The Leadership / Product
The Leadership.
Fractional CPO.
You don't hire fractional because you can't afford the real thing. You hire fractional because you're in a specific situation that a permanent hire would handle badly, too slowly, or at the wrong cost.
Product Leadership
The situations
When fractional CPO is the right call
Urgency
Hiring a full-time CPO takes three to six months. The problem is costing money now. Or your VP just left and someone needs to hold the function while the search runs. You need an operator in weeks, not after a process.
The founder bottleneck
You're still running product by default. You know you need to exit that role, but you're not ready to make the permanent hire before you understand exactly what it should look like. A fractional runs the function properly while you develop that picture.
The technical founder
You're a great engineer building the right thing. You've never run a product organisation. You need someone to install the operating system, not own it forever. Show me how, then leave.
The board signal
Investors want to see product leadership maturity. A promoted PM with a title change doesn't move the needle. A credible senior operator in the function does.
The transformation mandate
The business is making a hard turn: AI adoption, security as a core function, full product reset. No one internal has done this before. You need the expertise for this phase. Not permanently.
Stabilisation
Something broke. A botched launch, a team exodus, a strategic misfire. You need an experienced operator to stop the bleeding and rebuild. Not a consultant to document what went wrong.
The silent dysfunction
There's a gap between what leadership wants and what the team is building. No one internal can name it without political cost. The temporary nature of the engagement is what makes honesty possible.
The internal candidate
You have a director who should be your VP in 12 months. You need someone to hold the function, develop them, and hand it over cleanly when they're ready.
What we do
We integrate into the organisation and operate as a principal, not an advisor. We own the product function for three to twelve months: team structure, hiring, operating rhythm, decision frameworks, and leading the high-stakes projects directly.
What it produces
A functioning delivery engine that keeps running after we're gone. The measure of a successful engagement is that our departure doesn't cause a regression.
What it isn't
We are not parachuting in to diagnose and leave. Our name is on the outcome.
“Having someone own the thinking with you rather than just advise sporadically feels different.”
“The biggest thing we were stuck on: what were we building, for who, and what was the direction? That’s something that has now concretely changed: we gained clear focus. We’re now very targeted in the what, for who, and why. The product marketing side was something we lacked a lot in. There was a big gap in how to translate what we had to an ICP: that’s something we really struggled with and where Raphaël helped the most.”
On the record
“… He doesn't jump to solutions. He gets to the crux of the problem first, builds solid hypotheses, and does the foundational research to back them up. The rigor was real. …”
Where is the product gap?
Tell us what product is not doing and what it is costing. We will say whether a fractional CPO fits, or whether something else does.
No obligation either way. We will come back with a tailored answer, or tell you it is not us.
Or write to us directly at contact@sha-rp.com.