Based in Sydney · Available across Australia

Fractional CPO for Australian Startups and Scale-ups

ex-THE ICONIC · HealthShare · 10+ years in product

A Chief Product Officer at a funded Australian startup costs $280,000–$380,000 all-in. For most early-stage and growth-stage companies, that's not the right investment yet — but doing nothing isn't an option either.

A fractional CPO gives you CPO-level leadership — strategy, team direction, investor communication, product decisions — without the full-time cost or the long hiring process.

Book a 30-minute fit call

What a fractional CPO actually does

The CPO role is about more than writing user stories or managing a backlog. At CPO level, the job is:

Setting product direction — defining what the company is building toward and why, and making that clear to the whole team.
Owning the roadmap — making the hard calls about what gets prioritised and what gets cut, based on evidence and strategy, not just who asks loudest.
Representing product to investors and the board — articulating product strategy in terms of market position, risk, and return.
Building product capability — mentoring PMs, setting up discovery practices, and building a team that makes good decisions independently.
Aligning product with commercial outcomes — making sure what gets built connects to revenue, retention, and growth.

As a fractional CPO I do all of this, embedded in your team, at whatever cadence makes sense for your stage.

Who needs a fractional CPO?

The fractional CPO model works best for Australian companies in one of these positions:

You've raised a Seed or Series A and you need a credible product leader but can't justify the full-time hire yet.

Your founder has been running product themselves and it's becoming a bottleneck.

You have a team of PMs or engineers but no one at the level to set strategy.

You're going through a pivot or major product reset and need senior judgment quickly.

You have a board or investors who want to see better product discipline.

The Australian context

The Australian tech market has a shallow pool of experienced CPOs. The ones available at the right level are either already committed, asking for packages most growth-stage startups can't match, or based overseas and not plugged into the local ecosystem.

I'm based in Sydney, with 10+ years of experience in Australian and global product roles across e-commerce, health tech, and B2B software. I understand the local market, the talent dynamics, and what works at the stage most Australian startups are actually at.

I work with companies across Australia — in-person for Sydney-based teams, remote for everyone else.

Common questions

What's the difference between a fractional CPO and a fractional product leader?

Mostly seniority and scope. A fractional product leader operates at Head of Product level — running discovery, prioritisation, and delivery cadence. A fractional CPO operates at the executive level, owning strategy, investor communication, and team-building. In practice, for most Australian startups, the roles overlap significantly. More on what a fractional product leader does.

How much does a fractional CPO cost in Australia?

Typically $15,000–$30,000 per month for a senior operator working one to three days per week. Compared to a full-time CPO package of $280k–$380k, the maths are straightforward.

Can a fractional CPO help with fundraising?

Yes. A big part of the CPO role is making product strategy legible to investors — clear narrative, credible roadmap, defensible prioritisation logic. If you're raising and investors are asking hard product questions, this is exactly the kind of work I do.

Do you work across Australia or only in Sydney?

Both. I'm based in Sydney and available for in-person work with Sydney teams. I work remotely with companies in Melbourne, Brisbane, and elsewhere across Australia, as well as internationally.

Let's talk

30 minutes. No pitch. We'll figure out if there's a fit and what the engagement might look like.

Book a 30-minute fit call Send an email