Shipstern Leadership

Fractional Leadership North America

Fractional CEOs, Presidents & COOs

The experience & network to accelerate your business at a cost it can afford.

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Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania, Australia

Trusted by

  • Well Juicery
  • Porifera
  • Misguided Spirits
  • Clearly Canadian
  • Brunswick Bierworks

What Shipstern does

Every growing company needs a leader. Most cannot afford the one they need full time.

Shipstern places fractional leaders with growing companies across North America.

Time

1–3 days a week

Proven leaders run the business part time.

Accountability

Outcomes up front

Decision rights and measures agreed with the board.

Flexibility

30 days’ notice

No long-term contract; clients stay for results.

Talent

Rigorously vetted

Every executive has led a larger business.

Results

Founded 2022
Raised with our clients
$60M+
Average client growth rate within the first year
50%+
Capital raises closed with our clients
6
Of engagements renewed or extended by clients
100%

Client work

Selected engagements

Well Juicery cold-pressed juice bottles among oranges, beets and celery

Well Juicery ·Strategy ·3 years

Growing the business 145% in under three years

Improved margins and led the retail push in Canada: new distribution, new retail partners, and the operations to serve them.

+145%revenue growth in 3 years

Stainless steel tanks and piping in a beverage production facility

Brunswick Bierworks ·Growth ·2 years

Winning the world’s leading beverage companies as new customers

As Canada’s leading beverage co-packer, Brunswick added six of the largest global beverage brands to its customer base in two years.

6of the world’s largest beverage companies added as customers

A cut-crystal glass of spirits against a dark background

Misguided Spirits ·Strategy ·3 years

From New York breakout to multi-state challenger brand

Built the team, distribution, and cultural credibility to scale a locally-loved brand across new U.S. markets.

#2spirits brand at Winebow after 2 years in 2 of 4 regions

Close-up of a blue membrane-like cellular structure

Porifera ·Capital ·3 years

Building the commercial engine behind a category-creating technology

Led the commercial buildout for a breakthrough beverage-concentration technology, positioning Porifera for its next chapter of growth.

US$8MSeries B raised

Is it a fit?

Is fractional leadership right for your business?

Fit works both ways. Our executives choose the businesses they lead as carefully as you choose them. If it isn’t the right fit, we’ll say so.

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  1. Signs it may be time

    • Growth has stalled, or priorities keep changing.
    • A raise, an expansion, new ownership or a sale is ahead.
    • The founder or owner has become the bottleneck.

  2. It works best when

    • The business needs more experience at the top than it can afford full time.
    • Owners are ready to give that leader real authority.

  3. Less suited

    • Turnarounds and restructurings, which need someone full time.
    • Short projects that end with a report.
    • Owners who want advice but plan to keep every decision.

FAQ

Common questions

How does the sign up work?

  1. Intro call. Thirty minutes with a Partner.

  2. Diagnostic. Two weeks to meet the team, review the numbers and agree the outcome and measures with you and your board. Both sides confirm the fit.

  3. Engagement. Your executive starts within a month, one to three days a week, and reports monthly against the agreed measures.

How does the cost compare?

You pay for one to three days a week, with no salary, benefits, bonus or recruitment fee.

How can a fractional leader deliver more than a full-time hire?

Our executives have led larger, more complex businesses. They know what good looks like, decide quickly and aren’t learning on the job. A few days a week of that experience goes further than a full week from a less experienced leader.

They also arrive with a network built over decades. That means warm introductions to investors when you’re raising, to prospective customers and partners when you’re selling, and to the operators and advisors you’ll need along the way. And having a proven executive on your leadership page lends credibility with investors, lenders and enterprise buyers that a first-time hire can’t yet provide.

What if it isn’t working?

Either side can end the engagement on 30 days’ notice.

Can a Shipstern leader work alongside our founder or CEO?

Yes. Roles and decision rights are agreed with the owners and the board before we start.

How quickly can a leader start?

Usually within a month of our first conversation.

Is it confidential?

Yes.