The Ownership Structure Problem - PE-backed and Venture-backed

Private equity firms have stopped debating whether fractional executives belong in their portfolio companies. It is standard practice now. Venture-backed founders, by contrast, still treat the same decision as a step down.

The Cousin Circle: What Family Dynamics Taught Me About Networks, Perspective, and Leadership

Organization, Team, Start-up, SkillsHenning SchwinumAugust 7, 2026cousin, family, dynamics

Is AI Making Us Dumber?

AI engine are, without exaggeration, one of the most remarkable tools I have worked with in my career. But I am concerned that AI is making us dumber.

Show Your Work: How to Prove the ROI of a Fractional Engagement

He liked working with the executive. His team liked working with her. The pipeline had grown. The conversion rate had improved. The forecast was more honest than it had been when she started. What was on the page was a monthly retainer that. He asked, politely, what he was paying for.

Tiered Pricing and the Trap of Quoting a Range

The principle is simple: when you sell less time, you charge a higher rate per hour. When a client commits to more time, the per-hour rate goes down, but the total compensation goes up.

The Rhythm of Karneval: How a Festival Shaped My View on Culture, Energy, and Leadership

Some experiences return every year, familiar yet different, carrying new meaning as you grow. For me, Karneval was exactly that—a recurring moment in time that evolved from pure childhood excitement into something much more nuanced in adulthood.

Leadership, SkillsHenning SchwinumJuly 15, 2026Vendux LLCkarneval, culture, energy, germany

When Cash Isn't the Whole Story: Equity and Alternative Comp in Fractional Work (2)

What he had was a quarter ahead of him that turned on a single, named outcome: launching a new product line into a new region, with a revenue target, by a date already on the board. Would I tie a portion of our fee to whether we hit that target?

Motivation, Recruiting, Start-upHenning SchwinumJuly 10, 2026Vendux LLCcompensation, equity, alternative, bonus, share

Why Discounting Will Cost You More Than the Discount

Every sales rep who has ever worked with me will quote you one of my favorite sayings: “do not discount.” I mean it. Discounting feels generous in the moment, and as consumers we love it. As sellers, we should be very careful with it.

Fractional CXO vs. CRO vs. CCO: Who Owns What in the Revenue Lifecycle

Every few weeks a founder or owner asks me some version of the same question: “Do I need a CRO, a CCO, or a CXO — and what's the actual difference?” It's a fair question. The titles have multiplied faster than anyone's ability to keep them straight, and hiring the wrong one is an expensive way to find out you misread the problem.

When Cash Isn't the Whole Story: Equity and Alternative Comp in Fractional Work (1)

A founder once slid a term sheet across a coffee table and asked, with the practiced casualness of someone who had done this many times, whether I would consider taking part of my fee in equity. He named a percentage. He named a valuation. He did the math out loud.

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