Fractional growth leadership for tech founders under pressure
Most founders don’t struggle because they lack ambition or effort.
They struggle because growth becomes noisy, misaligned and harder to trust as the business evolves.
Sales feel unpredictable.
Marketing activity exists, but the impact is unclear.
Teams are busy, yet progress feels fragile.
And at some point, it starts to sit with you at night.
The Growth Labs exists to solve that kind of pain.
I work with founders and leadership teams to restore clarity to the system. To identify what no longer works, what has quietly drifted, and what actually needs fixing now.
Not by adding more tactics. By addressing the real problems underneath.
Services
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I step into early to mid-stage businesses as a senior, fractional growth lead.
I help founders understand where growth is breaking down, why it is happening and what to do about it.
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Clarifying what the product really is and who it is for
Re-aligning sales and marketing around a shared direction
Fixing positioning that no longer reflects the business today
Building a repeatable sales and marketing growth engine that can be trusted
Bringing objectivity when decisions feel emotionally loaded
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Founders of technology startups, usually pre-Series B. Businesses with traction, ambition and complexity.
Often at moments of expansion, change or recalibration, new markets, new products, new expectations.
If you are looking for surface-level advice or growth theatre, I am not the right fit.
If you want clarity, steadiness and someone who will take responsibility alongside you, I would love to talk.
Approach
I work closely with founders and key decision-makers first. Before programmes or channels, we establish alignment. On the pain. On the opportunity. On the direction of travel. Many businesses have grown past that alignment without realising it.
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The customer and the problem they genuinely care about
The narrative and positioning that resonates now, not two years ago
The sales and marketing activity that supports growth in a joined-up way
Engagements are retained and outcome-led. Typically a minimum of six months or longer. I work with a small number of clients at any one time so I can stay close to the real issues.
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Alongside commercial work, I also support founders directly.
Having built and scaled multiple businesses myself, I understand the pressure, isolation and cognitive load that comes with leadership. I know the signs when individuals or teams are approaching burnout, misalignment or decision fatigue.
This is not coaching or therapy.
It is experienced, human support that helps founders make clearer decisions and sleep better knowing the business is being looked at properly.
This work is selective and always boundaried.
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Founders tell me the same thing, often quietly.
Things feel clearer.
Decisions feel steadier.
The business feels back under control.That is the work.
About me
Paul Doran
A commercial strategist, advisor and founder with over two decades of experience helping technology businesses grow, adapt and find clarity at moments of change. His career spans telecoms, fintech, SaaS and digital platforms, often working close to the edge of what is new, uncertain or unproven, often in regulated environments.
Over the last decade, he has helped build and scale technology businesses from the inside. He was one of the first five people at INSHUR, supporting its growth to more than 50,000 users, 150 employees and launching in three countries. He commercialised an early-stage AI product at Nuon AI, helping take it from pre-market product through to pre-seed funding, and has re-architected positioning and growth direction for companies such as Detected when momentum or clarity had stalled. Most recently, he took Raimac from initial concept to raising angel funding, and signing its first customer pilots.
His work cuts across sales, marketing, communications and operations, often simultaneously. That breadth allows him to see businesses as systems rather than functions, and to act with a level of independence that founders and leadership teams value, especially when decisions feel heavy or noisy.
Alongside his commercial work, Paul writes and speaks about leadership, wellbeing and the human side of building businesses. He believes sustainable growth comes from clarity, trust and good judgement, and that progress should never require burning people out to achieve it.
Get in Touch
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