Celine Fosse, Advertising and Marketing Communications ’09, gets startups off the ground

Celine Fosse has a particular talent. She helps founders position their companies for acquisition. And she knows exactly what’s on the line—because she is a founder herself. “I’ve seen the fireworks and the grief,” she says.

In 2024, Fosse founded Niimblr, a collaboration and feedback tool for digital content such as architectural renderings and marketing assets. In 2025, she led her startup to a successful acquisition. “You have to wear a million hats,” she says of being a founder.

In addition to brand marketing, scouting potential buyers, and other high-level responsibilities, she had to tackle all the administrative duties too. “I was answering customer emails myself. It was humbling, but it made me better at what I do.” Her experience in the trenches influences how other founders respond to her. “I get trusted so much more. I have my playbook and I can say, ‘This has worked for me, it can work for your baby as well.’”

Fosse learned the importance of trust early in her career, when she worked closely with ad-industry icon John McGarry at his agency McGarryBowen. “He was magic with people and built a reputation based on trust,” she recalls. “He always sent personal notes and remembered people’s stories.”

Fosse specializes in the role of “fractional” chief marketing officer (CMO). Startups bring her on as a short-term consultant to shepherd them through a high-pressure and deadline-driven process. She analyzes and refines a company’s marketing and business development strategy to prepare it for its next big milestone—whether that’s a sale, an infusion of capital, or an expansion. She acknowledges that being comfortable with chaos is what has “kept her safe.”

Through all the fireworks and grief, Fosse centers the humanity of the experience: Businesses don’t actually buy anything—it’s the people behind the businesses that do.