CPO-grade product leadership, without the permanent hire.

A fractional CPO (Chief Product Officer) is a senior product leader who works with your company part-time — typically one or two days a week — instead of as a permanent hire. You get CPO-grade strategy, roadmap rigour and commercial judgement at the leadership table, without the cost or commitment of a full-time executive. It suits SaaS scale-ups that need product leadership now but aren't ready, or don't yet need, to hire a permanent CPO.

The most common triggers are transition (a CPO has left or a founder is stepping back from product), reset (the roadmap has lost the board's confidence or delivery and commercial outcomes have drifted apart), and rapid growth (a fundraise, new market or new segment where the product function needs to scale commercially).

A fractional CPO works part-time on an ongoing basis, sitting alongside your existing leadership. An interim CPO is full-time cover for a fixed period — usually while you run a permanent search. A product director typically operates one level below the C-suite and focuses on execution rather than board-level strategy and commercial fit.

Every engagement begins with a short diagnostic conversation — usually a 30-minute call, then a focused review of the product function, roadmap and operating model. From there we agree the shape of the engagement (fractional, interim, advisory) and the cadence that fits the board's priorities.

We sit alongside the leaders you already have — not above them, not in place of them. Typical collaborators are the CEO, CTO, Head of Product, Head of Engineering and Commercial leadership. We mentor and collaborate with existing leadership as one team.

A fractional engagement is priced by day or by month and scales with the cadence you need. For most SaaS scale-ups it lands well below the fully-loaded cost of a permanent CPO (salary, equity, bonus, benefits and recruitment fees), while still giving you a senior product seat at the board.

Most fractional engagements run on a rolling monthly basis with a short initial period (typically two to three months) so the work can land. Diagnostics are fixed-scope and fixed-fee. Interim cover is priced for the duration of the search.

Diagnostics can usually start within one to two weeks of the first conversation. Fractional and interim engagements typically begin within two to four weeks, depending on scope and notice periods on other engagements.

Diagnostics run two to four weeks. Fractional engagements typically run six to twelve months — long enough to reset the product function and embed rigour, short enough to stay sharp. Interim cover runs for the length of the permanent search, usually three to six months.