Product Lead
A product lead who decides what gets built. And turns it into specs your team can ship.
Product strategy, MVP scope and the backlog, owned with you. I talk to your users, write the specifications and keep developers, design and stakeholders on one plan Monthly as a service, or on demand.
- Monthly or on demand
- Start within days
- EU and US hours
Also as Fractional CTO and AI Architect, or as a fixed-price SaaS & AI product launch.
Where you are
Sound familiar? This is when a product lead pays off.
- A team that builds fast, but not always the right thing.
- A founder who needs the first version scoped before the build starts.
- A relaunch, or a new customer onboarded on a fixed timeline.
- A product owner seat that is empty or overloaded.
What I own
Product strategy
Who the product is for, what they will pay for, and what that means for the next release.
Scope and roadmap
The first version cut to what must ship, and the releases after it in priority order.
Specifications
User stories with acceptance criteria that developers and AI agents can build and test.
UX and brand
User flows and screens that carry the brand into the product.
Backlog
One prioritised backlog, groomed every week, with nothing in it nobody asked for.
Stakeholders
Decisions written down, and status that leadership can act on.
Who you work with
Fractional CTO and product lead, Vienna
I have owned the product for a bicycle wholesale platform, an EduTech research organisation and an M&A platform, and I founded an enterprise SaaS company.
“Kristian is certainly one of the top picks in his field.”
What gets built is the decision that matters most. The specs follow it.
- 25 years
- In software architecture and product, in Europe and North America.
- 50+
- Product launches across startups and enterprises.
- 5.0★★★★★
- Upwork rating, Top Rated Plus, more than $500K earned.
What a client says
“We can recommend Kristian to anyone who is looking for a product owner with a strong UX focus, who can work with minimal instructions to conceptualize a software product that you'll be happy with.”
How it starts
- 1
A call
Your product, your users and the decision you are stuck on.
- 2
Scope and backlog
I write down who it is for, what ships first and the specifications for it.
- 3
I stay on as product lead
Weekly priorities, specs and reviews with your team until the release lands.
Pricing
A steady lead, or help when you need it. Monthly as a service, or on demand.
Pick the weekly hours that fit, as a monthly service you can change or cancel any month. For a defined piece of work, take me on demand.
Advisor
As a service$2,600/ month
4 h per week
A weekly session on priorities and scope, and the roadmap kept honest against what users need.
Book a callLead
As a service$5,200/ month
8 h per week
I own the backlog: specifications, refinement with the team and acceptance of every release.
Book a callEmbedded
As a service$10,400/ month
16 h per week
Two days a week inside your team: user research, specifications and every stakeholder in line.
Book a callOn demand
On demandLet's talk
Hourly contract
A scope for a new product, a backlog rescue or a short burst of product leadership, billed by the hour.
Talk it through- Monthly, cancel any month
- Hours logged and visible
- Written decisions
- EU and US hours
One person, three roles
One person. The roles a product needs.
Product, technology and AI decisions sit with one person, so they never contradict each other. Most engagements combine two of the roles, or deliver one of the outcomes.
SaaS & AI product launch
Agentic frame included
A SaaS or AI MVP launched for paying customers, at a fixed price, in weeks.
Enterprise AI agents
Every decision has an owner
Multi-agent workflows across your business, with human review where it matters.
AI agent evaluation
Right problem, solved right
AI agents that solve the right problem, proven with evals end to end.
Fractional CTO
Technical direction you can trust
Technical direction, architecture calls and your development team, owned part-time.
Product Lead
This page · What to build, and why
What gets built and in which order, turned into specs your team can ship.
AI Architect
AI that holds in production
AI features and agents that hold in production, with evals and permissions.
Industries
See it in your industry. What a product lead owns first depends on your field.
Each page shows how the role works in that industry.
- Software and SaaS companies
- Digital and marketing agencies
- Healthcare and HealthTech
- FinTech, financial services and M&A
- Real estate and PropTech
- Education and EdTech
- B2B e-commerce and wholesale
- Media and digital content
- Insurance and InsurTech
- Life sciences and regulated software
- Restaurants and hospitality
- Mobility, travel and aviation
- Government and public sector
Questions
FAQ
How is it priced?
As a monthly service at 4, 8 or 16 hours a week, or on demand on an hourly contract. You see the hours as they are logged.
Product owner or product manager?
Both. I own the backlog with your developers and the product decisions with you.
Can you judge the technical side too?
Yes. I am also a fractional CTO and AI architect, so a spec never asks for something the architecture cannot carry.
Get in touch
Start with a call.
We go through your product and your team, and agree which role you need first.
Services: SaaS & AI product launchEnterprise AI agentsAI agent evaluationFractional CTOProduct LeadAI Architect