Fractional CPO for seed founders
You raised the round. You're still the PM.
I step in as your fractional CPO. I take product decisions off your plate so your engineers stop waiting on you. Then I hire your first PM and hand it over.
Book a 30-minute callEngagements start at $7,500.
The problem
Product decisions are waiting on you.
- Engineers wait on your calls while you fundraise, sell and hire.
- The roadmap shifts after every customer conversation.
- Your Series A story needs proof the product works, and nobody owns producing it.
- You know you need a PM. A wrong first hire costs you six months.
How it works
Six steps. Each one leaves you something you keep.
I run every engagement on ORBIT, my system for product leadership.
Direction
A one-page product strategy, tied to what your Series A has to prove.
Signal
What your pilot customers are actually telling you, separated from what they ask for.
Focus
A roadmap with an explicit "not doing" list, so priorities stop moving every week.
Rhythm
A working cadence with engineering: planning, lightweight specs, a decision log.
Story
The product narrative for your investors and your team.
Your first PM
Job description, interview loop, the right hire, onboarded into a function that already works.
Working together
Start small. Finish with a team.
Product Foundation sprint
30 days. Strategy, a focused roadmap and a working rhythm with your engineers.
Ongoing CPO
One or two days a week. Planning, product reviews, customer discovery and a seat in leadership and investor conversations.
First PM hire
I define the role, run the loop and onboard your hire. Then I step away.
Engagements start at $7,500.
"Josh brought a wealth of experience at the intersection of product management and innovation, quickly integrating within our remotely-distributed team and leading us to improved processes and product outcomes."
Seth Skolnik, on working together at Vivid Labs, a seed-stage startup
About me
Nearly 20 years building product.
I've built products at the companies below, from consumer apps to payments to connected hardware. I've also coached hundreds of PMs through interview loops and their first years in the role.
That second part is why the hand-off works. I know what a strong PM looks like, and how a weak one fakes it.
- Meta
- PayPal
- Walmart
- Nest
Questions
Common questions.
Who is this for?
Founders of AI startups who recently raised a seed round, have no product manager yet, and are still making every product call themselves.
What does it cost?
Engagements start at $7,500 for a 30-day Product Foundation sprint. Ongoing work after that is a monthly retainer, with a 3-month minimum.
How much of your time do we get?
During the sprint, enough to deliver a product strategy, a focused roadmap and a working rhythm with your engineers in 30 days. As ongoing CPO, one or two days a week.
How does it end?
I hire your first PM and hand the product function over. If you're hiring a CTO who will own product, I cover product until they start and hand it to them instead. Then I step away.
Do you take over the product vision?
You keep the vision. I take the day-to-day product decisions, planning and operations off your plate so you can sell, raise and hire.
Bring your biggest product decision.
Book 30 minutes and bring the call you're stuck on for the next 90 days. We'll work it together, and you'll see how I think before you commit to anything.
Book a 30-minute call