Your "People System" Is Slack, Google Docs, and Vibes
You've gotten this far without dedicated HR. But growth has a way of surfacing every gap you've been managing around. When that moment hits, you need an expert who can step in and build something that holds.
Fractional and project-based People & HR leadership built around what your business actually needs.
I work with startups and growing businesses that need senior-level HR and people leadership — without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.
No two companies I work with look the same, and I don't treat them like they do. Whether you need me embedded in your team for the long haul or need a specific problem solved and handed off cleanly, I scope every engagement to fit where you actually are — not where a standard retainer assumes you should be.
SOUND LIKE YOU?
Founders reach out for a lot of different reasons. Here are the most common ones.
There's no single trigger. Sometimes it's a crisis. Sometimes it's a milestone. Sometimes it's just the realization that winging it isn't working anymore — and that AI is only as good as the person telling it what to do.
- Your HR lead resigned or was let go
- HR is on parental or medical leave
- You've outgrown your outsourced HR vendor
- You want to hire a full-time HR leader but aren't ready yet
- Your exisiting HR function needs support
- Lack of Policies, SOPs, or employee handbook
- No job architecture or compensation pay bands
- No HRIS, or the one you have isn't being used effectively
- Onboarding is broken and new hires are feeling it
- Personnel files are scattered, non-compliant, or inaccessible
- Multiple HR issues piling up with no one to own them
- An employee complaint or incident with no process to handle it
- Turnover is up and leadership doesn't know why
- A bad leadership hire is affecting the entire team
- Culture problems are surfacing that no one knows how to address
- Raising a new round and investors are asking people ops questions
- Upcoming merger, acquisition, or exit
- Audit or diligence and the people side isn't ready
- Board pressure to get HR sorted before the next milestone
- Preparing for a reorg, reduction in force, or leadership transition
- Need to restructure or exit an executive
- Performance gaps across the org with no clear picture
- Executive team misaligned on people decisions
- Culture problems surfacing — morale is down, trust is eroding
If any of these sound familiar, thats exactly what StartWyze is built for.
Meet Amber Cochran
Most startups and small businesses don't need a full-time HR department — they need a senior people partner who's done it before. I'm Amber, founder of StartWyze and a fractional HR leader with 13+ years building people functions across startups, growth-stage companies, and SMBs. I founded StartWyze because founders shouldn't have to choose between moving fast and managing people risk. What I bring isn't a generic HR playbook — it's pattern recognition across industries and growth stages, translated into people strategy that founders and boards actually act on.
SERVICES
- You have no HR function and someone needs to build it
- You or an office manager are currently doing HR work
- You're growing fast and people ops is already breaking down
- You need an HR leader at the table, not just a consultant
I don't just advise — I do the work. From building your HR function from scratch to handling the day-to-day that keeps your people operations running, I'm an embedded partner who shows up and gets it done.
- 🏗️ HR infrastructure built from the ground up — policies, systems, processes
- 📋 Offer letters, job descriptions & onboarding workflows
- ⚖️ Compliance management & risk reduction
- 🚨 Employee relations, PIPs & separations handled end-to-end
- 📊 Compensation frameworks, benefits oversight & HRIS setup
- 🤝 ELT-level strategy and leadership partnership
- You've hired HR but they're earlier in their career
- Your HR person handles the work but needs a senior layer behind them
- You can't justify two HR salaries
- Leadership needs a strategic HR voice they can trust
You're running lean and can't justify two HR headcounts — but you need more than one level of experience. Your HR hire handles the day-to-day. I'm the senior layer behind them — answering hard questions, developing their skills, stepping into projects that need deeper expertise, and partnering with your leadership on the decisions that actually move the business.
- 🎓 Coaching & development for your HR team
- ⚖️ U.S. labor law guidance & compliance oversight
- 🗺️ HR strategy & ELT-level partnership
- 🔍 Risk identification before it becomes a problem
- 🏁 First HR hire setup — structure, scope & success path
All services are operational and strategic in nature. Nothing provided through these engagements constitutes legal advice. For matters requiring legal counsel, clients are encouraged to consult a licensed employment attorney.