Fractional Portfolio services

• Part-time or on-demand leadership:
  access to a senior portfolio/product/tech leader for a few hours to a few
  days per week, for leadership and/or boards.
• Strategy plus execution and support:
  help set direction, define priorities and metrics, and unblock delivery.
• Cost-effective and flexible:
  pay for a “slice” of executive capability and scale up/down as your needs change.
• Early-stage advantage:
  brings senior leadership earlier than a full-time hire would be justifiable or possible,
  reducing costly missteps and setting clear long-term strategy and direction.

But not ..

• Full-time executive hire
  (you’re not paying for a permanent C-level seat).
• Consulting slide-deck exercise
  (it’s practical leadership and decision support, not just recommendations).
• Staff augmentation
  (they don’t replace your team or act as an extra pair of hands for tickets).
• “takeover” of ownership
  (founders/leadership still own decisions; the fractional leader guides, supports and enables, drives execution and delivery).
• One-size-fits-all package
  (scope should be tailored, time-bound, and adjusted/expanded as the company evolves).

What does it bring? 

• Strategic guidance from an experienced leader at a fraction of the cost, when they need it most – at the early start.
• Immediate direction and help shaping products, metrics, and execution.
• Order and predictability following established standards, methods and using tools that make sense for the teams and business.
• Flexibility to scale support up or down as needs change.

What would an engagement look like? 

• Access for 4-8 hours a week, or 1-2 days a week, or short intensive bursts. 
• Starting with discovery:  identifying issues and creating an initial resolution plan that can be extended as needed.
• Cadence: Weekly leadership sync + team touchpoints + board/investor support as needed.
  We agree on a small set of outcomes early (delivery pace, reliability, hiring progress, audit milestones) and review them regularly.

All engagements are individually tailored, as some need coaching/board support, while others need delivery turnaround or more extensive support.

What would an execution plan typically include? 

• A clear 90-day plan and priorities, covering items such as:
  • delivering clearer priorities
  • initial strategy
  • reducing risks
• Architecture and risk review with recommended actions
• Hiring plan + interview loop setup
• Security/compliance gap check and remediation plan
• Operating model: roles, ownership, delivery cadence, metrics

Summary

It’s a way to access high-level capability early, long before the budget exists for a full executive hire.

Think about this as your pathway to long-term strategic direction, avoiding a lot of the  common missteps that early startups to growing and maturing companies commonly make, by accessing the knowledge and wisdom of people who have been there and done it, and who wants to share their knowledge and prepare you to “do it right”, and be ready and prepared the day  when you need it, instead of a costly afterthought or “panic” exercises to “set things straight”. 

What can EmberLabs® offer? 

Fractional experience in the areas of tech (CTO/CIO/CPTO/..) and in HR (CHRO) roles.
This gives you access to senior technical and HR leadership long before you are ready for a full-time executive hire.

A C-level typically covers a large range of areas, with some common examples below:

• Defining long-term technology strategy and aligning it with the business goals, using vendor-neutral solutions. 
• Guiding hiring, mentoring, and building a strong engineering culture built on ability, respect and trust.
• Being a sounding board to the business and board to quickly assess ideas and consider options and feasibility at early stages.
• Supporting contract and investor negotiations, avoiding common pitfalls (we speak out of experience).
• Supporting regulatory, legal and compliance requirements related to tech. 
• Supporting by understanding the individual teams and their needs.
• Cross-team support joining tech with adjacent areas such as legal, compliance, HR, sales and operations.

More specifically on the tech side: 

• • Translating technical decisions into clear business impact for founders and investors.
  • Design and delivery of scalable architecture and choosing the right tools and platforms supporting operations and products.
  • Establishing engineering processes, security practices, and technical roadmaps using proven industry standard practices.
  • Being the “tech navigator and facilitator” between practical business needs, regulatory, legal and compliance requirements.
    (let’s find a way and make it happen, despite the obstacles!)

And in similar examples for HR-related issues: 

• • Fractional functional HR guidance and support from on an on-demand basis to get you started and set
    up with legal, compliance and other practical aspects of functional HR
  • Fractional recruitment for when you need hiring, evaluation and screening of possible employees. 
  • Need a contracted recruiter that works specifically for you? 
    We can help you with this too, as a fractional service.

How do we work? 

Plain language, no hype:

• Listen first, map reality, prioritise, put ownership in the team, and stay close until it’s working.
• Focus on decisions and execution, not paperwork.
• Our goal is to set foundations, document key decisions, upskill leaders, and hand over cleanly to a full-time hire when ready or needed.

Still unsure?

If you are considering this and want to explore your situation, and what could be done to move you forward faster and be better prepared,
getting access to the headstart that many startups and growing companies miss?
Let’s talk! What’s there to lose?

Confidentiality is standard. NDA available on request. 

The backing story of the Fractional C-levels?
You will find it here…

• Tech: Chris Sprucefield’s background.
• HR: Susan Sprucefield’s background.