A fractional CPO is an experienced product leader who works with your company on a retainer basis rather than as a full-time hire. You get senior-level product thinking, strategy, and execution for a fraction of the cost and commitment of a $200K+ annual executive hire. It works best when you need leadership quality but aren't yet at the stage where a permanent CPO is clearly the right investment.
It tends to fit best at Seed through Series B. The clearest signals: you're a founder running product solo, or you have one or two PMs but no senior product leadership, and your roadmap is either unclear or disconnected from your GTM strategy.
A consultant typically delivers a document and leaves. A fractional CPO is embedded in your team — attending syncs, reviewing PRDs, working alongside your engineers and sales team, and accountable for execution, not just advice. The output isn't a slide deck. It's a team that can build the right things in the right order.
Fit and working style
B2B SaaS companies targeting enterprise or mid-market buyers, at Seed through Series B, where the product is generating revenue but the roadmap and GTM strategy feel disconnected. Remote-first teams work well — I'm async-first by default.
Pre-product companies with no paying customers, consumer apps or marketplace businesses, companies that need a technical co-founder rather than a product leader, and Series C+ companies with an established product org. I'll tell you directly and try to point you somewhere useful.
Yes. I work async-first and remotely. Tier 3 (Embedded) includes hands-on time which works best with some timezone overlap, but Tiers 1 and 2 are fully remote-friendly and not location-dependent.
Tier 1 (Advisory) is roughly 2–3 hours per week. Tier 2 (Fractional CPO) is 5–8 hours per week. Tier 3 (Embedded) is 12–16 hours per week including on-site time. I work with two to three clients at a time maximum — your engagement gets real focus.
Pricing and process
In the first 90 days of any engagement you'll have a clear, written, prioritised product roadmap tied to your revenue and retention milestones. If you don't have real product clarity after 90 days, we keep working at no additional cost until you do.
No minimum contract. Month-to-month with a 30-day exit clause. No equity. Most founders get the most value at 3–6 months, but you can leave any time.
Occasionally yes — a roadmap audit or ICP validation sprint can be scoped as a fixed project. Reach out and describe what you need. If it makes more sense as a project than a retainer, I'll say so.
Book a free 30-minute Product Audit call. We'll talk about your stage, team, and biggest product challenge. If it's a fit, we'll align on which tier makes sense. If not, I'll tell you honestly — and try to suggest what would actually help.
Outcomes
Yes — specifically on the product story. I can help build your product strategy narrative for a deck, prep for product diligence questions, and position your roadmap for the stage you're targeting. I don't run fundraise processes or make investor intros as a primary service.
Yes — I often see this as a natural outcome of Tier 2 and Tier 3 engagements. I can help you define what you actually need in a CPO, scope the role, evaluate candidates, and run a clean transition. The goal is never to make myself indispensable.
We agree on specific success metrics at the start — a written roadmap tied to three revenue milestones, a defined ICP with documented buying signals, GTM alignment agreed by product and sales. We review against these at 30, 60, and 90 days.
Still have questions?
Book a free 30-minute call and ask them directly. No commitment required.