Overview
Building a product is hard. Building a product while also fundraising, hiring, and learning to lead a team? That's a different kind of hard. I coach founders through the product decisions that keep them up at night: what to build first, who to hire, how to prioritize, and how to talk about the product to investors, customers, and their own teams.
Who this is for
This is a good fit if you're:
- A technical founder who can build anything but isn't sure what to build first
- A non-technical founder who needs to communicate confidently with engineering
- A first-time founder experiencing "founder swirl," too many decisions, not enough frameworks
- A repeat founder entering a new domain and wanting a sounding board
What coaching looks like
Weekly 1:1 sessions (60-90 minutes). We work through whatever is live: a prioritization decision, a team conflict, a pitch deck, a hiring plan. I don't lecture. I ask the questions that help you find the right answer faster.
Async support between sessions. Slack or email. When you need a gut check on a product decision at 9pm, you can send it and I'll respond by morning.
Frameworks that stick. I'll teach you the product thinking patterns (prioritization, discovery, stakeholder management) so you internalize them. The goal is that you stop needing me.
Common coaching topics
- Prioritization: What to build now, what to defer, and how to explain the tradeoff
- Hiring your first PM: When to hire, what to look for, and how to set them up to succeed
- MVP scoping: What "minimum" actually means and how to resist scope creep
- Investor comms: Turning product progress into a story investors understand
- Team dynamics: Managing up, managing across, and building trust with engineering
- Product-market fit signals: What to measure, what to ignore, and when to pivot
Typical engagement
- Duration: 3-6 months (month-to-month, cancel anytime)
- Commitment: 2-4 hours per week
- Format: Remote, video-based sessions + async Slack
Frequently asked questions
Impact in practice
Measured outcomes from engagements like this one
FLUXX Health
MVP live in under 6 months. 47% engagement and 800+ quiz completions, above typical early-healthtech benchmarks, driven by intent-based re-engagement rather than guilt-driven notifications. 38% drop in quiz abandonment. Organic search nearly tripled month over month. AI recommendations validated against a 20-member Clinician Advisory Board.
Sperity Health
Took the product from a Wix site to a functioning, HIPAA-compliant MVP validated with an 18-member first cohort. The Sperity Score gave members a single daily metric instead of a data dump. Built 5 member personas, service blueprints, and onboarding journey maps, and left behind delivery rituals the team runs without a fractional leader.
Swing Therapeutics
73% of pilot participants reported improved well-being. FDA pivotal trial launched on time. Stanza became the first FDA-cleared CBT app for fibromyalgia.
Related work
Case studies from engagements like this one
FLUXX Health
Launching FLUXX: An AI-Powered Menopause Platform
MVP live in under 6 months. 47% engagement and 800+ quiz completions, above typical early-healthtech benchmarks, driven by intent-based re-engagement rather than guilt-driven notifications. 38% drop in quiz abandonment. Organic search nearly tripled month over month. AI recommendations validated against a 20-member Clinician Advisory Board.
Sperity Health
Designing a Wellness MVP for Biomarker-Driven Preventative Care
Took the product from a Wix site to a functioning, HIPAA-compliant MVP validated with an 18-member first cohort. The Sperity Score gave members a single daily metric instead of a data dump. Built 5 member personas, service blueprints, and onboarding journey maps, and left behind delivery rituals the team runs without a fractional leader.
Swing Therapeutics
Stanza MVP: FDA-Cleared CBT App for Fibromyalgia
73% of pilot participants reported improved well-being. FDA pivotal trial launched on time. Stanza became the first FDA-cleared CBT app for fibromyalgia.
What clients say
JoelFounder/Entrepreneur, Penn State Launchbox“Before our team worked with Kate, we were unsure about our product direction. We left each consultation with her confident in our next steps. Her advice got us thinking about how users might perceive our product once it was in the market, which helped us solidify our user experience and onboarding flow. I would implore you to work with Kate and trust the experience she's got.”
RawanSenior Product Manager, 1-1 Product Mentee“Kate quite literally taught me everything I know about product. She's the real deal.”
LeeChief Innovation Amplifier, Penn State Launchbox“Kate's product talk was amazing. Just what these teams needed - someone who is passionate and an expert at what they do. Thank you so much for your willingness to help these founders.”
From the playbook
Practices I use with teams during this type of engagement
Try it yourself
Free tools related to this service
Related writing
Posts that go deeper on this topic
From Catering to Product: Rawan's Real Pivot
Rawan started thinking Scrum might be the path. But through focused coaching and real product work, she built a full portfolio, pitched her case study, and got hired to manage eight products.
How Much Does a Fractional Product Manager Cost?
Fractional product managers typically cost $150-350 per hour or $5,000-20,000 per month. But the real question is not what it costs - it is what it costs you to not have one.
The Questions Before the Opinions
Most consultants walk into a room ready to prove they're the smartest person in it. The best ones walk in ready to listen. Here's the framework I built for asking better questions before offering a single answer.
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Interested in founder product coaching?
Let's talk about what you need and how I can help.
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