Saif Akhtar

Saif Akhtar

Fractional Head of Growth and GTM / RevOps operator for B2B SaaS and marketplaces.

I help early-stage companies build the revenue systems that make them run: positioning, pipeline, lifecycle, and the operations behind them. Available for fractional and contract engagements, remote from the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Portrait of Saif Akhtar

What I do

Fractional GTM and growth leadership

Senior growth leadership without a full-time hire. Positioning, demand generation, and lifecycle programs, plus the operating cadence to run them, embedded with your team a few days a week. I have been a founder, operator, and investor, and I do the work myself.

RevOps and revenue systems

I build the revenue systems that make early-stage companies run. CRM and attribution wired correctly, pipeline stages that reflect reality, and reporting that founders can trust. From lightweight no-code systems to managing engineers, designers, marketers, and salespeople, I am comfortable organizing chaos.

AI agents in production

I design and run fleets of AI agents that operate real business workflows, from scheduling and inbox triage to lead research and code review. Production agents need checks, approvals, and kill switches, and I build that oversight in from the start, so the systems stay safe to run.

Also available for: startup advisory for pre-seed and seed founders who need to get unstuck, product strategy and MVP design, business development and sales support, and pre-seed fundraising narratives and pitch decks.

Track record

  • Co-founder and COO, Horizon Labs Marketplace development agency and official Sharetribe Expert Partner, building client marketplaces since 2019.
  • Co-founder and COO, SimplyHRA ICHRA benefits administration platform for small employers. 11 paying employers signed up.
  • First employee, OrionCKB Joined as the first employee and stayed through the company's acquisition by Tinuiti.
  • VP Operations, Intellus.ai Part of the founding team (as Cresance, an Alchemist Accelerator and StartX company). Built the GTM and RevOps playbook the company used toward its first enterprise demos.
  • Investor and accelerator co-founder, Pakistan Co-founded the 10xC accelerator and was founding COO of Planet N Group, backing early-stage startups across fintech, commerce, and media, partnered with AWS, IBM, Microsoft, and Google.
  • Fractional growth work, Nostra.ai and PolymerSearch Reported to Rand Owens, now Head of Marketing at GrayMatter Robotics.
  • Education B.S. Mechanical Engineering, San Jose State University, 2011.

Experience

Product, strategy, GTM, and growth ops. My roles have always come down to building products, growing revenue, and keeping customers happy.

  • 2019 to present: Co-founder and COO, Horizon Labs AI-native software and marketplace agency for founders who need experienced product and engineering teams. I lead customer success and operations.
  • 2022 to 2025: VP Operations, Intellus.ai (formerly Cresance) Founding team of a B2B SaaS for cloud cost efficiency, an Alchemist Accelerator and StartX (Stanford) company.
  • 2016 to 2020: Co-founder and CEO, 10xC Accelerator Early-stage accelerator in Asia, partnered with AWS, IBM, Microsoft, Google, and more.
  • 2016 to 2020: Founding COO, Planet N Group Pre-seed and seed venture fund focused on Asia. Worked closely with founders on sales, marketing, fundraising, and partnerships.
  • 2014 to 2015: Community Lead, F50.io Community consultant growing the SVE founder meetup and hosting tech events around the Bay Area.
  • 2012 to 2014: Founding Team, OrionCKB Performance marketing agency for large brands, later acquired by Tinuiti.
  • 2011 to 2012: Co-founder and COO, Pinfluence B2B SaaS that helped brands grow their presence on Pinterest.
  • 2010 to 2015: Co-founder and CEO, Spartups Incubator Grew a meetup group into an incubation center and accelerator in downtown San Jose, with support from San Jose State University and the City of San Jose.
  • 2010 to 2011: Generalist, The Nerditorium Micro-budget incubator; worked on early tech projects including People in Motion and Podly.

Advice and office hours

I host the StartupStudios podcast and hold office hours for founders. I also match startups with advisors and specialists in my network, and I keep a free, public database of resources I have found valuable.

If you are building something and want a second set of eyes on go-to-market, positioning, or your revenue systems, reach out. I am happy to help where I can, and to point you to someone better suited when that is the honest answer.

Ask for a second set of eyes

About me

Saif, pronounced "Seff." Second-generation Pakistani-American, born in Detroit and raised in San Jose from age two. Karachi is my second home, and where I married the love of my life. I studied mechanical engineering at San Jose State University (Beta Theta Pi, ZH #177), and I have spent 15+ years building startups, accelerators, venture funds, and agencies in the US and Asia.

Happily married to my best friend. Avid PS5 and PC gamer, and a cricket and table tennis player. I love everything startups, Star Wars, and the 49ers.

Contact

The fastest way to reach me is email. I read everything myself.