Meet Charles Vickers
The founder of CRVTech and the fractional C-suite leader helping startups ship products that users love and VCs fund.
After more than two decades serving Fortune 500 clients, I saw a pattern: the startups that succeeded weren’t always the ones with the best ideas—they were the ones with the best execution. They had product leaders who knew how to find product-market fit. They had quality leaders who prevented launches from failing. They had dleivery leaders who built the systems that scaled. But most startups don’t have access to this level of leadership until it’s too late.
The fractional model changes that. Utilizing startup economics, I bring the rigor, frameworks, and best practices of Fortune 500 companies—without the bureaucracy. You get world-class execution tailorered to your startup’s speed and constraints. And I bring fresh perspectives from seeing patterns across companies and industries.
Why CRVTech exists
For over two decades, I’ve built, shipped, and scaled digital products for some of the world’s most demanding brands: Verizon, Audible, Alaska Airlines, CityMD, Chanel, L’Oreal, Hyatt, Audi, Porsche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Herman Miller, and dozens more.
I’ve led global teams of 40+ engineers. I’ve rescued failing launches littered with 500+ bugs 3 weeks before go-live. I’ve delivered dozens of product that have maintained incident free releases for consecutive years. As a Product Leader I have driven over $200 million in new revenue for clients and agencies by positioning frameworks like Northstar, MVP, JTBD, and more as the fundemental operating model for their business. I have used Tech Ops Delivery Models and Quality Assurance with a specialization in Accessibitlity as a competitive advantage. Thus, I have also built a team of peer leaders and senior associates in every discipline that have been through the trenches with me and I’m proud to say I have won together with in the past.
But here’s what I’ve learn, the companies that need this expertise the most often can’t afford it. In this new age of AI, Startups have to move fast. They iterate. They pivot. Creating a disconnent in focus and alignment with their customer base. Building a product sometimes without truly achieving product market-fit. And somewhere along the way, quality becomes an afterthought. Accessibility gets ignored. Technical debt piles up. Teams work in chaos instead of structure. By the time they realize they have a problem, it’s expensive to fix or worse, it sinks the company.
CRVTech exists to change that!
We bring enterprise-grade Fractional Product, Tech Operations, and Quality Assurance leadeship and expertise to early and mid stage companies — when it matter most. We help you build the right foundation from day one, so you can can scale without breaking. We work with founders, product teams, and the VC/Investors who back them focusing on outcomes>output, embedding quality, structure, and customer-centricity into your DNA before it becomes a crisis. Because the best products aren’t just well-designed. They’re well-built. And your company’s success is just around the corner!
Common Questions About Fractional Leadership
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I work with your company 2-3 days per week (or custom schedule) as a member of your executive team. I attend leadership meetings, drive strategy, lead teams, and execute hands-on work—just like a full-time C-Level executive. The difference is you’re not paying for 5 days/week, and you can scale the engagement up or down as you grow.
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Most clients start with a 3-6 month engagement to address specific challenges or build foundations. Many continue long-term (12-24+) for ongoing leadership. Sprint-based projects (6-12 weeks) work well for focused initiatives like product launcher or team builds.
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Where many Fractional executives offer you leadership in only one area of focus or discipline—I offer leadership in three major areas of focus that give you and your team the best value for your time and investment.
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Fractional leadership Typically ranges from $8k-15k per month per role, depending on time commitment and scope. That’s 25-40% of the cost of a full-time C-Suite executive. We’ll create a custom proposal based on your specific needs and budget.
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Absolutely. Many clients start with one fractional role (often CPO or CQO) and expand to others as they grow. The benefit of working with CRVTech is that all three roles come from the same leader—making it easy to add responsibilities without onboarding new executives.
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Most engagements are remote (video calls, Slack, async collaboration), but I can work on-site for key meetings, workshops, or launches. I’m based in NY, and also work from LA frequently.
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That’s a great outcome! I can help you define the role, recruit candidates, and transition leadership smoothly. Many clients use fractional executives as a bridge while they search for the right full-time hire—or discover the prefer the fractional model long-term.
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Depending on current commitment, I can typically start within 1-2 weeks for finalizing an engagement. For urgent situations (product rescus, launch crisis), I can sometimes start immediately.
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Yes, I sign NDAs and confidentiality agreeements. I work with 2-4 clients simultaneously (never competitors in the same space). This multi-company model is what makes fractional leadership valuable—you get cross-industry insights and proven frameworks from my work with other companies.
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I focus on pre-seed through Series D startups or mid-market companies. Typicall 5-100 employees. I also work with VCs to support multiple portfolie companies and with growth-stage companies during executive transitions.
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Most engagements include a 30-day trial period where either party can end the engagement with minimal notice. My goal is to deliver value from day one—but if its’s not working, we can part ways professionally.
Ready to Add C-Suite Leadership Without the Overhead?
Some consultations can lead to custom proposals within 48 - 72 hours.