I have more than two decades in entrepreneurship and have served as a fractional leader for more than a dozen companies, formulating and executing product and growth strategies while streamlining product operations and leading multidisciplinary implementation teams. I know firsthand how challenging it can be to remain relevant in the fast-moving tech world while joggling the conflicting priorities and ever-changing needs of a startup.
Whether you are building an innovative product or scaling your product organization, you will find hands-on leadership and support in my expertise and desire to help!
I look forward to working with you!
Cognome is a HealthTech startup that was spun off from a large hospital organization. They have a suite of products including a platform for AI-powered medical research, a dashboard for AI explainability and governance and AI Models (both medical and operational) for healthcare organizations.
The products were developed and used internally by the parent company. As a result, Cognome's product organization lacked the market-first approach that underlines successful commercialization. The challenge was to adjust the product portfolio and modus-operandi of the organization, while supporting the existing user base in a specialized and complex space.
I went top-down on the product, starting with Strategy and Roadmap in order to drive meaningful market-focused changes. The goal was to make the portfolio better suited for a wider audience.
I followed a bottom-up approach for the product operations, streamlining Agile processes in the trenches, and iteratively building on top. The goal was to create an efficient product organization that could absorb/deliver requirements at high velocity, and scale with the product.
The result was a series of successful product launches that streamlined access to health data, supporting operations, decision-making, and research for healthcare professionals.
“It was such a pleasure having Christos as my EIR at the WE4A Programme powered by Seedstars for Safeem. He helped me in particular reframe the outlook of my startup. To add, he is very knowledgeable about his role in guidance of major metrics required to support entrepreneurial strides.”Princess Adeyinka Tekenah, Founder/CEO, Happy Coffee (Nigeria)
“Christos was able to add tremendous value to our efforts in trying to grow our edtech startup as we focused on mobile learning for learners around the world. Christos brought his expertise and skills to help us manage internal projects more effectively and streamlined our sales process by identifying gaps where we could improve.”Samer Bawab, Cofounder, eFlow (UAE)
“My few weeks with Christos were highly educational, opening my eyes to what a real product development process looks like, saving us a ton of time and cash. His approach to his work is like a proud craftsman, really taking the time to understand the issues and objectives, and putting his whole heart and soul into helping us deliver true value to our clients. Forever grateful!”Alex Tanti, Cofounder/CEO, Racecheck (UK)
“Christos and I worked together during my mentorship program with Seedstars. He played a vital role in our business growth, coached us on product development and sales, and helped us to create robust operational processes. He has good analytical skills and was very instrumental in helping our business thrive. I highly recommend his expertise.”Inonge Imasiku, Founder/CEO, Mangwee Payment Systems (Zambia)
Ongoing Fractional CPO engagements are billed at a pre-negotiated monthly rate, helping you plan expenses and enjoy significant savings off the cost of a full-time Chief Product Officer!
On the other hand, if you want only occasional guidance related to product strategy, PLG and product operations for your Series A startup, please look into our individual startup consultations.
Or Chat on Whatsapp
Click to chat with Christos
A fractional Chief Product Officer (CPO) is a part-time product executive who drives product strategy and execution, working closely with the CEO, high-level management, and the development teams. The fractional engagement means that they are not a full-time employee within your company but have a more mission-driven consulting role. They bring in critical expertise and have many successful product launches behind them, making their part-time role produce full-time results.
You should consider hiring a fractional CPO if:
The main things to consider when hiring a fractional executive are experience, expertise, availability, and price.
The main responsibilities of a fractional CPO revolve around product strategy and roadmap, product development/management, and product implementation (does it meet the needs of customers). Mainly, they are brought on to accelerate product launch and help achieve product-market fit.
The costs of finding, interviewing, onboarding, and orienting a full-time CPO can be substantial. In addition, it may not work out due to misalignment of vision, work practices, or culture. Then you're back to square one, with no Chief Product Officer and even less money to onboard a qualified expert.
A fractional CPO brings immense expertise, product knowledge, and a fresh perspective to a company. Here are some additional benefits:
Fractional CPOs are high-performance individuals who are focused on delivering results quickly and efficiently. It's likely that they are formulating a plan during your initial conversation and already have some checkpoints and suggestions in mind. You may expect to see increased team performance within the first month of hiring a CPO. Depending on where you are at the moment, and where they get to jump in, you may increase your speed to market 2-3x with their help.