Fractional CS · Pre-seed to Series A

Customer success is already happening at your company. It's just squeezed between everyone's real job.

Trellis CS is a fractional CS function — health scoring, QBRs, renewals, escalations — without the $85K+ commitment of a full-time hire.

Book a 15-minute intro call No deck. No pitch. Just a conversation.
Account health — this week
4 of 12 accounts
Nimbus Health
Series A · onboarded 4mo
On track
Foundry Metrics
Seed · renewal in 6wk
Needs a check-in
Alden Logistics
Series A · usage dropped 30%
At risk
Colby & Rowe
Seed · expansion signal
On track
This is the view most early-stage teams don't have yet — someone actually watching, every week.
How it works

A real CS function, built and proven before you commit to a hire

Each phase builds on the last — health scoring, playbooks, and a system already running before anyone's salary depends on the answer.

Phase 01 · Build & Run

I become your CS function

$5,000 /mo · 8 hrs/week
  • Health scoringDefine what "healthy" means for your product — usage signals, engagement patterns, support trends — and build a scoring model I review regularly.
  • QBRsRun quarterly (or monthly, by tier) business reviews: I prep the data, lead the conversation, and turn it into a real record of account health, not a status update.
  • RenewalsOwn the renewal calendar, get ahead of risk early, and run the actual renewal conversations and negotiations.
  • EscalationsBe the point person when something's on fire — work it to resolution and close the loop with the customer.
  • PlaybooksDocument onboarding, escalation, and renewal processes as I run them — the operating manual for whoever you hire next.
Runs as long as you need it. No forced timeline.
Phase 02 · Hire & Onboard

Your first CSM gets hired while the function keeps running

$5,000 /mo · 8 hrs/week
  • Job specWritten from what the role actually needs to do at your company — not a generic template.
  • Screening & interviewsReview candidates and run interviews, so you're evaluating a real shortlist, not sorting a raw applicant pile.
  • Continued coverageHealth scoring, QBRs, renewals, and escalations keep running through the entire search, inside the same 8 hours a week.
  • Onboarding & rampOnboard your new CSM using the Phase 1 playbooks, work alongside them on live accounts, and ramp them to full independence.
Starts when you're ready — not before.
Phase 03 · Ongoing Management

Your CSM stays managed, not just handed a playbook

$1,500 /mo
  • 2 hrs/week with your CSMManaging their day-to-day: reviewing specific accounts, tricky renewals or escalations, and building their judgment — not just following a playbook.
  • 1 hr/week with youA standing check-in on CS health: what's working, what's not, where the function needs to evolve next.
I keep managing the CSM and the function directly — not just checking in from the sidelines.

Starting points vary company to company. Wherever yours is — including with a CSM already in place — the model adjusts.

Why fractional first

This isn't an argument against hiring. It's the path to a better hire.

A full-time CSM hired too early is guessing at the same things you are. Fractional CS builds the function first, so the hire walks into something real.

Full-time hire, now
Trellis, fractional
Cost to start
$85K+ salary, plus benefits and ramp time, before you know if the fit is right
$5,000/mo, month to month
What they walk into
No health scoring, no playbooks — they're building the function and doing the job at the same time
A working system, defined processes, and a scoring model already in motion
If the role isn't defined yet
You find out after the offer letter, six months of ramp, and a hard conversation
The role gets defined by doing it — before anyone's job depends on the answer
Where it leads
Hoping the hire figures it out
A real hire, onboarded onto a system built to hand off

The end state is the same either way — your company with a great full-time CSM. The question is whether they inherit a function or have to invent one on the clock.

Track record

15+ years building customer success from zero

Trellis CS is run by Dave Brumby, who's built and rebuilt this exact function — from scratch, twice — before taking it fractional.

"When you have the right people, process, and technology, that's when you can turn a CS function from reactive to proactive."

— Dave Brumby, Founder, Trellis CS
People · Process · Technology
People
2 → 35
CS teams built entirely from scratch, from first hire to full scale
Process
$2M → $24M
Built and managed the people and process behind that growth
Technology
13%
Product adoption increase from a Claude-built health-scoring system that flags risk before renewal
BondLink
2023 – present

Director of Customer Success

  • Runs CS for 3 products across 175+ clients, with a 3-person team reporting in
  • 13% adoption increase, $200K in revenue from a trackable client journey built to flag at-risk accounts before renewal
  • Doubled the average subscription fee through a pricing restructure, without losing clients along the way
  • Built the Claude Health Score — a live account-risk signal combining usage, invoicing, touchpoints, and CSM sentiment into one view
Labster
2018 – 2023

Director of Customer Success

  • Built a 35-person CS org from scratch — CSM, implementation, and technical support teams — while ARR grew from $2M to $24M
  • Scaled the CSM team from 2 to 35 people, onboarding 1,700+ clients in 2020 alone
  • 86% Gross / 97% Net Revenue Retention over two years, turning CS into a revenue-generating function
  • Deployed Gainsight to move the team from reactive support to proactive account management

"Dave has been instrumental in aligning our customer service efforts with our revenue goals. His strategic vision and ability to enhance customer experience have significantly contributed to our financial success. He is a true asset to our organization."

Joe F., Chief Executive Officer, Hypothesis

If someone's already half-doing this job at your company, let's talk about it.

15 minutes. No deck, no pitch — just where things actually stand with your accounts right now, and whether fractional CS makes sense yet.

Book a 15-minute intro call dave@trellis-cs.com