top of page

Chris McLellan,
Growth Marketing Consultant

I'm a hands-on AI-forward marketing consultant working with leading businesses on GTM strategy, branding, product marketing, and demand generation.

Friends Electric is the AI Marketing and Product Marketing consultancy of Chris McLellan

"Chris is a forward thinker who builds genuine relationships and creates opportunities for growth."

- Country Manager, Lyft

More recommendations

15 Years and 50+ Campaigns Focused on Growing
Cutting-Edge B2B and B2C Startups, Scale-ups, and Brands

Articles & Appearances

Presentation to the CDO Council of Canada, February 4, 2026

Canadian Marketing Association, July 09, 2025

Small Business Podcast, December 16, 2025

Data Governance Institute blog, October 29, 2025

For editorial, podcast, and live appearances please email: chris@friendselectric.ca

AI Marketing Services

I work with teams to introduce AI-enabled marketing programs, tactics, and tools that directly support business and marketing objectives.

Answer Engine Optimization

Boost LLM footprint via store listings, landing pages, and Digital PR to drive interest, traffic, and sales.

Knowledge

Bases

Establish a single source of truth for non-CRM marketing data to support increased productivity with AI tools.

Content

Engines

Introduce AI notetakers, custom bots, and image and video tools to scale content and improve productivity.

Marketing

Agents

Collaborate with teams to audit marketing processes and evaluate opportunities for agentic automation.

Foundational Marketing Services 

I execute strategic marketing programs and growth initiatives that align with business goals and dovetail with AI marketing tactics.

Marketing Strategy

Create succinct, data-centric Marketing Plans that incorporate GTM strategy, channels, timeline, and marketing

budget.

Product Marketing Research & GTM

Execute core product research, GTM plans, and publish product assets that enable BDRs, AMs, and CS.

Demand Gen Programs

Drive problem awareness and category interest through content, thought leadership, and media relations.

Demand Capture Programs

Plan and execute campaigns, lead prospecting, email sequences, AEO, PLG loops, event marketing, and referrals.

Client-Focused Pricing 

I start from a baseline rate of $500 CAD per day that's adjusted up or down to reflect number of days in contract, number of employees, and total funding raised

(for venture-backed startups and scale-ups).

How We Can Work

Project-Based

Ideal for teams that want structured support with clear goals and timelines. Each engagement focuses on building or improving a specific part of the marketing function. Examples: AI Plans, Knowledge Bases, product research, campaigns

Fractional

Ideal for founders or marketing leads who need a senior marketing resource to plan, build, or optimize key functions without hiring someone on a full time

basis.  Examples: Running AI marketing, Demand Gen, or Product Marketing programs

Full-Time

For organizations ready to scale marketing and growth. I join your team to support planning, execution, and AI adoption across the full marketing function.
Examples: Managing the entire marketing function or multiple programs.

Sample Portfolio

I approach AI marketing from a foundation of hard-earned skills gained by launching cutting-edge companies across 3 continents. Best viewed on desktop👍

Chris McLellan, growth and AI marketing portfolio
Chris Mclellan is the Pricipal at Friends Electric, the AI marketing consultancy
Chris Mclellan is the Pricipal at Friends Electric, the AI marketing consultancy
Chris Mclellan is the Pricipal at Friends Electric, the AI marketing consultancy
Chris Mclellan is the Pricipal at Friends Electric, the AI marketing consultancy
Chris Mclellan is the Pricipal at Friends Electric, the AI marketing consultancy

Career Snapshot

01

Cinchy - Marketing Director

Founding marketer at pioneering startup building Data Collaboration Platform for the enterprise. Lead product marketing and category development. Backed by Mars Ventures and Techstars.

02

Ask AI Podcast - Founder / Head of Content

Founded Ask AI nonprofit in 2017 to showcase innovation and support everyday professionals as they navigate increased AI adoption. I continue to volunteer as content producer.

03

Lyft - Canada Launch Manager (Contract)

Launch marketer (contract) responsible for all driver recruitment, passenger recruitment, and key partnerships for Toronto/GTA launch of the major rideshare service.

04

VarageSale - Head of Launch Marketing

Founding marketer at B2C mobile marketplace. Delivered 25+ community launches and managed team of 8. Backed by Sequoia, Lightspeed, and Real Ventures.

05

Hailo - Head of Marketing

Founding marketer responsible for flagship launch (London, UK) plus 8 major city launches in North America. Backed by Sir Richard Branson and Accel Partners.

Credentials & Roles

Marketing Stack

I select AI-enabled marketing tools for their simplicity, cost-effectiveness, analytics, and team collaboration features.

Friends Electric is the AI Marketing and Product Marketing consultancy of Chris McLellan

Custom Bots

I write prompts and create templates to enable tools like Google Gems and Custom GPTs to draft emails, blog posts, video scripts, and lead magnets.

Friends Electric is the AI Marketing and Product Marketing consultancy of Chris McLellan

Content Creation

I use graphic design tools like Canva and Gamma for creating brand assets, social media graphics, and sales collateral.

Friends Electric is the AI Marketing and Product Marketing consultancy of Chris McLellan

AI Notetakers

I use tools like Granola and Google Meet to generate call transcripts and summaries that are excellent sources of raw information for AI Research Assistants.

Friends Electric is the AI Marketing and Product Marketing consultancy of Chris McLellan

AI Prospecting

I use tools like Apollo and AI SDR to augment top-of-funnel activities and deliver qualified leads to CRMs and sales teams.

Friends Electric is the AI Marketing and Product Marketing consultancy of Chris McLellan

AI Research Assistants

I use tools like Google's NotebookLM and ChatGPT Projects to support the planning and execution of campaigns, growth programs, and GTM Plans.

Friends Electric is the AI Marketing and Product Marketing consultancy of Chris McLellan

CRM

I'm experienced in email sequences and lead nurturing in HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, and Monday. 

Friends Electric is the AI Marketing and Product Marketing consultancy of Chris McLellan

Agentic Platforms

I'm in the early stages of testing agentic platforms like N8N, Make, and GumLoop for multi-step, multi-platform automations. 

Friends Electric is the AI Marketing and Product Marketing consultancy of Chris McLellan

AI Video Production

Video is an increasingly key content format. AI Tools like Descript and Wistia support text-to-video editing, sound bites, and lead gen.

Friends Electric is the AI Marketing and Product Marketing consultancy of Chris McLellan

Web Design

I build basic web sites (like this one) with Wix, Squarespace, and Webflow, write site copy, and collaborate with UX experts.

Friends Electric is the AI Marketing and Product Marketing consultancy of Chris McLellan

AI CRO

I employ tools like Voiceflow, Screenflow, and Pathmonk to help optimize website conversion rates and boost growth.

Friends Electric is the AI Marketing and Product Marketing consultancy of Chris McLellan

Reporting & Analytics

I work with analytical tools including GA4, Funnel IO, and Looker Studio to build concise dashboards and reports to inform key decisions.

Featured Clients

Book
discovery call

Let’s take 30 minutes to talk through your business and marketing goals and see if we’re a fit.

Connect on LinkedIn

Connect with me on LinkedIn to explore our mutual business contacts and affiliations and share business insights.

Use Contact Form

Something else? Fell free to use my Contact Form to submit your business enquiry.

"Chris is a forward thinker who builds genuine relationships and creates opportunities for growth."
[I reported to Tim, the Country Manager, while spearheading the Canadian market launch of Lyft, the SF-based rideshare operator and Uber rival]

Andrew Sider

EVP Global Festivals, Ticketmaster

“Chris connects big picture strategy with hands-on execution in a data driven environment."
[I reported to Andrew, the CEO, while heading the Launch Marketing team at VaragSale, the secondhand marketplace backed by Sequoia and Accel Partners]

Dan Demers

Data & AI Pioneer

“Chris brings a whatever it takes mindset, adapting quickly and driving success through any challenge.”
[I reported to Dan, the CEO, while employed as founding marketer and subsequently Product Marketing Manager at Cinchy, the enterprise Data Collaboration Platform]

Tammy Exner

Sr. Product Marketing, Acumatica 

"Chris is passionate about tech and the responsible application of it, and has many great ideas on how to leverage quality content, AR, and PR for brand building and community engagement."
[Tammy and I were colleagues while I was Marketing Director at Cinchy, the pioneering Data Collaboration Platform for the enterprise]

Celina Zamora

Sr. Community Mngr, ServiceNow

"I can attribute my overall confidence in being able to tackle various marketing tactics and solutions to Chris. He really valued our team and was genuinely interested in our personal success."
[I managed Celina while heading up the Launch Marketing team at VaragSale, the Toronto-based secondhand marketplace backed by Sequoia and Accel Partners]

Rachel Lemkow

Marketing Director, Honk

"Chris ensured all team members were fully equipped to succeed, provided guidance when necessary, but otherwise let his team run with their own projects.  He's data and metrics driven and instilled the same mentality in the team."
[I managed Rachel while heading up the Launch Marketing team at VaragSale, the Toronto-based secondhand marketplace backed by Sequoia and Accel Partners]

Bobby Hennessy

Head of ads, Pinterest Canada

"Chris dreams big. He looks for large scale opportunities and turns them into bite-size tasks and does an excellent job being hands-on and getting his team excited about executing."
[Bobby and I were colleagues while I was heading up Launch Marketing at VaragSale, the Toronto-based secondhand marketplace backed by Sequoia and Accel]

Yousef Reyyes

Director Growth Marketing, Clutch

"I got the privilege of seeing Chris take the City Launch team from an ambitious idea to a fast-moving, data-driven marketing and business development SWAT team."
[I managed Yousef while heading up the Launch Marketing team at VaragSale, the Toronto-based secondhand marketplace backed by Sequoia and Accel Partners]

David Scharbach

Founder, Toronto Machine Learning Society

"Chris is an invaluable leader in the Canadian AI ecosystem working tirelessly to represent Canadian research and innovation in the various fields of AI. "
[I collaborated with Dave while volunteering as Founder at the Ask AI nonprofit which has been actively producing content since 2017}

Chris McLellan is an AI-forward marketing consultant working with startups, scaleups, and growth-oriented businesses to launch products, support revenue growth, and improve marketing operations.

LinkedIn page for Chris McLellan, principle at Friends Electric Ltd, growth marketing consultancy

Chris McLellan | AI Marketing | Growth Marketing | Product Marketing | Content Marketing. Ottawa, Canada. Copyright 2026.

All Rights Reserved | info@friendselectric.ca | +1-613-608-5535 | Privacy Statement

bottom of page