I help tech startups build + scale their people operations.

Offering both strategic guidance and hands-on execution to startups

I'm Jessica Donahue, your modern-day fractional HR leader, advisor + coach.

For the past 5+ years, I’ve helped tech startups & early-stage companies build & scale their people operations as a fractional HR leader.

After years of leading HR teams at large companies, I realized that startups needed well-designed People programs just as much as the big names did, and they needed them sooner than later. But most startups aren't ready / can't justify hiring a full-time Chief People Officer. At least, not yet.

As a fractional HR leader or advisor, I bring my clients proven HR expertise from years leading in-house teams, minus the unnecessary corporate complexity. The results are practical, effective People programs that scale alongside your business.

My goal is always to ultimately work myself out of a job by helping the business scale to a point where it needs a full-time, dedicated People leader. At that point, I help my clients interview, hire, and onboard my replacement.

  • I’ve spent the last 5 years building & scaling People programs at Seed-Series B startups.

  • As a solopreneur, I intentionally take on fewer clients than firms to provide high-touch, on-demand support.

  • Unlike working with a firm, you’ll get direct access to the person building your People programs—me!

  • I know which People programs investors look for as part of due diligence and can help you secure funding.

  • I am well-versed in SOC 2 compliance and have helped several clients get their SOC 2 certification.

  • I approach my work through a trauma-informed lens and have the training to back it up.

  • I am committed to building workplaces where all people feel safe, seen, and supported.

Why Work with Me

Ways to Work With Me

As your fractional HR Leader:

  • I become an embedded leader serving as an extension of your leadership team, providing strategic guidance AND hands-on execution

  • I personally build and implement your People programs and processes

  • I serve as an employee-facing HR resource for your people leaders and their teams

Best for: Companies needing both HR strategy and execution support

Fractional HR

  • $7,000 - $12,000k/mo

As your strategic HR Advisor:

  • I provide strategic HR guidance to the executive team, but your team handles implementation internally

  • I share expertise, frameworks, and recommendations for YOUR team to execute

  • I make targeted introductions to HR vendors and talent in my network

Best for: Companies with internal resources who just need expert direction

HR Advisory

  • $2,000 - $4,000/mo

Building HR or People Ops tech?

Get feedback from someone who's actually used these tools.

I've implemented dozens of HR tools across industries and know what drives adoption versus what just sounds impressive in demos.

Product Advisory

  • Varies based on time commitment.

Things I Help Clients With

  • Think of onboarding as your company's user interface—it's your new employees' first interaction with your organizational "software."

    Just like an intuitive UI, a well-designed onboarding program drives adoption and engagement from day one. I can help you create an onboarding experience that turns new talent into power users of your culture and processes.

  • Your training & development offerings are no different than your product development pipeline—without constant iteration, your talent becomes outdated.

    Each training opportunity acts as a new feature release, enhancing your organization's capabilities and the caliber of talent on your team.

  • Think of organizational design as your company's codebase architecture.

    Just as clean code enables scalability and collaboration, thoughtful org design creates clear roles and efficient workflows. I'll help you build a structure that minimizes "technical debt" and enables seamless growth.

  • Similar to tracking user metrics across your product, effective performance management provides real-time insights into your team's productivity and health.

    Together, we can implement systems that help you identify top performers, address bottlenecks, and optimize team output. This data-driven approach enables smarter decisions about your most valuable resource—your people.

  • Your compensation & benefits [also known as Total Rewards] package is like your product's feature set—base salary is the core offering, while benefits are the premium add-ons that differentiate you from competitors.

    I'll help you design a competitive "employment product" that attracts and retains top talent, complete with the right mix of base, benefits, and equity to drive long-term success.

  • Employee engagement is your workforce's "stickiness" factor. Just like you want your product to become indispensable to users, I'll help create an environment where employees become deeply integrated into your company culture.

    The result? A loyal team of advocates who are excited to contribute to your success every day.

  • Think of manager coaching as continuously refining your product-market fit. Like products need iteration based on user feedback, managers need to adapt their leadership style to serve their teams effectively.

    I'll coach your People Leaders to help them test new approaches, fix leadership "bugs," and achieve optimal performance from their teams.

  • A strong HR tech stack is like the development platform that powers your product. Without the right tools, managing your workforce becomes inefficient and error-prone.

    I'll help you build an HR infrastructure that automates processes, unlocks data insights, and scales alongside your growth.

  • While not as exciting as your latest product launch, HR compliance is your company's security system. I'll help you navigate labor laws and regulations while collaborating with your Legal Counsel to protect your business so you can focus on innovation without worrying about accidental compliance "bugs."

"If I could clone Jessica, I would! I rely on her for her sound judgment and ability to navigate any employee situation that comes her way. She understands how to balance creating a great employee experience while meeting the needs of the business. As a leader, she is practical, realistic, empathetic, and proactive. I would work with Jessica again in a heartbeat."

The Receipts

— Anna, Operating Partner | VC Firm

“Jessica has been wonderful to work with. She does not just complete something but takes the extra step to explain what she did, and why ensuring that you have the information for future reference or trainings. She is incredibly capable and able to work with minimal guidance. She is also very accessible and responds quickly to questions. We are very lucky to have found her to roll out our performance management process.”

— Jen, COO | Series B, Cybersecurity

"Jessica was a great addition to our team in a time where we needed People Operations leadership. She is a great communicator and passionate about people. Our People Ops functions would not be where it is today without her.”

— Kevin, CFO | Series B, EdTech

As a founding member of the Fractional People People community, if I’m not a fit for your needs, I’m happy to help you find someone who is.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions? Take a look at the FAQ or reach out anytime.

  • My approach centers on crafting exceptional employee experiences because I've seen how transformative it can be when team members feel truly valued and supported.

    Employees who feel empowered and appreciated consistently go above and beyond—not because they have to, but because they want to. Their enthusiasm and dedication naturally flow into every customer interaction, driving excellence across the business.

    When you invest in your people, you're not just building a better workplace—you're laying the foundation for extraordinary business outcomes.

  • Earlier than you think. Most founders come to me after something breaks — a compliance issue, a bad hire that cost them six months of runway, or a key person walking out the door. By then, we're doing damage control instead of building something solid.

    The sweet spot is usually when you're between 10–30 employees, recruiting is eating into your time as a founder, or you're starting to hire across multiple states. A good rule of thumb: if people problems are showing up in your week more than once or twice, it's time to talk.

  • The biggest one is that you get senior-level HR expertise exactly when you need it — without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire. At the early stage, you don't need a full-time People leader yet. But you do need someone who's built this before, knows what investors look for, and can keep you from making expensive mistakes with your first 10, 20, or 30 hires.

    Beyond cost, there's speed. A fractional HR advisor has seen what works and what doesn't across dozens of companies at your exact stage. You're not paying for their learning curve. You're getting the shortcut.

    And because I work with a small number of clients at a time, you're not getting a junior consultant with a checklist — you're getting an embedded partner who actually knows your business.

  • Scaling People ops isn't just about adding headcount — it's about building the infrastructure that makes growth sustainable. Without it, things break quietly: culture drifts, managers struggle, compliance gaps compound, and your best people start looking elsewhere.

    A fractional HR leader builds the foundation before those cracks appear. That means designing onboarding that actually sticks, building a compensation philosophy that holds up as you grow, putting performance management in place before you need it, and making sure your HR tech stack supports your team instead of slowing them down.

    The goal isn't to create corporate complexity — it's to build just enough structure that your team can scale without the founder having to hold everything together personally. That's the inflection point most startups are trying to reach, and it's exactly what I do.

  • PEOs are great at the transactional side of HR — payroll, benefits administration, basic compliance. I actually help clients select and implement them. What a PEO won't do is build your culture, design your compensation philosophy, coach your managers, or tell you that your interview process is why candidates keep ghosting you.

    Fractional HR is the strategic layer. Think of a PEO as your HR software and me as your HR leader.

  • With most firms, you sign a contract and get handed to a junior team member while a senior person shows up for the pitch and quarterly check-ins. That's not how I work.

    I intentionally keep my client roster small so I can be truly embedded — not spread thin. When you work with me, you get me. I'm the one building your People programs, fielding your employees' questions, and sitting in your leadership meetings. There's no account manager between us.

  • My engagements range from $2,000–$12,000/month depending on the scope of work. For context, a full-time VP of People at a tech startup typically runs $150,000–$200,000/year in salary alone — before equity, benefits, and the months it takes to hire them.

    Fractional HR gives you that same level of strategic expertise, scaled to exactly what you need right now. Most founders tell me the ROI shows up faster than they expected — usually in the first hire we get right or the first compliance issue we avoid.

  • Honestly? That's the goal. I'm not trying to be your fractional HR person forever. My job is to build People programs solid enough that your business eventually needs a dedicated, full-time leader — and when you get there, I help you do it right.

    That means writing the job description, coaching you through interviews, and onboarding whoever comes next so nothing falls through the cracks. I work myself out of a job on purpose.

  • Yes — and this is one of the areas where having fractional HR in place early really pays off. By the time you're raising a Series A or B, investors are looking closely at your people infrastructure: how you've structured comp and equity, whether your onboarding scales, and if your HR practices will hold up under scrutiny.

    I know what investors look for during diligence because I've helped multiple clients get there. Getting your People programs in shape before the process starts — not during it — makes a real difference.

  • Yes — and this is one of the areas where having the right People programs in place early really matters. SOC 2 auditors look closely at your HR infrastructure: background check processes, access controls, employee security training, offboarding procedures, and whether your policies are documented and consistently followed.

    I've helped multiple clients get their SOC 2 certification and know exactly what auditors want to see on the people side. If you're planning to pursue SOC 2, the earlier we start building those foundations, the smoother the audit process will be.

    • 15 years leading HR teams

    • 5 years of fractional experience

    • Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources

    • Professional in HR (PHR) certified

    • Trauma-Informed Workplace Practitioner certified

    • Korn Ferry Leadership Architect certified

    • Korn Ferry 360 certified

Ready to get started?

Book a free consultation to see if I’m a fit for your team!

Building accessible and inclusive workplaces isn’t just a goal—it’s the foundation of everything I do.

It’s also just smart business.