Fractional product and technology leader
For the CEO who needs a senior product and technology leader in the seat before the company can justify the full-time hire.
When this fits
- Roadmap. Releases slip, priorities get argued every week, and nobody has the authority to say what stops.
- Scaling. The team, the process and the platform that got the company to this size will not get it to the next one.
- Leadership gap. The seat is empty or the founder is still filling it, and a full-time hire is a year away or not in the budget.
- Transformation. A platform, vendor or data decision is sitting unmade because no one on the team has made one that large before.
How it is bought
Retainer, sized in days a week or hours a month. The scope letter sets the size, the term and what I own, and the size changes as the work changes.
I built Beachbody On Demand, the streaming fitness app, from launch to 2.5M subscribers as Chief Digital Officer, and held the Chief Technology and Information Officer seat at Alchemee, parent of Proactiv.
What the first 30 days look like
The first 30 days
I start with the roadmap, the team and the technology spend: what is being built, who owns it, what it costs, and which platforms and vendors the company depends on. I meet the engineers and the product managers, then the customers. By the end of the month the roadmap is cut to the work that moves the business, every item has an owner, release dates are real, and the platform or vendor decision that was blocking everything is made.
What you have at the end
A product and engineering organization with clear owners, a roadmap tied to revenue, a release schedule you can count on, the platform and vendor decisions documented, and a profile for the full-time hire when you are ready to make one.
Fractional revenue and retention leader
For the CEO or CMO of a subscription business that is losing customers it already paid to acquire.
When this fits
- First rebill. A large share of new subscribers cancel before their first rebill.
- Conversion. The conversion rate has fallen for two quarters and no one owns it.
- Failed payments. Declined cards are written off instead of recovered.
- Cancellations. The save flow is a cancel button.
- Ownership. Marketing says the product is the problem and product says the traffic is.
How it is bought
Retainer, sized in days a week or hours a month, set in the scope letter. Companies that want to see the work first start with the diagnostic below.
At Alchemee I lifted subscription retention 12% and conversion 40% (3.0% to 4.2%). At a wine eCommerce and subscription company I took eCommerce conversion from 0.03% to 0.97%, 32x, and grew weekly revenue 8x in a market down 15%.
What the first 30 days look like
The first 30 days
I pull the cohort numbers: conversion by channel, first-rebill rate, failed-payment recovery, cancel reasons. I walk every step a new customer takes from the ad to the second charge, on the site and in the billing system. That shows where the money leaves. I fix the cheapest leak in the first month and sequence the rest. The weekly revenue and retention review starts in week two, with the people who own each number in the room.
What you have at the end
Onboarding, subscription management, save flows and failed-payment recovery rebuilt; a weekly number you read yourself; and a team that owns each piece. This is the part of a subscription business most product leaders have never run.
Fixed-scope diagnostic and plan
For a CEO who wants the answer before committing to a retainer.
When this fits
- Board question. The board asks why the numbers are where they are and the team has three different answers.
- Integration. An acquisition has left you with two products, two teams or two platforms and no plan to combine them.
- Build or buy. A platform decision is coming and you want it made by someone who has lived with the result.
- New leader. A new executive is starting and needs a baseline that is not the old team's story.
How it is bought
Four to eight weeks, fixed scope, fixed price, agreed before the start.
I built the plan for combining two apps at a $60M digital wellness company after an acquisition. The company executed it after my engagement ended.
What the first 30 days look like
How it runs
The first two weeks are data and interviews. The middle is analysis. The last week is the plan, presented to you and, if you want, to your board.
What you have at the end
A written plan your team can run with or without me: the sequence, the owners, the cost, and the result each step should produce.