MEET THE FOUNDERS

Becky Fittro, PHR, SHRM-CP

Co-Founder & COO

Becky has spent 20+ years as the operator founders call when things get complicated. She has led HR, Customer Success, and Executive Operations, often simultaneously, through M&A, IPOs, and post-raise scaling. The cross-functional work rarely waits for the org chart to catch up, and she never has either.

She built CS functions from scratch and took teams through acquisition while holding more than 100% net revenue retention. She supported organizational development through an IPO. She reported directly to CEOs as the operational backbone of their executive teams — the role had all the responsibilities of a Chief of Staff, even when it didn't carry that title.

She co-founded Startup Smart because she kept watching the same thing happen: companies at their most critical moment, without the right operator in the room to hold it together. She built the network to fix that.

PHR · SHRM-CP · Certified OKR Professional · CRM Expert

Christian Fittro

Co-Founder & CEO

Christian has spent 15+ years building growth engines and driving partnerships — working with organizations ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies. He has worked on both sides of the transition equation, helping companies scale and watching what breaks when the operational infrastructure is not ready for it.

He co-founded Startup Smart after seeing the same gap repeat itself across industries. Companies in motion — whether scaling, selling, or restructuring — could not find senior operators fast enough through traditional hiring. The search took too long. The risk was too high. The cost was too steep. He built the platform and the matching process to close that gap.

His focus is on client partnerships, growth strategy, and making sure every engagement delivers what it promises: the right operator, in the right company, at the right moment.

Built by Operators, for Founders.

For nearly two decades, Becky worked alongside tech, engineering, and SaaS companies through their most critical transitions. From early-stage scaling to M&A and restructuring, she led efforts spanning HR, Customer Success, and Operations. Christian spent 15+ years building growth engines and driving partnerships with organizations ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies. In both of their careers, the same pattern kept surfacing: companies in transition needed specialized expertise fast, and couldn't justify or afford a full-time executive hire to get it.

Becky had spent years building a trusted network of experienced operators — finance, HR, go-to-market, product, engineering — many of whom had led companies through the exact transitions her clients were facing. Christian's partnership background confirmed how universal the need was. Whether scaling to Series B, preparing for acquisition, or restructuring post-merger, the talent gap looked the same. Together, they built a solution to both sides of the problem.

That's what led to Startup Smart. Becky's deep operational expertise and curated operator network, combined with Christian's ability to identify the right fit and build the relationships that make engagements work. The result is a trusted execution partner that companies in transition rely on to move faster, with the right people in place.

"Our pre-vetted experts Empower

your startup vision"