Build for the market, not for the grant cycle.
Vancouver startups often have strong science or craft and a thin commercial layer. Funding comes from grants, strategic partners and patient capital, and each brings its own conditions.
Where early companies get stuck
The technology is real. These are the gaps that slow it down:
Grant money with obligations
Reporting, milestones and eligible costs tracked on the side by someone with another job.
A product the market does not yet understand
Technical founders describe how it works and not why anyone should buy it.
The US is next door and out of reach
Seattle and the West Coast are close, but selling there needs a plan and a presence.
The first senior hire is a gamble
Too early and it drains runway. Too late and the founders carry the company on their own.
A fractional executive lends an early company the know-how of a funded one, for the share of the week it needs. They build the function and hand it on when you are ready for a full-time leader.
Who this is for, and who it is not
Best for
- Founders wearing every hat with no senior cover where it matters most
- Pre-seed to pre-Series A companies that need structure before they can fund it
- Teams that need investor-grade finance, reporting or operations at speed
- Startups scaling headcount faster than their processes can hold
- Founders who want to protect the cap table while adding senior leadership
Not for
- An idea with no product or traction to build structure around yet
- A role a capable full-time hire is already ready to own
- Founders looking to outsource a function rather than lead it
- A single deliverable an agency or contractor could hand back
Early-stage support
An operator for the share of the week you need, with our governance around the engagement.
Regular checks
Check-ins on a set rhythm show early if the work drifts from the plan.
Founders who have built here
The collective includes operators who have taken grant-funded and research-led companies to their first commercial customers.
Continuity, not standby
Should your executive leave, what we have learned about the company goes into the next search, and we manage the transition.
Fit with scientific founders
We match operators who respect the science and still push for the commercial plan.
From first call to embedded operator
We move at startup speed.
Tell us your stage
Where are you in the journey? What are the gaps? What does the next 90 days need to deliver?
We match the right operator
From our vetted collective, we introduce the fractional executive matched to your stage, sector, and culture.
Embedded within weeks
Your fractional embeds with your team, begins the scoped work, and operates with real accountability.
Scale the stack
As you grow, add further specialists from the collective. We coordinate them so they work as a coherent team.
Which leader for your stage
The gap that slows a startup changes as it grows. Here is where most founders feel it first, and who owns it.
The right fractional executive depends on your stage
Start with the widest gap today, then add roles as you scale.
Our operators have built and scaled at
