Sound familiar?

These are the things CEOs and founders tell me most often when they first reach out. If you hear your own team in a few of them, you’re in good company, and these are exactly the problems I help solve.

Under each problem, you’ll see the way of working that usually fits best: In the business On the business About the business

“We don’t know if our product strategy and roadmap are right.”

Or, quite honestly: “We don’t even really have a roadmap.”

What’s usually going on underneath

There’s no North Star. When I ask about the three- or five-year goal, the answer I hear most is “to be acquired.” That’s not a goal, that’s an outcome. Without data and direction on what you want to be known for in 6, 12 and 18 months, every feature request looks equally important.

How I help

In the first few weeks I interview your team, watch sales calls and look at product usage as if I’m an outsider. Then I bring forward the low-hanging fruit and the big changes, and we turn them into a blueprint for the next 6 to 12 months.

In the business About the business

“We’re building a lot, but customers aren’t using it.”

What’s usually going on underneath

A feature factory. The team looks busy, but users either don’t use the new features, don’t know about them, or see them as a nice to have. Often there are half-finished workflows that matter far more than anything new on the roadmap.

How I help

We get clear on your personas and the problems your product actually solves, only partially solves, or doesn’t solve. Customer interviews, usage data and win-loss analysis decide what gets built next, not the loudest voice in the room.

In the business On the business

“We’re not converting.”

What’s usually going on underneath

Either the team isn’t talking about the problems your prospect actually has, or marketing brings someone in for one thing and sales tries to sell them something else. I also see a lot of demo tours, click by click, feature by feature.

How I help

I align how marketing, sales and customer success describe your product and its value, so everyone tells the same customer story. Sales moves from demo tours to problems and solution selling.

On the business About the business

“We’re churning, and we’re not sure why.”

What’s usually going on underneath

Sometimes a customer was missold and says, “This isn’t what I thought it was.” Other times nobody leaned into their business. And often product is working in a vacuum. If product doesn’t know, product can’t fix it.

How I help

We connect customers to the people building the product: product, engineering and QA. Customer-facing teams become partners instead of a pitch, and the issues that quietly disrupt a user’s day finally get taken seriously.

In the business On the business

“Our website explains the product, but it doesn’t sell it.”

What’s usually going on underneath

You’re describing how the product works, when buyers want to know why it matters to the people who use it every day.

How I help

We find your white space and reframe your story around the day in the life of your users. For one client, website visits rose more than 25% in 14 days, with no ad spend and no product changes. Read the story

On the business About the business

“Product, sales and engineering aren’t on the same page.”

What’s usually going on underneath

Silos. Marketing doesn’t fully understand the customer’s problems, product is focused on how the tech works instead of why it matters, and engineering is happily plugging away at code. Meetings happen for the sake of having meetings, and decisions take a second meeting.

How I help

I come in to help unpack and teach. That means shared customer stories, meetings with clear objectives, agendas and outcomes, and the right people in the room.

In the business On the business

“We know we need AI, but we don’t know where to start.”

What’s usually going on underneath

AI is being treated as a plug-in, or as a replacement for thinking. Layer AI on top of silos and you just get to confusion faster.

How I help

I use AI as a thinking partner, and I teach your team to do the same: competitive research in hours instead of months, and product visualizations that paint the picture before anything is built. Then we decide where AI belongs in your product, and where it doesn’t.

In the business About the business

“Things fall through the cracks between the signed deal and the customer.”

What’s usually going on underneath

Manual handoffs. Manual means flexible, and flexible can mean sales reps giving away things the customer never paid for.

How I help

We automate and document the machine behind your SaaS. For a $20M+ ARR media monitoring company, a deal-to-provision flow eliminated revenue leakage and gave leadership reporting across every account.

In the business On the business

“We have a leadership gap, and a full-time search will take months.”

What’s usually going on underneath

You need senior experience now, but a search takes months and a new executive often needs six more to ramp.

How I help

I need about two weeks to ramp. I embed with your team as a fractional leader with clear goals and a set timeframe. Clients stay two and a half years on average, and one board trusted me to serve as interim president during a CEO change.

In the business

Frequently asked questions

How much does a fractional product executive cost?

Fractional engagements are usually priced by time commitment, such as days per week or hours per month, for a set timeframe. That typically costs a fraction of a full-time executive once you add salary, equity, benefits and recruiting fees, with no long ramp-up. I scope each engagement to your goals, so the best way to know is a short conversation.

What size companies do you work with?

B2B SaaS companies, mostly in martech and big data, that have found product-market fit and grown revenue into the millions, and are ready to scale.

How is a fractional executive different from a consultant?

A consultant recommends. A fractional executive becomes part of your team and executes, with the same intensity as a full-time hire, for clear goals and a set timeframe.

How quickly can you make an impact?

I need about two weeks to ramp up. From there, we start bringing forward the low-hanging fruit and the bigger changes.

What if we see ourselves in more than one of these problems?

That’s normal. These problems tend to travel together, and they usually share a root cause. That’s often the best place to start.

See yourself in a few of these?

A short conversation is usually enough to see what’s holding growth back, whether I can help, and which way of working fits.

Start a conversation Compare the engagements