From a strong idea to a company someone can buy from.
There is no shortage of good science and good craft here. The gap is the commercial and operating experience that turns it into revenue before the funding runs short.
Where young companies stall here
The pattern repeats across the city's young companies:
The lab is ahead of the business
The technology works. Pricing, contracts, a sales route and a clean set of accounts do not yet exist.
Funders want structure
Quebec institutions and international investors alike ask for a model, a cap table and a board that looks like one, often before the first real revenue.
The first customer is abroad
A deal in the United States arrives early, with terms, tax and a currency the team has never handled.
A permanent executive is too early
A senior salary and the commitment that comes with a permanent executive are too much to carry before revenue.
A young company gets someone who has already been through this, for as many days as the runway allows, engaged by a contract for services between companies. It spares you learning the expensive lesson more than once.
Who this is for, and who it is not
Best for
- Founders wearing every hat with no senior cover where it matters most
- Pre-seed to pre-Series A companies that need structure before they can fund it
- Teams that need investor-grade finance, reporting or operations at speed
- Startups scaling headcount faster than their processes can hold
- Founders who want to protect the cap table while adding senior leadership
Not for
- An idea with no product or traction to build structure around yet
- A role a capable full-time hire is already ready to own
- Founders looking to outsource a function rather than lead it
- A single deliverable an agency or contractor could hand back
Where we fit for founders
Research-led founders need commercial seniority in measured doses. We match carefully and stay involved as the lab turns into a business.
Reviewed against the runway
We check progress at agreed points against the funding plan, and raise drift while there is still runway to correct it.
Operators who have commercialised research
Your executive can try out a pricing model, a US contract or a raise on people in our collective of 800+ who took research to market themselves.
The thread stays with us
Our file keeps the brief, the milestones and our notes, so if the executive changes, the company does not have to explain itself again.
Matched to the science
A spin-out from an AI lab and a medical device start-up need different people, and we match to the company you are building.
From first call to embedded operator
We move at startup speed.
Tell us your stage
Where are you in the journey? What are the gaps? What does the next 90 days need to deliver?
We match the right operator
From our vetted collective, we introduce the fractional executive matched to your stage, sector, and culture.
Embedded within days
Your fractional embeds with your team, begins the scoped work, and operates with real accountability.
Scale the stack
As you grow, add further specialists from the collective. We coordinate them so they work as a coherent team.
Which leader for your stage
The gap that slows a startup changes as it grows. Here is where most founders feel it first, and who owns it.
The right fractional executive depends on your stage
Start with the widest gap today, then add roles as you scale.
Operators from the region's defining startups, and beyond
