Joining a startup retail company as a fractional CEO, is an exciting opportunity to bring agility, foresight, and growth strategies to a brand right from the starting line. My main objective is always to build a robust foundation of retail and brand-building strategy, broken into actionable steps that keep us moving, make us attractive to investors, and set us up for sustainable growth.

In the initial stages, the effort goes into developing a compelling narrative about the company's value proposition and potential. This narrative will obviously need to be supported by a clear business plan, realistic financial projections, and strategic milestones, reassuring stakeholders about our path to profitability. However, that honed value prop narrative is what creates momentum in the market.

The next step is to bring focus to the team, which typically, until that point, has been driven by momentum and creativity. I work to guide that energy into a culture of innovation, flexibility, and resilience, creating an environment where creative solutions are paired with operational excellence, and successfully managing goals is the norm.

Initiating a series of early wins is a crucial part of my approach, whether it's a successful product launch, establishing an initial sales channel, finding a strategic partnership, or initiating a targeted marketing campaign. These victories are proof of concept and a beacon to attract more funding, talent, and industry attention.

All of these efforts are very feasible in the early stages of the company within the fractional support timeframe. Dedication of two days a week to guide the brand allows for strategic work, focus, and valuable experience without incurring the full-time CEO costs. It's about making a meaningful impact and steering the company towards success.

What can a fractional CEO do for you?

Using a fractional CEO offers a multitude of strategic and operational benefits to a brand just starting its retail journey. Here are some of the areas of focus and leadership I bring to the table when I work as a fractional CEO;

  • strategic vision development:

    • Crafting a long-term strategic vision that aligns with the company's goals and market opportunities.

  • investor relations and fundraising:

    • Building compelling narratives for investors, creating investor decks, and leading fundraising efforts to secure capital.

  • retail concept innovation:

    • Developing and implementing new retail concepts, including pop-up store strategies and experiential retail environments.

  • market viability audits:

    • Performing detailed market and viability audits to assess the potential for success and areas for improvement.

  • operational excellence:

    • Streamlining operations for efficiency, setting up scalable processes, and ensuring operational excellence.

  • brand positioning and launch:

    • Positioning the brand effectively in the market and orchestrating a successful launch.

  • product development oversight:

    • Guiding product development to ensure offerings meet market demands and enhance the brand's value proposition.

  • team leadership and culture development:

    • Fostering a culture of innovation, resilience, and flexibility within the team.

  • customer experience enhancement:

    • Enhancing the customer experience both in-store and online to build brand loyalty and customer engagement.

  • business plan formulation and execution:

    • Developing a clear and realistic business plan with financial projections and strategic milestones and leading its execution.

Akoio Case Study

Under my leadership, Akoio, a transformative hearing health retailer preparing for a friends and family round of funding, underwent a strategic transformation. We started with a comprehensive retail concept overhaul. This included devising an innovative pop-up store and online retailing strategy to create meaningful customer experiences and conducting a thorough viability audit through an ACV Retail Discovery workshop. Read more

About Christopher Peak

Christopher has provided transformational leadership in retail development for decades, leading global retail brands Universal and Apple and guiding startups with creative strategies and programming. He provides fractional leadership and retail strategy to global brands and innovative startups through ACV Consulting. 

Boost Your Startup With a Fractional CEO

BOOK a discovery call with Christopher Peak

 Level 1: Engaged - Will serve as fractional CEO 10-20 hours per week. Deliverables include an audit of the team/processes, 1-year marketing & retail development plan recommendations, daily and weekly team leadership, partner management, and a 3-month minimum commitment. $15K-$30K/month

 Level 2: Half-Day Strategy Session - 4-hour session to tackle key retail challenges or map out the annual strategic plan. Includes a 7-day prep period via email. Deliverables include a development punch list, identification of blindspots, and a 1-6 month roadmap for key initiatives. $5K-$7K one-time fee

 Level 3: Continuous Advisory - available for quarterly planning and bi-weekly sprint calls 2x per month. Unlimited email correspondence and advice for the executive team. $3K/month

Latest Stories

View all

A Growth Audit Is No Longer Optional — It’s the Difference Between Momentum and Mediocrity

A Growth Audit Is No Longer Optional — It’s the Difference Between Momentum and Mediocrity

Your 2026 strategy is already being built on intuition and data that went stale in 2022.

The friction killing your momentum isn’t loud; it’s a single extra click, a contradictory ad, content AI now ignores. The companies that will own 2026 aren’t waiting for January. They’re running a ruthless growth audit right now.

Read more

Brand Execution: Where Most Promises Die — and How Havaianas Made Theirs Indestructible

Brand Execution: Where Most Promises Die — and How Havaianas Made Theirs Indestructible

Most beautiful brand strategies die quietly in execution. You can make the room cry with your promise, yet eighteen months later, the customer’s lived reality betrays every word.

One company turned a 40-cent rubber flip-flop into a global icon of joy, while billion-dollar brands collapsed on “good enough.” This is the final, unforgiving test of a company’s integrity.

Read more

Why Are You Doing This? Guru Energy Takes A Stand

Why Are You Doing This? Guru Energy Takes A Stand

In a world where product features and content are easily copied, what you stand for becomes your most sustainable differentiator.

This is the paradox of purpose: the thing that makes you money isn't just the product itself, but the deeper meaning it holds. This isn't a feel-good statement you hang on a wall; it's a governing ideology that dictates everything from your supply chain to your hiring practices.

Read more