I've been in the room when companies get it right — and when they don't.
Twenty years of HR, almost entirely in entrepreneurial environments. Tech startups. High-end restaurants. Companies growing fast with too much to do and not enough structure to hold it together. That's the world I know.
Before founding Guthrie HR Consulting, I was the VP of People at Wonderschool, where I led all HR for a 67-person startup — including a 75% reduction in force during COVID-19. Before that, I was Head of People at URX (acquired by Pinterest) and CardSpring (acquired by Twitter). And before tech, I ran HR for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group — The French Laundry, Per Se, Bouchon — and for Michael Mina's restaurant group, where I helped open nine locations in three years.
Two very different industries. The same underlying truth: people are the hardest part. And they're also the whole thing.
What I do
I work with founders and operators at Seed through Series B — usually somewhere between 9 and 49 employees — who are starting to feel the weight of the people side of the business. Maybe it's the first performance issue they don't know how to handle. Maybe comp is becoming a mess. Maybe culture has started to feel like a poster on the wall instead of something real.
They don't need a full-time HR hire yet. But they clearly need more than nothing. That's where I come in.
I embed as a fractional People leader (typically 5 to 10 hours a week) and build what your company actually needs: comp philosophy, performance infrastructure, onboarding that doesn't embarrass you, manager training that sticks. Practical, stage-appropriate tools. Not enterprise frameworks that nobody uses.
Why it works
Over the past decade, I've worked with 25+ early-stage startups. I've seen the same inflection points hit over and over — at 15 people, at 30, at 50. I know what breaks at each stage, and I know how to get ahead of it.
I've also navigated the hard stuff: union negotiations, reductions in force, executive coaching through conflict, benefits buildouts from scratch. I don't just advise on it — I've done it, more than once, at real companies under real pressure.
The goal is always the same: give your leadership team confidence that the people side is handled, so you can focus on building the business.
My background
A few career moments worth knowing:
Wonderschool — VP People. Led all HR for a 67-person startup. Facilitated a 75% RIF during COVID-19.
URX (acquired by Pinterest) — Head of People. 42-person startup; executive team member.
CardSpring (acquired by Twitter) — People & Culture. Payments infrastructure startup.
TaskRabbit / IKEA — Interim VP People. Globally recognized consumer marketplace; 300-person US operations
Thomas Keller Restaurant Group — Head of HR for Michelin Starred US restaurant group: French Laundry, Per Se, Bouchon; 850-person employee base.
Mina Group — Head of HR for 18 high-end restaurants; opened 9 distinct concepts in 3 years.
My writing has been featured in First Round Review and Fast Company. I'm based in San Francisco.
Want to talk through where your company is?
Find a time on my calendar below. I'm always happy to have a no-pressure conversation.