Step 1 · Check the fit
Is your business ready for fractional leadership?
Nine quick questions about your business. Two minutes. No email required. At the end you’ll know whether a fractional CEO, President or COO is the right next move, and what it would look like.
Which of these is you?
Good to know
We’ll tailor the next eight questions to your seat.
Where does your business sit today?
Annual revenue, roughly.
Good to know
Shipstern leaders run businesses with a real P&L, typically $5M to $100M+. Below that, the business needs its founder in the seat.
Which of these describe the moment your business is in?
Choose all that apply.
Good to know
These are the inflection points Shipstern engagements begin at: the moments when the right operator unlocks the next chapter.
How much of your week goes to work only you can do?
Good to know
An embedded leader takes the operating seat so the owner’s week goes to the things only the owner can do.
How would you describe your competitive position?
Good to know
Shipstern partners with businesses that already have a moat, or a clear path to one. It is not a turnaround shop.
Have you looked at adding senior leadership before?
Good to know
Most companies reach a point where they need experience they can’t afford full-time. Fractional leadership is the third option between a consultancy and a senior hire made too early.
If a proven operator joined your leadership team, would you give them real authority?
A seat at the table, a team to run, decisions that are theirs to make.
Good to know
Shipstern leaders are embedded, not advisory. They hold decision rights, govern a team and are accountable for the outcome.
How would you feel about a leader taking part of their pay as equity earned against milestones?
Optional, and only where it suits both sides. It usually means a reduced monthly fee.
Good to know
Equity is never a requirement. Where it is the right approach for both sides, it usually lowers the monthly fee and ties the leader’s upside to yours, so success depends on the outcome rather than the hours.
When does the next chapter need to begin?
Good to know
Engagements start with an intro call, then a two-week diagnostic, then the seat. The first step takes thirty minutes.
Which of these describe the moment the business is in?
Choose all that apply.
Good to know
These are the inflection points Shipstern engagements begin at: the moments when the right operator unlocks the next chapter of value.
Who is running the business today?
Good to know
Shipstern seats are CEO, President and COO. The two-week diagnostic establishes which seat the business needs, and whether it needs one at all.
How would you describe the business’s competitive position?
Good to know
Shipstern partners with businesses that already have a moat, or a clear path to one. It is not a turnaround shop.
What has been tried or considered so far?
Good to know
Fractional leadership is the third option between a consultancy that recommends and leaves and a senior hire made too early or too expensively.
Would the owners give an embedded operator real authority, and would the current leadership accept it?
A seat at the table, a team to run, decisions that are theirs to make.
Good to know
Shipstern leaders are embedded, not advisory. They hold decision rights, govern a team and are accountable for the outcome, which only works with the owners behind them.
Could the cap table accommodate a leader earning equity against milestones?
Optional, and only where it suits both sides. It usually means a reduced monthly fee.
Good to know
Equity is never a requirement. Where it is the right approach for both sides, it usually lowers the monthly fee and ties the leader’s upside to the owners’, so success depends on the outcome rather than the hours.
When does the business need this leadership in place?
Good to know
Engagements start with an intro call, then a two-week diagnostic, then the seat. The first step takes thirty minutes.
Your result · Ready now
Your business is built for embedded leadership.
You have a business with proven fundamentals, a moment that calls for more senior operating capacity than you can justify hiring full-time, and the willingness to hand a proven operator real authority. That is the profile Shipstern was designed around.
Here is what an engagement looks like: a Shipstern leader takes a fractional CEO, President or COO seat at roughly 30% of their time, runs a team, holds decision rights and is accountable for the outcome. Compensation is a monthly retainer. Where it suits both sides, part of it can be equity earned against milestones in exchange for a reduced fee, so their upside is tied to yours. Month-to-month terms; we earn the relationship continuously.
The next step is a thirty-minute conversation with Scott about your situation. If it fits, we move to a two-week diagnostic, then the seat.
Your result · Closer than you think
You’re nearer to this than most businesses we talk to.
Most of what makes embedded leadership work is already in place: a real business, a moment that calls for more, and an owner who can see the next chapter. One or two of your answers suggest something still to settle, most often how much authority to hand over, whether an equity-aligned arrangement makes sense, or whether the timing is now or next year.
Those are exactly the questions an intro call is for. Shipstern leaders embed as fractional CEOs, Presidents or COOs with real decision rights, on a monthly retainer (sometimes reduced in exchange for milestone equity), at roughly 30% of their time. A two-week diagnostic follows the call and resolves scope, seat and structure before anything is committed.
Thirty minutes with Scott will tell you whether this is the right move, and when.
Your result · Worth a conversation first
Not yet. But let’s talk about when.
Embedded fractional leadership works best in businesses with proven fundamentals and enough scale that a senior operator can run a team and move a P&L. From your answers, your business is either earlier than that or in a moment where a different kind of help comes first.
That is useful to know now rather than later. Shipstern’s partners have led businesses from early stage through $2B, and part of what we do on an intro call is tell owners plainly what the right next move is, even when it isn’t us. Sometimes it’s a specialist from The Roster, sometimes an introduction to a partner firm, sometimes simply a conversation to revisit in a year.
If you’d like that perspective, Scott keeps these calls short.
Your result · Ready now
Your business is built for embedded leadership.
You have a business with proven fundamentals, a moment that calls for more senior operating capacity than you can justify hiring full-time, and owners prepared to give a proven operator real authority. That is the profile Shipstern was designed around.
Here is what an engagement looks like: a Shipstern leader takes a fractional CEO, President or COO seat at roughly 30% of their time, runs the team, holds decision rights and is accountable to you for the outcome. Compensation is a monthly retainer. Where it suits both sides, part of it can be equity earned against milestones in exchange for a reduced fee, so their upside is tied to the owners’. Month-to-month terms; we earn the relationship continuously.
The next step is a thirty-minute conversation with Scott about the business. If it fits, we move to a two-week diagnostic, then the seat.
Your result · Closer than you think
You’re nearer to this than most businesses we talk to.
Most of what makes embedded leadership work is already in place: a real business, a moment that calls for more, and owners who can see the next chapter. One or two of your answers suggest something still to settle, most often how much authority the owners and current leadership would cede, whether an equity-aligned arrangement makes sense, or whether the timing is now or next year.
Those are exactly the questions an intro call is for. Shipstern leaders embed as fractional CEOs, Presidents or COOs with real decision rights, on a monthly retainer (sometimes reduced in exchange for milestone equity), at roughly 30% of their time. A two-week diagnostic follows the call and resolves scope, seat and structure before anything is committed.
Thirty minutes with Scott will tell you whether this is the right move, and when.
Your result · Worth a conversation first
Not yet. But let’s talk about when.
Embedded fractional leadership works best in businesses with proven fundamentals and enough scale that a senior operator can run a team and move a P&L. From your answers, your business is either earlier than that or in a moment where a different kind of help comes first.
That is useful to know now rather than later. Shipstern’s partners have led businesses from early stage through $2B, and part of what we do on an intro call is tell owners and boards plainly what the right next move is, even when it isn’t us. Sometimes it’s a specialist from The Roster, sometimes an introduction to a partner firm, sometimes simply a conversation to revisit in a year.
If you’d like that perspective, Scott keeps these calls short.
Step 2 · Confident it’s a fit?
Speak with a partner.
Thirty minutes with a partner to talk through your business, the seat it needs and how an engagement would run. If it fits, a two-week diagnostic follows. If it doesn’t, we’ll say so.
Most leaders start within a month of the first conversation.
Join the partner team
Led a business through its next chapter?
Shipstern partners are proven CEOs, Presidents and COOs who take a real seat in growing companies across North America, one to three days a week. If you have led a larger business and want to do it again, we’d like to hear from you.
