What I Do
I help venture studios, AI labs, and protocols turn research into products people pay for. That work means making the problem legible to non-technical stakeholders, defining product lines around the core primitives, and shipping against a roadmap with dates on it. Commercialization and ecosystem strategy included: pricing and token models, partner plays, dev tooling, and grants.
The standard objection to fractional product leadership is that it cannot work: a part-time leader has no authority, no real context, and no accountability. That is a fair description of advice sold by the hour, and it is not what this is. Engagements run 6–12 months at 2–4 days per week, capped at 2–3 parallel clients so the context is earned rather than skimmed, and every engagement is scoped to named deliverables with dates against them. A quarter with nothing shipped is a visible failure, which is the point of structuring it that way.
Optionally paired with a SproutVest squad (design, PMM, GTM ops) when you need a small team, not just an individual.
For a worked example with the runway running out: the best demo we ever built was for a market that would not pay. How Trensant narrowed to a single named buyer, and what that cost.
Track Record
"instrumental in launching and maintaining a platform for AI and machine learning researchers"
Lori Kilty · Senior Manager, Microsoft Research
"thoughtful, knowledgeable, and genuine; rare in the industry"
Joshua Sanchez · Product Manager, Randamu & Microsoft
"I don't just recommend Erick; I actively pursue opportunities to work together"
Ivan Judson · Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research
Operator Coaching
1:1 coaching for founder-CEOs and product executives, built on the Trellis Method. Start with the free Trellis Pulse Check: six statements, two minutes, no email. The Trellis Leadership Diagnostic is also free to take, 24 behavior-anchored items across six dimensions, with your scored results returned immediately. For $2,500 I read those results personally and build a written remediation plan around one 90-day priority, delivered in a 90-minute debrief and credited toward your first month. Ongoing engagements from $4,000/mo.
I also teach this material formally: I’m a Preceptor at the Watson Institute, running the Product-Market Fit module for Enlight Foundation fellows this fall.
Speaking
Available for keynotes, panels, fireside chats, podcasts, and workshops worldwide.
Recent stages: Consensus 2025 (Toronto) · Permissionless IV (Brooklyn) · Token2049 (Dubai) · Devcon (Bangkok)
Blockchain & Cryptography
Threshold cryptography, bridgeless interoperability, decentralized randomness, MEV resistance.
AI & Product Strategy
Commercializing frontier tech, AI product leadership, data-driven decision making.
Venture & Entrepreneurship
Big tech to blockchain, fundraising, distributed teams, exit strategies.
See the full Appearances archive for interviews, podcasts, and conference coverage.
Get in Touch
Whether you’re exploring fractional CPO work, advisory, coaching, speaking, or investment, the best next step is a conversation.
Book a Call 30-minute intro · No commitment
