You didn’t lose your value — just your title.
Now’s your chance to pivot toward something more flexible, more autonomous, and more in demand than ever: fractional, hourly work.
Startups and growth-stage companies increasingly rely on fractional executives to move fast, stay lean, and get expert guidance without committing to full-time overhead. If you’ve recently been laid off, this is your opportunity to redefine your career on your terms — and still drive high-impact results.
Fractional work means offering your leadership and expertise part-time or hourly — as a fractional CMO, CFO, product lead, GTM advisor, or strategist — to multiple companies at once.
You pick your engagements. You define your rate. You choose the problems you want to solve.
It’s not freelance. It’s not full-time. It’s the modern executive model.
Budgets are tighter — companies can’t always afford full-time execs
Hiring cycles are slower — but needs are more urgent than ever
Fractional is normalized — VC and PE firms are using it to accelerate portfolio execution
You have experience — you just need to reposition it
And platforms like Five Experts make it easy to plug in: profile, schedule, payments, even video calls — all in one place.
1. Reframe Your Mindset
You’re not between roles — you’re stepping into your next chapter as an on-demand expert.
You’re not selling your time. You’re offering outcomes.
2. Define Your Niche
Where do you create the most value? Choose a specialization, like:
GTM strategy for B2B SaaS
Pre-seed product-market fit
Financial infrastructure before a Series A
You want clients to see themselves in your narrative.
Just like startups need to know who they’re building for, you need to know who you serve best.
Ask yourself:
What stage are they at? (Seed? Series A? Post-raise but pre-scale?)
What industry or business model? (SaaS, consumer, fintech?)
What problems do they consistently face? (GTM confusion? Pricing strategy? Ops chaos?)
Who do I most enjoy working with — and who gets the most value from me?
Defining your ICP helps you:
Speak directly to the right founders
Set appropriate pricing and scope
Avoid burnout from misaligned projects
Focus your thought leadership and marketing efforts
Your ICP is your filter — and your north star.
4. Set Your Rate with Confidence
Hourly. Project-based. Retainer.
Start with your value, not your former salary. Fractional rates often range from $150–$500/hr depending on role, stage, and depth of expertise.
5. Build a Compelling Profile
Founders don’t care about your job titles. They care about:
What you’ve built
What you’ve fixed
What outcomes you’ve delivered
Five Experts helps you craft a profile that does just that — with clarity, credibility, and visibility to the right companies.
6. Get On a Platform That Works for You
Join Five. We’ve built a platform that handles all the logistics — scheduling, payments, messaging, and more — so you can focus on delivering real value.
The next chapter of your career doesn’t have to be reactive — it can be intentional.
You’ve already earned your expertise. Now it’s time to share it with the companies who need it most — at the moments that matter most.
Fractional isn’t a fallback. It’s a force.
And you don’t need to figure it out alone.
Ready to step into your next chapter?
Apply to join Five Experts and start building a flexible, high-impact career with clarity and confidence.
📩 Email us if you’re just starting out — we’re happy to help.
