Fractional Product Lead and strategist
I'm a fractional product lead for NGOs, social enterprises and bootstrapped startups. I step in to plan new products, get stalled ones back on track, and set up the systems that keep work moving, so your team can focus on the mission.
Book a chat
Sound familiar?
The teams I work with aren't short on passion or ideas. Something just got in the way, and it's usually one of these.
You're the founder, the ED or the CEO, and somehow also the person who decides what gets built. It works until it doesn't. The backlog keeps growing, the team is waiting on you, and every decision lands on the busiest person in the company.
The roadmap keeps growing and the releases don't. Bugs pile up faster than anyone can fix them. Everyone is working hard, and it still feels like you're standing still.
Maybe you doubled in a year, or your team now spans five time zones. The docs and habits that got you here are slowing everyone down, and the same questions come up every week.
Funders, partners and programs come first, as they should. Meanwhile the product needs to grow, and nobody has the time or the expertise to own it.
Most teams have more than one of these going on. That's normal, and it's fixable.
Where are you right now?
So I shape the work around yours. Pick the one that sounds most like you.
Idea to Dev · 8 to 10 weeks
You could hand your idea straight to a developer, and plenty of people do. Then they spend months paying engineers to build, rebuild and rebuild again, because nobody answered the hard questions first. I answer them before the first line of code.
I talk to real users to check the need, then write a tight PRD with acceptance criteria, so devs aren't left guessing.
A clickable prototype, tested with people who'd actually use it, plus a prioritized backlog and a handoff package your dev team can sprint on from day one.
Triage, then Fractional Product Lead
A lot of founders end up as the product owner by default. It works until it doesn't. The backlog grows, the roadmap slips, and every decision waits on the busiest person in the company.
I review your roadmap, backlog and sprint setup, and talk to your leaders, your product team and whoever hears from customers. You get a clear plan to move the product toward its goal.
Take the plan and run with it, or keep me on to lead it. I own the backlog, run sprint ceremonies, write requirements and make the calls the team doesn't have time for.
Have a project instead of a product? I can lead that too.
Product Ops Set Up · 2 to 4 weeks
Maybe you doubled in a year, or you're spread across five time zones. Whatever the reason, the tools and habits that used to work are now slowing everyone down.
I meet with your team and see how they actually use your tools. Are you using them right, getting their full value, and are they even the right tools?
I set up a system that fits how your team works and train everyone on it. Then Slack or a monthly check-in keeps it running smoothly.
Not sure where you fit? That's what the chat is for.
What I believe
I've watched devs build and rebuild the same feature because the requirement was a marked-up screenshot. Clear, well-researched requirements end the game of tech telephone.
A screenshot, two scribbles and a lot of guessing.
User story
As a health worker, I can log a home visit with no wifi, so nothing gets lost when the signal drops.
Acceptance criteria
Answers to the questions before anyone has to ask.
I've done this before
4.5x
the team's operational capacity in one year, with 17 new modules shipped
E-Heza · TIP Global Health
A health app frontline workers in Rwanda use to serve 3.2 million people. I gave the team one source of truth and a way of working that held up across time zones and spotty wifi.
3 features
shipped in under a year, after only 2 of 19 roadmap features had ever made it out
Poppy · Gravity Payments
I set up a customer feedback loop, cleaned up the backlog and changed how sprints got planned. Those 3 features brought Poppy up to market parity.
$11M+
in record revenue in one year, with a sales cycle 2 months shorter
Remote Year
I rebuilt the sales process and led a sales team of 20+.
100 → 4,000
employees during my time there
WeWork
I built the docs, systems and processes that new building and product teams used as the company scaled.
Also: USAID, Partners in Health and Spark Microgrants.
Nice to meet you!
My career has been a wild mix of supporting changemakers, growing startups and building things that actually get used. I've worked with nonprofits in East Africa on women's health and income-generating projects, partnered with organizations like USAID to drive investment back into diaspora communities, and helped WeWork grow from about 100 people to 4,000.
Through it all, I've always been driven by one thing: creating meaningful impact. Whether it was designing an app to support healthcare workers in remote East African villages or overhauling digital systems that desperately needed some help, my work is all about amplifying missions through thoughtful, functional work.
When I'm not at my computer, you can find me attempting to catch a wave, scuba diving in search of sharks, jumping horses over sticks, or going on an adventure with my rescue dogs, Bob and Beans.
Kind words
Quote goes here.
Book a chat
Tell me where your product is stuck. 30 minutes, no pitch, no pressure.
Pick a timeOr email me at jeanette.pelizzon@gmail.com
