Senior leadership, without outbidding Big Tech.
Bay Area employers pay for talent against the best-funded companies in the world. If you run a services firm, a manufacturer or an established local business, you are in that auction whether you chose to be or not. There is another way to buy the same judgement.
Why a full-time executive is out of reach
Most firms assume the next step is a permanent CFO, COO or CMO. In this market it rarely is:
You compete on terms you cannot match
Salary, equity and perks from venture-backed companies set the price of every senior candidate in the region.
The search outlasts the problem
Hiring at this level runs for months, while the issue on your desk needs attention now.
A mishire is hard to reverse
A senior hire arrives with an agreed package and a severance clause, and the cost of a wrong match stays on the books.
The work is part time
Two or three days a week of real senior input is what the business needs. A full-time salary buys the rest for no reason.
A fractional executive is an experienced operator who joins your team for set days each week. Not an adviser who files a report and goes, but someone who joins the team, decides within their own function and stands behind the result. In a region where established firms are squeezed by venture salaries, it is how you reach the same quality of judgement on your terms.
Who this is for, and who it is not
Best for
- Founders carrying a C-suite function themselves with no time left to lead
- Businesses that need senior capability two or three days a week, not five
- A specific gap in finance, operations, marketing, technology or people that is holding growth back
- Teams that cannot yet justify, or afford, a full-time executive salary
- Owners who want an operator accountable for outcomes, not a consultant with a deck
Not for
- A junior or purely execution role a full-time manager should own
- A one-off project an agency could deliver and hand back
- Businesses wanting a figurehead rather than someone who does the work
- A pre-revenue idea with no function yet to lead
How it works for an established firm
An operator is matched to your firm, and we remain part of the engagement until it ends.
Set check-ins
Owners hear about drift from us first, through check-ins on a fixed rhythm.
Breadth in reserve
One executive in the business, with a collective of 800+ behind them for the rest.
The relationship stays
Our relationship with the owner outlasts any one executive, and a change is a handover we run.
Matched to the firm
We match on how your business actually runs, whether it is services, making things or hospitality.
What an engagement looks like
From first call to an embedded operator in weeks, not months.
Discovery
We spend time understanding your business: challenges, goals, team dynamics, and what 'success' looks like in 90 days.
Match
We introduce the right fractional executive from our vetted collective. You meet them, ask hard questions, and confirm the fit.
Scoped engagement begins
The engagement launches with a defined scope, clear deliverables, and a structured cadence. Your fractional is embedded, not advisory.
Adapt and evolve
As your business changes, the engagement changes with it. Add hours, shift focus, introduce a second specialist, all without restructuring.
Which executive do you need first?
You do not need to know the answer before you call. Match the problem you feel most to the operator who owns it.
Each fractional role maps to a different SME challenge
Start with the gap that is costing you most, and the roles below show which leader owns it.
Backed by executives who have led at
