Lately, I've seen many talented friends and colleagues moving into part-time fractional roles. They're carving out more personal time while maintaining the same income. Personally, fractional work has empowered me to pursue my entrepreneurial goals without worrying about runway or funding. It's no surprise that hiring managers are gravitating towards this, especially as companies are emphasizing efficiency instead of all-out growth.

From our experience with Moonlight, we found that most engineering managers prefer hiring for ongoing, direct work relationships rather than transient, fixed-scope projects. These enduring relationships proved to be mutually beneficial, providing stability for companies and workers in a working style legible to both.

Today I'm launching FRCTNL - a community of fractional developers, designers, and marketers. Distinct from traditional marketplaces focused on top-down projects, FRCTNL focuses on often-overlooked bottoms-up, relationship-centric "staff augmentation" roles. Hiring managers seek quality candidates referred by their existing team, and direct relationships with talent — this is the niche FRCTNL aims to serve.

FRCTNL operates on a referral model, where members help swap and share opportunities with each other. The underlying hypothesis is that there is latent demand for fractional talent, and that connecting with existing fractional workers is the best way to find those open roles. I'm convinced that our fractional worker network will streamline hiring for companies and further mainstream part-time roles.

Take a look, and let me know if you have any questions or feedback!