Kate Hughes

Startup marketing leader with experience spanning VC-backed ventures, brand strategy, and go-to-market execution,, bringing deep expertise in scaling brands, driving growth, and standing out in competitive markets.

Kate is the Founder & Consulting CMO at The Brand Incubator. She’s guided early-stage startups in brand strategy, digital marketing, and go-to-market execution; led marketing at VC-backed ventures WUWTA, Stemodontics, and WellFX; co-founded the SF-based agency Nuvolum; and chairs the CMO Council for The GTM Leader Society. With an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas and experience as an Innovation Consultant for Hewlett Packard’s 3D Metal Printing division, Kate knows what it takes to stand out, scale, and succeed.

Throughout her career, she has spearheaded strategic brand development and product launches across B2B, B2C, and DTC sectors, directing & executing multi-channel marketing campaigns to drive growth & market presence. She's led key accounts & projects, including building the marketing program for WUWTA (healthcare SaaS), leading product marketing for the DSN Cloud launch (dental PM system), sales enablement & team training for Autodesk, and the Diabetes product expansion strategy for Embrace (scar therapy). She has also directed cross-functional teams across Digital & Product Marketing, Customer Success, Branding & Creative, Content & Editorial, Development/Product, and Public Relations.

The Brand Incubator helps startups and founders make sense of marketing.

Too many early-stage companies waste time and budget on scattered tactics that don’t drive real growth. We take the guesswork out of branding, messaging, and go-to-market strategy—helping founders build a clear, compelling brand that attracts the right customers and scales with them.

From brand positioning to sales enablement, we equip startups with the strategy and execution they need to stand out, gain traction, and grow—without wasting resources on what doesn’t work.