Field notes · Chris Schafer
The Bird's Eye.
Notes from the seat. What I see when a leadership team has stopped agreeing on the problem, what fixes it, and what almost never does. Written for CEOs, founders, and boards across the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.
The Cluster
Seven pieces. One operating point of view.
Brand pillar · About
Chris Schafer. Interim President for B2B SaaS.
Twenty-five years leading go-to-market across industries. NetSuite from $30M to $1B. ImportGenius to its largest revenue quarter. Now the operator companies bring in when the leadership team stops agreeing on the problem.
Chris Schafer9 min read
Greater Toronto Area
How to hire an Interim President in the GTA.
What to look for, what to avoid, and the three questions that separate an operator from a consultant. For Toronto CEOs and boards.
Chris Schafer7 min read
Engagement design
Fractional CRO or Interim CRO. Which one do you need?
They are not the same role. One advises. One owns the seat. Picking the wrong one costs a quarter you cannot get back.
Chris Schafer6 min read
Founder transition
When founder-led selling stops scaling.
The signs are obvious if you know where to look. The cost is most of next year if you do not. Five patterns I see in week one.
Chris Schafer7 min read
AI-era selling
Selling to the educated buyer.
Buyers show up knowing more than your rep expected, and it is stalling deals, not closing them. The behavioral reason why, and the four-move H.E.L.P. sequence that accelerates them.
Chris Schafer8 min read
Leading through change
A mentor who has already survived a change this big.
The best guide through the AI transition is not the AI expert. It is the operator who crossed a change this size once, when the internet rewrote how business gets sold and served.
Chris Schafer8 min read
Forecast & pipeline
Why B2B SaaS revenue plans keep missing.
Three patterns I see in week one. None of them are about effort. All of them are about what the team agreed to.
Chris Schafer7 min read
Capital events
Preparing your B2B SaaS for a capital event.
The twelve-month GTM readiness checklist. What buyers actually diligence, what kills valuation late, and the work that has to happen before the bank gets hired.
Chris Schafer8 min read
When you need the seat filled
Make the revenue plan believable again.
If the leadership team has stopped agreeing and the number keeps slipping, the right move is not another consultant. It is an operator who owns the seat.
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