement is a 1:1 engagement. Execution scoped separately. |
| AI capability | AI execution layer. Autonomix subsidiary, 3 patents pending, 20+ agents in production. Beat dashboard and Next Best Action shipped to clients. | AI is integrated into operator practice. Not a productized AI deployment layer. |
| Operator pool | Named operators on every engagement. Chris, Norm, Mark, David, Michael, Andy, Sean, Chris Heuer, RJ Naugle. | Vetted collective. Match-pick by case team. Named-operator transparency varies by engagement. |
| Capital posture | Operator-led firm with sister VC arm (Blitzscaling Ventures). Writes checks into AI portfolio companies. | Independent marketing-talent firm. No direct investment arm. |
| Client portfolio | AWS, Google AI, Seequent, SprintRay, OneBenefits, All Voice AI, 200+ mid-market and local engagements. | Robinhood, Calm, Imperfect Foods, MasterClass, Snowflake, Coinbase, Honey. Strong DTC and consumer-tech depth. |
| Engagement shape | Embedded operator + specialty team allocation under one P&L. | Senior fractional placement with execution through their broader operator network. |
The three differences that matter most
1. Pricing transparency
Right Side Up publishes a range from $1,500 to over $30,000 per month on their own blog. Useful for a budget sanity check. Not useful for a buyer who wants the actual number before booking a call.
We publish exact tier prices on our pricing page. $2,500 Advisory, $7,500 Embedded, $15,000+ Operating Partner. The conversation is about fit, not about what we charge.
2. Bench integration
Right Side Up' model is "Executives-as-a-Service." 150+ fractional CMOs on the bench. The operator runs strategy and typically partners out execution to an agency the client already has or one Right Side Up refers in. That is a clean model for the strategic surface.
IG runs an operating company. Six specialty teams move with every fractional CMO engagement: Business Growth, Digital Marketing & Technology, AI Solutions, Products, Education & Enablement, Funding & Incubation. The operator does not have to coordinate three vendors to ship the work. The bench is the firm.
3. AI execution depth
Right Side Up launched a dedicated AI Consulting practice in 2024. The published positioning is strategic: AI roadmaps, use case prioritization, workforce empowerment. Advisory layer work.
IG ships AI products. Next Best Action for B2B status and approval workflows. Beat for local-business operating dashboards. Autonomix with 20 plus agents already in production and 3 patents pending. The execution layer is where IG operates.
Where Right Side Up is the better answer
This is an honest page. Three scenarios where Right Side Up is the right call over IG:
If you are DTC, consumer tech, or hyper-growth consumer brand, Right Side Up's portfolio depth in those categories (Robinhood, Calm, Imperfect Foods, MasterClass, Honey) is hard to match. IG's book is more enterprise + B2B SaaS.
If you want a senior-vetted talent network with broad operator optionality, Right Side Up's collective shape is built for that. IG runs a smaller, named-operator pool.
If you prefer a sales conversation before seeing pricing, Right Side Up's sales-gated model is consistent with that posture. IG publishes rates on the page.
Where IG is the better answer
If you want bench integration, not a talent placement. Brand, demand, AI execution, products — all under one P&L. No vendor coordination required.
If you want pricing transparency, IG publishes exact tier prices ($2,500 / $7,500 / $15,000+). Right Side Up gates pricing behind a sales call.
If you want AI execution, not AI in-practice. Autonomix in production with 3 patents pending. Beat shipping. Next Best Action in customer environments.
If you are venture-backed pre-raise and need milestone-comp structure, our $2,500 Advisory tier matches the AVAI accrual rate. Right Side Up runs standard retainer.
If your engagement could benefit from capital alignment, our Funding & Incubation team writes checks into AI companies we advise. Right Side Up does not have a direct investment arm.
Frequently asked
Is Innovative Group cheaper than Right Side Up?
Right Side Up does not publish rates, so a direct comparison is hard. Based on category benchmarks, senior placements at sales-gated firms typically settle in the $10K to $25K/mo range. IG's three published tiers ($2,500 / $7,500 / $15,000+) are at or below the lower end of that band, with the bench bundled in.
What is Right Side Up's equivalent of the IG bench?
Right Side Up operates as a collective: they place a senior operator and that operator pulls in execution from the broader network. IG operates as an operating company: the bench moves with every engagement under one P&L. Different shape; both work for different buyer profiles.
Does Right Side Up ship AI products like Beat or Next Best Action?
No. Right Side Up is a marketing-talent firm. The AI integration is in operator practice, not in productized deployments. IG ships AI products themselves through the IG Products and AI Solutions specialty teams.
Which firm is better for DTC or consumer-tech?
Right Side Up has deeper DTC and consumer-tech portfolio depth (Robinhood, Calm, Imperfect Foods, MasterClass, Honey). IG's book is more enterprise + B2B SaaS + AI infrastructure. If your business is hyper-growth consumer, have both conversations.
Can I move from Right Side Up to IG mid-engagement?
Yes. Most operator transitions take 30 to 45 days. Start with our Advisory tier while the existing Right Side Up placement winds down, then move into Embedded once the bottleneck is clear.
Pick the tier. Bring the bottleneck.
30 minutes. We will tell you in the same call whether the engagement fits, or whether Right Side Up is the better answer.
Start a conversation →