Fractional HR and CHRO for Series A and B Startups
You closed the round. Now you're hiring faster than you can onboard, your best engineer just became a manager, and the person "handling HR" is also running finance, ops and the office snack order. That works right up until it doesn't.
We give funded startups CHRO level HR judgment without a full time executive salary. We don't drop off a binder and disappear, we build the HR foundation with you and do the hands on work ourselves.
Book a callSigns your startup needs Fractional HR now
- You're past 12 people and still don't have a real Handbook.
- Offers go out with different terms every time, and nobody can say why.
- People who were great individual contributors are now managers, and their teams can tell.
- You aren't sure everyone's classified correctly, and you'd rather find out from us than from a lawyer.
- Hiring is eating your founders' calendars, and good candidates keep slipping away.
- Your board or investors are starting to ask about HR, and the honest answer is "we'll get to it."
What the first 90 days look like
Every build starts the same way. We learn what's actually going on, scope the work, send you a proposal, run intake and assess the company. Then we build a 90 day roadmap broken down by week, with risk, priority, ownership and progress laid out so you always know what's done and what's next.
For a funded startup, that roadmap usually covers:
- A Handbook that fits your Culture and the law where your people work.
- Classification and pay checks, so contractors and exempt roles hold up.
- Compensation structure, so offers stop being one off negotiations.
- Onboarding that gets new hires productive fast.
- Manager coaching for the people you promoted from individual contributor roles.
- Performance Management people will actually use.
Most builds start within one to two weeks of a signed proposal, sometimes within days.
We can run your hiring too
When you're scaling, HR and hiring are the same problem. We can run your Recruiting process under your brand, so candidates feel like they're talking to your own team. Before a search starts, we have the hiring manager describe the candidate who meets 80% of the role and commit to moving those people forward. That ends the "I'll know it when I see it" loop that keeps roles open for months.
Recruiting runs on a three month minimum, because good hires take time to find.
How Fractional HR is priced
One flat monthly fee, sized to your company and what needs fixing. Contracts run 3, 6 or 12 months. Nobody counts hours on either side, we put in what the job needs. You always know what you'll pay.
Who you get
You get Bill Brown personally, not a rotating help desk. Bill has 20+ years in HR, has been PHR Certified and wrote the Don't Suck series on recruiting and culture. Retainer clients typically hear back within six business hours, and urgent employee issues get a reply within four business hours.
Common questions
What is a fractional CHRO?
A fractional CHRO is a senior HR leader who works with your company part of the time, on a set contract, instead of as a full time hire. You get executive HR judgment and hands on execution for one flat monthly fee.
When should a Series A startup bring in Fractional HR?
Usually right after the round, when hiring speeds up. Past about 12 people, gaps in Handbooks, classification, pay and manager skills start costing real money, and they're cheaper to fix before you double in size.
Can you handle HR and run our hiring at the same time?
Yes. Fractional HR and Recruiting can run together under one plan, so the people you hire land in a company that's ready for them.
How fast can you start?
Most builds start within one to two weeks of a signed proposal, sometimes within days.
How big does our company need to be?
We work with companies that have 12 to 350 employees.
Ready to stop duct taping HR?
Tell us what's going on and we'll tell you if we're the right fit. Hire Better. Lead Smarter. Don't Suck!