Startup Advisory Details
About me
I’m a product & startup builder, serial entrepreneur & angel Investor. Writer. Former Head of Product @ Uber Developer Platform, co-founder of the DataPortability Project, podcaster and author. I’m an Aussie living in both San Francisco & Brisbane. I’m passionate about supercharging companies around the world and I’m curious about everything.
Specialist areas
In my career I have been a leader in a number of specific fields. I provide special insights and historical context in these areas…
General Startups dynamics
I have started, built, and run a series of great startups. Most as CEO, all as co-founder. See Linkedin for more details. I work with founders to understand all the fundamental patterns and processes required to build a successful tech-first, high-growth, venture-backed company.Digital transformation
I’ve worked inside some of the most disruptive companies, and with some of the largest enterprises in the world. Combined, this experience gives me a unique perspective and insight into how to drive internal change at traditional companies.Angel and VC fundraising
I have both raised and invested money as a Startup founder and an angel investor. I’ve developed countless investor pitch decks and fundraising narratives.Business and product strategy
Determining ideal business models and go-to-market strategies to enter and disrupt markets. Identifying problems and ideal product solutions. Across B2B, B2C, B2B2C, and Developer platforms.Product management and design
Designing Minimum Viable Products (MVP), Development of delightful user experiences, highly effective self-serve onboarding flows, retention strategies, and more.Developer platforms & ecosystems
APIs, SDKs, Developer Advocacy and Marketing, Building Ecosystems, and more. Built a platform from 0 to 85 Billion API calls a month (Echo). Ran Product for the Uber Developer Platform.
Two-sided and on-demand marketplaces
Building two-sided marketplaces, managing reputation and trust, marketplace dynamics, solving the cold start problem, aligning incentives, etcEnterprise BD, sales, strategy & support
Messaging, pitch decks, and sales-enablement to drive products into enterprise customers. I’ve worked extensively with enterprise sales teams and central product and IT groups at CNN, Univision, NASDQ, Disney, UMG, NBCU, Coke, Fanta, AT&T, and more.Data Portability
Inventing, developing, and participating in open standards for interoperability between independent services and tools. Implementing user and privacy-centric approaches to data retention and sharing. I coined the phrase Data Portability. Invented Backplane & APML. Particularly important now due to GDPR.Social media strategy
Techniques for participating in, influencing, and leveraging social media to grow new markets, influence thought leaders, and drive industry conversations.Silicon Valley/Disruption culture
Fundraising, key players, politics, relationships, logistical and cultural insights, etc.
Some of the companies I’ve worked with
Advisory Engagements
What I do
I have some time set aside to work with a limited set of companies on a 1:1 basis. I help them build teams, products, platforms, and brands by...
Helping them to clearly articulate the problem and product solution
Providing Silicon Valley insights & connections (including influencers & VCs).
Designing org structures, roles, responsibilities and processes for high-growth companies.
Interviewing & closing world-class new hires.
Reviewing day-to-day execution to ensure consistency with the long-term vision.
Shaping and elevating product strategy (determining the right problem to solve, crafting the right kind of product solution, communicating what the ideal north star looks like).
Shaping and reviewing products (particularly as it relates to core UX metaphors, polish, social & viral mechanics, retention, monetization, APIs and open standards).
Supercharging the existing product management team (working together with existing PMs to help them think through their roadmaps, product requirements etc).
Reviewing go-to-market strategy - particularly as it relates to brand, personas, value prop, and marketing (website, blog posts, marketing collateral etc).
Participating in day-to-day team meetings to encourage bigger, bolder, smarter bets.
Helping them fast-forward to the future.
How I engage
I typically engage with the team in the following way...
Performing initial deep-dive on what's already been discussed/planned (or the problem to be solved) with the product/strategy owners (typically via voice or video chat)
Participating in strategic meetings to develop or refine the plan (typically via voice or video calls)
Sketching out frameworks/rough drafts of key deliverables (E.g. PRDs, roadmaps, marketing strategy, blog copy etc) in real-time with the team so they understand how and what to work on (typically via voice or video chat with Google docs/screen sharing)
Reviewing documentation and other deliverables the team has developed (E.g. PRDs, roadmaps, marketing strategy, blog copy etc) to provide actionable improvements/suggestions via comments, full rewrites and other adjustments. (typically via Google docs)
Reviewing software prototypes and release candidates for alignment with the intended plan and provide actionable feedback (typically via feedback sessions and google docs)
In each case, I work with a key full-time stakeholder(s) on the team. They would drive operations in terms of setting up meetings, owning and authoring first drafts of key deliverables and operationalizing the plan on the ground.
Retainer Fees
I have 3 engagement tiers with corresponding monthly retainer fees.
Advisor Tier
Intended for light-touch weekly guidance. Great for teams who need a fresh perspective on their strategy and tactics.ca
Intended for 1 standing meeting a week + occasional ad-hoc meeting
Up to 8 hours a month
Useful for high-level strategy discussions OR 1 sustained workstream at a time (E.g. Product strategy)
Lite deliverable reviews
Monthly retainer
$7,040 cash + $7,040 stock
Mentor
Intended for weekly, hands-on support and coaching of the founder and/or senior team. Great for a company looking to supercharge 1 or more existing team members and/or build out the team and culture.
Intended for 2 standing meetings a week + occasional ad-hoc meetings
Up to 16 hours a month
Useful to support up to 2 tracks of sustained workstreams at a time (E.g. product strategy and go-to-market strategy)
Medium-level deliverable reviews
Email support
Monthly Retainer
$11,968 cash + $11,968 stock
Fractional Executive
Intended for a team looking for a fractional chief product officer and/or guidance over a medium to large product+eng team.
Intended for 4 standing meetings a week + occasional ad-hoc meetings
Up to 32 hours a monthUseful to support 3-5 sustained workstreams (E.g. Product strategy, go-to-market strategy, and operations)
Detailed deliverable reviews and document authorship
Email support
Chat support (E.g. Slack)
Occasional in-person meetings
Monthly Retainer
$19,712 cash + $19,712 stock
All cash: Some companies prefer to pay the stock component in cash. In such cases, I offer a 20% discount on the total retainer
Nice things people have said about me
“Wisdom and Passion”
“One of the top advisors you can find on this planet”
“Almost clairvoyant ability to see big opportunities”
“Someone to keep you focused on what really matters”
“A true legend with no ego just wisdom, knowledge, and the power to achieve great things.”
“I have had the good fortune to get to work alongside some incredible start-up mentors at YCombinator, Google Launchpad, The Family, and speaking at events like WebSummit, Techne Summit, and StartCon (to name a few). In my mind, Chris Saad stands out as one of the best.”
