Growth

Interim Product Lead

A senior product lead in the seat, starting in weeks.

When your Head of Product leaves, or one number has to move this quarter, I step in as your interim product lead: three to five days a week, for a fixed three to six months. I own the roadmap and the team's product decisions, move the goal we agree at the start, and hand over to your permanent hire with the way of working written down.

Book a free intro call →Interim or fractional?
For product companies whose product leader has left, or whose activation, conversion or retention needs one owner now.
Aleksander Uznański, interim product lead at ProductTrio

What's Included

Weeks 1 to 2: take the seat
  • Intro sessions with the leader I report to, the team and key stakeholders
  • An audit of the roadmap, the metrics and the work in flight: what is validated, what is still a guess
  • One goal agreed at the start, with the number that shows it moved
  • A reporting rhythm with the person I report to, from the first week
Months 1 to 6: lead, 3 to 5 days a week
  • Roadmap and priorities owned, and defended with evidence
  • Team rituals led: planning, reviews and the product decisions in between
  • Discovery on the goal: story-based interviews, product analytics, test cards written before anything ships
  • Experiments live in your release path, with guardrail metrics that protect the numbers you are not trying to move
  • Your PMs and designers coached in the flow of work
  • Updates for leadership in business terms
Final weeks: hand over
  • A written record of the goal, the experiments, what shipped and what was killed
  • The next experiments designed and scheduled, so the work does not stop when I leave
  • Hiring support if the permanent role is still open: the profile, the interview loop and onboarding
Format
3 to 5 days a week · 3 to 6 months, fixed end · Remote or on-site
Reports to
Your CEO, CPO or product director: whoever the product leader reported to

When It Fits

Interim is for a gap or a goal with a date on it:

Your Head of Product just left.The roadmap, the team and the open decisions need an owner now, not after a hiring process that can take months.
A product leader is on leave.Parental leave or a sabbatical leaves a seat that someone has to hold, with a clear date to hand it back.
One number has to move this quarter.Activation, conversion or retention stalled, and nobody on the team can own it full-time while running everything else.
A launch or a peak season cannot wait.The work has a deadline, and the person who should lead it is not in the seat yet.

Interim or Fractional?

Two ways to have a product leader in the work. The difference is how much of the week, and for how long.

Interim Product LeadThree to five days a week for three to six months, with a fixed end. For a gap or a goal: a leader who left, a number that has to move, a deadline that cannot wait.
Fractional Head of Product / CPO10 to 20 hours a week, usually for 6 to 12 months. For companies that need product leadership but not yet a full-time hire. See the fractional role →

Done Before, From the Inside

Not advice from the outside. I have held the seat, as an interim lead and as the first product hire:

2 → 1Taxfix, as interim Product LeadI led the Activation team of nine through the tax-season peak, merging two onboarding experiences into one at more than a million users: eight concepts, three shipped as A/B tests with guardrail metrics, and an experimentation program the team kept running. Read the case →
$450k+ MRRUX Pilot, as first product hireI took product ownership from the founder of an AI design tool with more than a million users. MRR grew from $300k to $450k+ across the engagement. Read the case →
80% → 60%elyps, as Head of ProductOnboarding drop-off cut by a quarter at a French-Belgian digital bank, without removing a single KYC step. Read the case →

How It Runs

Weeks 1 to 2

Take the seat

I meet the team and the stakeholders, audit the roadmap, the metrics and the work in flight, and agree one goal with the leader I report to.

Month 1

One goal, one plan

The roadmap is cut to what serves the goal. Product analytics shows where it hurts, and story-based interviews show why.

Month 2 onward

Run the loop

Test cards written before anything ships, experiments live with guardrail metrics, and readouts for leadership in business terms.

Final weeks

Hand over

Your permanent hire, or your team, gets a written record and the next experiments already scheduled. Then the engagement ends, on the date we agreed.

FAQs

What is the difference between interim and fractional?
Interim is three to five days a week for three to six months, with a fixed end, to cover a gap or move one number. Fractional is 10 to 20 hours a week, usually for 6 to 12 months, for companies that need product leadership but not yet a full-time hire.
How many days a week?
Three to five, agreed at the start, depending on how much is in flight and how fast the goal has to move.
How long does it last?
Three to six months, with the end date agreed at the start. If the goal needs longer, we agree a new end date openly rather than letting it drift.
Who do you report to?
Whoever the product leader reported to: usually the CEO, the CPO or a product director. At Taxfix I reported to the Activation team's Product Director.
What happens when our permanent hire starts?
A handover, planned from the first month: a written record of the goal, the experiments and the decisions, and the next experiments already scheduled. If the role is still open, I can help shape the profile and the interview loop.
Is this remote?
Remote-first, with on-site days where they help: planning, workshops, the first weeks with the team. I have led product teams in Poland, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and the US.
Should we hire a full-time Head of Product instead?
If the role is open, keep hiring: an interim lead is not a reason to stop looking. Interim covers the months in between, so the roadmap and the team do not stall while you hire.

Service Area

Available remotely (global) and on-site across Europe. Aleksander is based in Wrocław, Poland, and works in English and Polish.

More on the growth path: the Funnel Conversion Sprint and the Retention Diagnostic & Sprint, or all growth services.

Need someone in the seat?

Book a free intro call →