Rajat Kapur

Graduate Assistant for Graduate Career Services

At &Marketing, we know exactly what it’s like to want to grow your business in today's fast-paced, AI first, digital marketplace without sacrificing quality or wasting money. 

We help middle market companies with underdeveloped (or non-existent) marketing departments going through massive change (big growth aspirations, new ownership, changing external marketplace, etc) and are stuck between choosing between hiring in-house (difficult to find the right people and high attrition!) or a traditional marketing agency (expensive and inflexible!).  We present "the best of both worlds" - An fractional marketing leadership service that brings together the experience and strategic mindset of a Chief Marketing Officer or Fractional Marketing Director with smarts and savvy to drive measurable results.  

Don't know where to start? Want an unbiased opinion? Schedule a "no strings attached" 20 minute conversation so we can understand your challenge and help develop a plan (or provide an honest assessment that its not a good fit).  

How do we do it? 
&Marketing (www.and-marketing.com) does this by defining the future of marketing leadership. Our Strategy work is led by our community of 55+ Fractional CMOs, who span industries and company stages.  Our team offers flexibility (because we know things change quickly in a growing company), proves cross functional expertise, while focusing on measurable results.  We also believe in operational rigor, and run our business on EOS (Entrepreneur Operating System).  We're also a certified MBE (Minority Business Enterprise). 

About me: 
As an entrepreneur, experienced marketer, and the Founder & CEO of &Marketing (and-marketing.com), Rajat “Raj” Kapur strives to provide growing businesses unparalleled marketing strategy services. He is known for bringing the best of “big company” marketing strategies to smaller companies, without the excess baggage. His team of professionals can either augment an existing team, take on the role of "Fractional CMO," or outsource the entire marketing function. In EOS parlance, Raj is the "Visionary" for &Marketing. 

Raj’s quarter century of marketing, sales, and strategy development experience has spanned B2B and B2C Fortune 50, mid-sized, and startups. He has a proven track record of using analytics to drive action, an unrelenting customer focus, a bias for practical implementation, and strong interpersonal skills.  He is a hands-on leader, sought-after facilitator, and experienced marketing advisor with experience across five continents.

Founder & CEO

As the Founder & CEO of &Marketing (www.and-marketing.com), Raj and his team strive to provide growing businesses unparalleled marketing strategy and execution services. Raj has more than two decades of experience in B2B and B2C marketing, sales, & strategy. He has led nearly 100 high-profile marketing strategy projects for Global 100, mid-sized clients, and SMBs, plus over a decade with General Electric and General Mills. He is a sought-after advisor and facilitator, with experience across five continents.  He is known for bringing the best of 'big company' marketing and strategy to smaller companies without the baggage, his bias for practical implementation, and his unrelenting customer focus.

I demand a recount Nathan Wenk !!! 

My friend Brendan Dodge and I tied in the friendly contest in our ProVisors King of Prussia group for the most testimonials given or received in 2025 … but I think I actually beat him :) 

Love the spirit with the #1 trophy which is now prominently displayed in my home office!! And congrats to James Wisdom for a good ‘effort’ !!! 

….  All joking aside, I’m really appreciative of a great group of Cross functional colleagues who genuinely go out out of their way to help each other out!!! 

Thanks to the awesome members of our hike group, who make our monthly meetings genuinely enjoyable!! 

John Yankanich, CSL, MBA | Carrie L. Scattergood | Jennifer Young | Karen Murphy | Elizabeth G. Hodgson | Cat Bianco  | Brad Kushner  | Kara Klaiber | Todd Rogers | Shelby Leight | Robert R. Axenfeld | Andrew Stear, CPA | Darren Sudman | Kevin McNamee | Angelo DeSantis | Robert Glycenfer, CFBS | David LaRosa, CPA, CCIFP, CMA | Ryan W. Stillwell, CRM | Chris Nichols, MBA  

Photo cred:  Ryan McIntyre

At &Marketing, we know exactly what it’s like to want to grow your business in today's fast-paced, digitally first marketplace without sacrificing quality or wasting money. 

Every day, we help middle market companies with underdeveloped (or non-existent) marketing departments that have hit a growth ceiling, stuck between choosing between hiring in-house (difficult to find the right people and high attrition!) or a traditional marketing agency (expensive and inflexible!).  We present a third option, "the best of both worlds" - an outsourced marketing department that brings together the experience and strategic mindset of a Chief Marketing Officer with the smarts and savvy of an execution team to drive measurable results.  

Don't know where to start? Want an unbiased opinion? Need capable resources to do the work?  Schedule a "no strings attached" 20 minute conversation so we can understand your business challenge and see if we can come up with a plan (or an honest assessment that its not a good fit).  Just send me a message! 

How do we do it? 
&Marketing (www.and-marketing.com) does this by offering flexibility (because we know things change quickly in a growing company), providing access to cross functional expertise, focusing on measurable results, and executing efficiently.  We also believe in operational rigor, and run our business on EOS (the Entrepreneur Operating System). 

About me: 
As an entrepreneur, experienced marketer, and the Founder & CEO of &Marketing (and-marketing.com), Rajat “Raj” Kapur strives to provide growing businesses unparalleled marketing strategy and execution services. He is known for bringing the best of “big company” marketing strategies to smaller companies, without the excess baggage. His team of professionals can either augment an existing team, take on the role of "Fractional CMO," or outsource the entire marketing function for a client. In EOS parlance, Raj is the "Visionary" for &Marketing. 

Raj’s two decades of marketing, sales, and strategy development experience have spanned B2B and B2C Fortune 50, mid-sized, and startups. He has a proven track record of using analytics to drive action, an unrelenting customer focus, a bias for practical implementation, and strong interpersonal skills.  He is a hands-on leader, sought-after facilitator, and experienced marketing advisor with experience across five continents.

Shaping the Future of Marketing Leadership | Fractional CMO | Digital Marketing | Entrepreneur | Leadership | AI Enthusiast | Marketing AI | Investor | Board Member | Go Giver | Founder & CEO @ &Marketing | Certified MBE

𝐈𝐧 𝐌&𝐀, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐎𝐈 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐮𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

We’ve all seen it. The Letter of Intent is signed, the champagne pops, and then... the real work begins. We often view the period between the Letter of Intent and the Close as a time to validate the numbers and tighten the legal agreements.  

But in the most successful transactions, this period is treated differently.

I had the privilege of moderating a room full of M&A experts at our ProVisors M&A Affinity Group meeting in Philadelphia last Friday. It was a powerful reminder that M&A is a team sport.  

While our legal and financial partners build the critical bedrock of the deal, there is a simultaneous opportunity for operational advisors to conduct strategic assessments that ensure the investment actually pays off.

Our panel—including Michael Nolan, CSL (Sales Xceleration®), Mike Hynes (PuzzleHR), Cassandra Bailey (Slice Communications), Allison Vanscoy, MBA, PMP (Nesper Solutions) and Dave Rosenberg, Speaker, Coach, Accountability Expert (Locked On Leadership) (and many others!) —unpacked the operational realities that often get overlooked.

The group offered tons of insights on where "deal value" is either secured or lost post-LOI:

1️⃣ Sales - Are we buying a sales process that is scalable, or just a few rainmakers?  Is our sales organization have the foundational processes in place to achieve the goals on the spreadsheet? 

2️⃣ Marketing is about validating the value prop, customer segmentation, and market sizing of the new entity.  Does the new company have a message and GTM plan?  Is your digital marketing footprint ready for scaling? 

3️⃣ Culture & Leadership Alignment goes deeper than just "getting along." We discussed how "soft" issues cause the hardest problems. How are decisions made? How is accountability handled? If the leadership styles clash, the strategy will stall.

4️⃣ Communications is about the internal heartbeat: managing the fear, uncertainty, and emotions that inevitably ripple through a company during a transaction.

5️⃣ The People Plan (HR) Beyond culture, are benefits, payroll, and compliance ready for Day 1 so the team feels secure, not distracted?
 
6️⃣ Operations: Are the operations and supply chains robust enough to handle the post-close growth goals?

The goal isn't just to get to the closing table without surprises. The goal is to maximize long-term value so the teams can hit the ground running

I’m grateful to have such a strong community of experts in the Philadelphia area through ProVisors (and our guests from other chapters). It allows us to act as a truly holistic referral network for our clients.

👇 Question for the M&A community: When you see a deal struggle post-close, is it usually a Financial surprise or an operational issue? What are your keys to success? 

#MergersAndAcquisitions #ProVisors #BusinessStrategy #Leadership #DealMaking #ValueCreation

Receiving emails that our &Marketing team rocked an insights project makes my day (not a surprise, just affirmation that we're doing things right!) 

Beth McDonough and the rest of our consulting and insights team helped a client with a major product launch.  

The product launch team needed a better understanding of how to position key attributes of their new technology. I'm glad to share that we made an immediate impact to how they roll out this new innovation.  

The product team said things like "We need to make a few changes immediately" and "we need to stop using [a certain word that didn't resonate with customers]"  

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝...
1) Really listen to your customers (don't just 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮!) 
2) Understand what's important to them in an unbiased way (hire an outside expert to help if needed)  
3) "𝑻𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌" and focus on what's most important... dump the technical jargon! 

See more below!!! 👏

Insights architect. Story strategist. Writer, teacher, pop-culture obsessive | Making sense of the noise (and calling BS on lazy data) | Director of Content Strategy & Insights @ &Marketing

We wrapped a Voice of Customer project last week for a high-stakes product launch and was reminded how powerful these projects can be when done right.

Not because the feedback was glowing (though it was! See image), but because the pattern that emerged was… familiar.

Across interviews, a few things showed up again and again:
	•	Adoption wasn’t driven by excitement or “innovation.” It was driven by requirements.
	•	Cost sensitivity kicked in immediately, especially when anything felt more complicated than it needed to be.
	•	“Advanced” features only mattered when they clearly reduced callbacks, friction, or risk.
	•	And jobsite language beat polished, tech-forward messaging every single time.

What is most interesting to me is how often big companies can get stuck wanting to use their own language instead of their customer’s— as if saying something enough times in a conference room will eventually make it true in the field. (It won’t.) This client realized they don’t know what they don’t know and asked us to find out - kudos to them for recognizing they might not have all the answers.

The value of really good insights work isn’t in just collecting quotes or tallying themes. It’s in sitting with the data long enough to see where internal narratives drift away from how decisions actually get made and then translating that into clear guidance: what to emphasize, what to simplify, and what to stop saying.

When that comes together the way it should, you get a great story, but the most important part is how you tie that back to helping the client make better decisions. I’m so proud of my team for accomplishing both! 🎉

𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰.

I really enjoyed connecting with our FUEL Community yesterday for a training session on how to turn prospect interviews into engagement opportunities and long-term client relationships.

We didn’t just talk theory. I built the training based on our learnings from the past four years and hundreds of prospect meetings.  
We practiced together — live.
We coached each other.
We got real.

I shared what’s worked for us, including the exact mindset and techniques we use to turn initial convos into long-term client relationships.

I’m always blown away by the thoughtful feedback our community members give and receive during these sessions, and I have no doubt we’ll continue hearing success stories as their training experiences impact their fractional businesses.

When members leave the corporate world, it can be a bit of a shock to lose learning teams and resources. It’s so important to recreate a similar structure in our fractional businesses. We all need coaching … other leaders to learn from and grow with - and I’m glad I had the opportunity to connect with our community today.

Christa Cordova, M.Div.

"𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞 ... 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞?"

We were reviewing the copy for a client’s new homepage last week. We had just presented a provocative direction. It was raw. It empathized directly with their customers' biggest, most frustrating problems. (we knew because we talked to their customers) 

The client flinched.

"We really prefer a glass-half-full viewpoint," they said. "We don't want to stress the audience out. Let's focus on the positive benefits."

We pushed back.

I told them that while it feels safe to be "positive," skipping over the hard stuff is actually dangerous.

Here is the reality we walked them through: Buyers (especially in B2B) are savvier than ever. When your company avoids acknowledging the real-world problems they face, you don’t look "optimistic." You look out of touch. You look artificial.

If you want to cut through the noise, you have to get comfortable with "Useful Negativity."

We reminded them of Donald Miller's StoryBrand Framework: Every great story needs a Villain. If there is no problem, there is no hero. And if there is no hero, your customer doesn’t need your product.

Think about the most effective marketing out there (B2B or B2C):
💻 Cybersecurity (B2B): The best firms don't just sell "peace of mind." They validate the gut-wrenching panic of a ransomware attack. They position themselves as the only thing standing between the CEO and a headline they don't want to read.

💾 Productivity SaaS (B2B): Tools like Basecamp didn't win by just selling "collaboration." They declared war on the "chaos of work" and the misery of the never-ending email chain. They bonded with users over their burnout.

👹 Consumer Brands (B2C): Even Mucinex doesn't just sell relief; they create a literal "Mucus Monster" to fight.

The best brands bond with their audience over a shared problem. "Increased efficiency" is a nice benefit. But it’s not a story. "Stopping the chaos that is ruining your weekend" ... That is an emotional hook.

The lesson for all companies:  Don't be afraid to look the problem in the eye and show your customer that you 'get it.' That may be the only way your customer will believe you can solve it.

Check out our article on this topic! 

#MarketingStrategy #ValueProposition #ClientManagement

𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠.

This snippet from the great Seth Godin 🌔  over the weekend hit me like a truck.

As he wrote a post about resisting the pressure to be average, his grammar software tried to "fix" every single sentence.

It tried to strip away his unique voice.
It tried to make him sound "normal."
It tried to pull him down to "Room Temperature."

This is the hidden crisis of the modern professional world.

We are surrounded by tools, templates, and "best practices" that are actively conspiring to make us indistinguishable from one another.
• We use the same AI tools and prompts.
• We use the same formatting.
• We use the same corporate buzzwords to "sound professional."

In a world of infinite noise, "fitting in" is a death sentence.

Godin is right: Stable systems regress to the mean.

If we don’t actively push back, gravity will pull us into the center of the bell curve. Becoming safe and reliable will make is completely invisible.

Being "weird" is risky. Having a different perspective is scary.

But being "Room Temperature"? That’s a slow fade into irrelevance.

Stop letting the tools polish your edges. Your edges are the only thing you have left.
🔥 

What’s something you can do to ignore "best practices" to do something that felt totally different? Even … weird? 

#SethGodin #Disruption #Marketing #ThoughtLeadership

AI is changing everything in many parts of the economy.  Great article from The Atlantic about the “AI Bubble” - worth a read.   

“Here’s How the AI Crash Happens”

- Massive data centers are rising from seemingly nowhere - like cornfields in places like Indiana, guzzling energy at the scale of entire cities. “When all the data centers in New Carlisle are built, they will demand more power than two Atlantas.” And yet… many companies still aren’t turning a profit from AI.

- NVIDIA  just hit a $5 trillion valuation — more than 94x Ford. We’re becoming, as the authors say, a “Nvidia-state.” And while AI is now responsible for 92% of U.S. GDP growth, here’s the catch: stock prices are soaring, but job growth is sluggish, and AI revenues aren’t keeping pace with the hype.

- McKinsey & Company  reports that nearly 80% of companies using AI haven’t seen meaningful bottom-line impact.  Why not? 

The article talks about how these tech driven bubbles have burst before.  Fiber optics in the 90s. Railroads in the 1800s. Transformative and bubble-prone. 

The question isn’t if AI will change the world — it’s whether the current economic model chasing it is sustainable. 

Through this, though, I choose to be an optimist about AI in the future…  the other two options, being fearful or in denial don’t seem practical. #AIBoom #AIBubble #DataCenters #MarketingAI.

LinkedIn network: know somebody who might be a good fit for thisnontraditional opportunity with a startup? It’s not a great fit for &Marketing but maybe you know someone?  

Background:  its a B2C ecommerce technology in the wearables space… They have cash and are going through a Kickstarter. 

They're looking for someone as a long-term partner/cofounder (not just a Fractional CMO/ marketing vendor). They are willing to give cash compensation for a few months but then want to turn into a "win-win" or co-founder arrangement. 

The attributes they are looking for: 

1) Previous work with B2C startups 

2) Experience with a Kickstarter (or similar) campaign 

3) The right DNA - looking for a partnership, excited about working together, etc. 

If you want an intro, describe your interest in a direct message or email and I'll follow up accordingly! 

Thank you!

#Startup #TechStartup #Opportunity

&Marketing

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝? 

𝐄𝐎𝐒 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐞

As the year kicks off, most leadership teams are deep in planning conversations: 

What changed last year? 
Where is the market headed in 2026? 
What needs to tighten up in Q1?
 
In almost every organization we work with, marketing is one of the first areas to feel the impact of misalignment. 

When priorities shift week to week, messaging gets inconsistent. When core values aren’t clear, communication gets muddy. When leadership doesn’t share the same picture of the future, your marketing engine sputters. 
 
This is where EOS Worldwide becomes a marketing advantage. Whether you run on it or not, Traction creates the operational stability that strong marketing depends on. 

When teams are aligned, accountable, and grounded in the same goals, marketing becomes clearer, faster, and more connected to the business you’re actually running.

Here are three EOS principles that directly strengthen how a company communicates and shows up to customers: 

📣 Values Shape Clear, Trustworthy Messaging: In moments of uncertainty, people follow companies that know who they are. When values guide decisions, they naturally guide communication.

📆 The Meeting Pulse Prevents Drift: Without a reliable rhythm of alignment, marketing can end up operating on outdated assumptions. Weekly L10s keep customer issues, priorities, and real-time insights front and center. 

🪨 Rocks Turn Strategic Intent Into Actionable Focus: Every leadership team enters January with big intentions, but intentions alone don’t change outcomes. Rocks create the accountability and structure needed to actually execute the strategic marketing work that often gets deprioritized during busy seasons. 

If you’re looking for a clear lens to guide your planning conversations in the new year, we break these concepts down more fully in this recent article: 3 ways to leverage traction in your marketing department. It’s a quick, practical read as you set your direction for 2026.

taplio

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