Crossfade Partners

Crossfade Partners is a fractional co-founder and embedded growth practice for funded startups at the intersection of music, media, entertainment, and marketing technology. Founded by Jon Vanhala, former EVP/Head of Digital at Universal Music Group, Crossfade works with Pre-Series A through B companies that have built strong products but need go-to-market traction, enterprise partnerships, and growth infrastructure that actually converts. Over 12 years, Crossfade has embedded with 50+ companies, helped portfolio companies raise over $600M in capital, and contributed to six exits including acquisitions by Spotify, Ticketmaster, MarineMax, and Delivery.com. What we do: GTM strategy and execution, positioning and narrative, enterprise partnership development, investor marketing, creator and KOL strategy, team building and coaching. How we work: We don't hand over decks. We embed with founding teams, build the strategy and infrastructure that makes repeatable growth possible, and stay proactive until the numbers prove it's working. Select clients and portfolio companies include Fanbase (creator economy), Sonic Lens (music intelligence), Prescient AI (marketing mix modeling), MarketPulse IQ (geospatial analytics), Barefoot Media (music content licensing), and Berklee College of Music Institute for Music and Health. Persuasion is the game. Conversion is the scorecard.