Sounds like you
“My board keeps asking about AI and I keep changing the subject.”
“Every vendor who calls says they have AI now. I cannot tell who is real.”
“Half my team uses AI on their own and nobody owns the plan.”
“I need someone senior on AI, and I cannot pay a full-time salary for it yet.”
The problem
You need someone senior on AI. You do not need them five days a week.
Hiring a full-time AI executive is a big, slow bet before you know what the job even is. A fractional seat puts someone accountable in the chair now, for the days you need.
Who it is for
Owners of growing small and mid-size companies
Executives with a new AI initiative
Companies between senior hires
Companies with no CTO yet
What you get
Someone in the chair who makes the calls and answers for them.
- AI strategy and roadmap. What to build, what to buy, and what to skip, in order of what pays back first.
- Testing and tracking. Cost, accuracy, and which model does what, tracked so decisions rest on numbers instead of vibes.
- Rules for the tools. What AI may touch, what it may not, and where a person signs off, in plain English.
- A hiring plan and the system design. So the work keeps going after I leave.
In the seat now
Three seats, right now. Fractional Chief AI Officer at Appraisal Dream. Fractional CTO at U.S. Asset Appraisals and Quartz Importers MN.
How it works
Step 01
Talk it through
A 30-minute call. What is the board asking, what is stuck, what does winning look like.
Step 02
Set the seat
We agree the scope, how many days, and which decisions are mine and which stay yours.
Step 03
Run the function
The plan, the vendors, the build or buy calls, the rules for what the tools may touch. I work as part of your team.
Step 04
Make it outlast me
A hiring plan and a system design, so the work stands on its own when I leave.
Questions
What does a fractional CAIO seat cost?
$3,500 a month for about two days a month, $6,500 for about a day a week, or $11,000 for about two days a week. Cash, equity, or a mix on longer work. Nonprofits, co-ops, and arts groups can use the sliding scale.
How is this different from AI advising?
An advisor hands you a recommendation. In this seat I own the outcome: I make the build, buy, or skip calls, check that what we build works, and answer for the result.
Is the fractional seat remote or on site?
Both. I come to you anywhere in the Twin Cities, and the rest happens on calls and in your tools. Remote works for everyone outside the Twin Cities.
How soon can a fractional seat start?
Now. Book a 30-minute call and we can settle fit and a start date on it.
Is it a CAIO, CTO, or CMO seat?
Will you hire and manage our vendors?
Yes. Picking and managing vendors is most of the job: the agency, the dev shop, the software. I write down what each one owes you and check that they deliver it.
How long does a fractional seat last?
Three months minimum, two years maximum. Two years is enough to take a new initiative from zero to working, and short enough that nobody can hide in analysis. Why the two-year limit.
Before you hire this, people ask
- How do I know if an AI consultant is full of it?They cannot show you anything running, they will not say a price, they never say no, and they are in a hurry. Any two of those and you have your answer.
- How do I find the best marketing consultant in Minneapolis?The best one is the one who fits your size and your problem. Sort the list with five questions. Have they run marketing with their own money on the line? Will they put a price on the page? Can they show something they built that is still running? Will they say no to you? And do they talk like a person or like a deck?
- What should I ask before hiring a consultant?Ask what exactly you get, who does the work, what it costs and what it does not include, what you own at the end, and how either side gets out. Get every answer in writing. A good consultant can answer all of them on the first call without checking with anyone.
- What are the red flags in an AI vendor?Watch for a demo on their data instead of yours, a contract that lets them train on your data, a price that grows with usage and has no ceiling, no way to export what you put in, and nobody who can say what happens when the model is wrong. Any one of those deserves a hard question. Two of them is a reason to walk.
- What does a fractional Chief AI Officer do?A fractional Chief AI Officer owns your AI plan part time. That means deciding what to build, buy, or skip, picking and managing the vendors, setting the rules for what the tools may touch, and answering for the results. Published rates run from about $2,500 a month for an advisor to $25,000 and up for someone embedded a day or more a week. I charge $3,500 a month for about two days a month, $6,500 for about a day a week, or $11,000 for about two days a week.
- What is a fractional executive?A fractional executive is a senior leader who works for your company part of the week, on an ongoing basis, and is accountable for results like any member of your leadership team. The common seats are CMO, CTO, CFO, and Chief AI Officer. I take CMO, CTO, and Chief AI Officer seats for three months to two years: $3,500 a month for about two days a month, $6,500 for about a day a week, or $11,000 for about two days a week.
- Do I need a fractional CTO or a dev shop?Usually the CTO first. A dev shop builds what it is told. A fractional CTO decides what to build, picks the shop, and checks the work. A shop with no CTO means nobody is checking; a CTO with no shop means nothing gets built. Most small companies need a little of both.
- Fractional CMO, marketing agency, or a full-time hire?It depends on revenue. Under about a million, run a one-page plan yourself with a freelancer. From one to twenty million, a fractional CMO who directs an agency or freelancers usually wins. Past that, hire full-time. An agency alone, with nobody on your side directing it, is the option that most often disappoints.
Tell me who owns AI at your company right now.
If the answer is nobody, or you on weekends, we should talk.