Obsidian North Partners launches with customer-first marketing model

Obsidian North Partners officially launched today in Hudson, Wisconsin, with a pitch to replace marketing guesswork with direct customer research before strategy or spend decisions. FairBuild.ai is the firm’s founding client as Obsidian North opens engagements in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and beyond.

Why it matters: - Obsidian North Partners is betting that better marketing starts with customer reality, not internal assumptions. - The firm’s model could help brands avoid wasted spend by grounding strategy, messaging, and channel decisions in direct conversations with customers and other stakeholders. - FairBuild.ai is the founding client, giving the new consultancy an early live use case in a specialized B2B market.

What happened: - Obsidian North Partners, LLC announced its official launch today in Hudson, Wisconsin. - The firm is positioning itself as a strategic marketing consultancy for founders and senior leadership. - The company says it will talk directly with current customers, lost prospects, vendors, and board members before developing strategy, writing copy, or recommending marketing spend. - Obsidian North Partners is currently accepting new engagements. - The firm serves clients in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area and nationally.

The details: - Megan Cosgrove is co-founder and managing member of Obsidian North Partners. - Cosgrove brings senior marketing leadership experience across construction, building materials, life sciences, pharmaceutical, AI-powered SaaS, and retail. - Cheryl Lewis is co-founder and managing member of Obsidian North Partners. - Lewis is a senior marketing executive, former practicing attorney and CPA, and serial entrepreneur. - Lewis also continues as chief operating officer of FairBuild.ai. - Obsidian North Partners says it uses a curated network of specialists across digital strategy, public relations, content development, design, marketing technology, SEO, and paid media. - The firm says those specialists are engaged selectively and directed from a single strategic center. - FairBuild.ai is an AI-powered contract review platform for construction subcontractors and material suppliers. - The company’s website is obsidiannorthpartners.com.

Between the lines: - The launch reflects a broader marketing trend toward tighter alignment between customer insight and spend decisions. - Obsidian North Partners is differentiating itself by making research and stakeholder interviews the first step, rather than a later validation exercise. - Cosgrove said the firm rarely finds internal assumptions that match what customers say when asked directly, and described that gap as where marketing problems usually begin. - Lewis said understanding the customer first makes positioning, messaging, and spend decisions easier.

What's next: - Obsidian North Partners will continue building new client relationships after launch. - The firm is likely to lean on its founding client work with FairBuild.ai to demonstrate its approach in practice. - The company says its focus will remain on strategy built from genuine customer understanding and rigorous strategic thinking.

The bottom line: - Obsidian North Partners is launching with a clear promise: better marketing decisions should start with direct customer input, not internal guesswork.