"Fraction has taken my business from kind of zero in terms of an e-commerce perspective... to a standard that is incomparable to what I had before."
Background
Investments Illustrated, founded by Ryan McLean, is a 14-year-old business built around a flagship product called the Big Picture Chart. The chart uses visual storytelling to help financial advisors engage with prospects and clients, presenting market return data across asset classes alongside contextual information like recessions, interest rates, and economic cycles. Updated annually, it has become a trusted tool for sparking meaningful client conversations.
While the core product was strong, the business side of getting it into customers' hands had not kept pace. McLean had a website, a shopping cart, and a payment processing system, but none of it was operating at a modern e-commerce standard.
The Challenge
McLean knew for years that he needed to invest in paid advertising, e-commerce infrastructure, and a more professional online presence. But mixed experiences hiring through platforms like Upwork left him reluctant to commit. "I was procrastinating for a long time around these things that I knew I needed to do," he said. Without a trusted partner or clear accountability structure, the initiatives stayed on the back burner.
McLean connected with Praveen Ghanta at Fraction, whom he had known for years through Praveen's previous venture, Hidden Levers. That existing trust gave him the confidence to finally move forward. "I knew that he was super smart and had been very successful, and I knew that he had put together a great team," McLean said.
Fraction's team delivered in several key areas:
Shopify Migration: The centerpiece of the engagement was migrating Investments Illustrated to Shopify, a move McLean wished he had made years earlier. The new platform consolidated metrics, streamlined operations, and brought the business up to current e-commerce standards. "It's a whole new ball game in terms of the metrics. Everything's measured. It's all consolidated there," he said.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Unlike McLean's previous attempts at e-commerce improvements, where ROI was unclear, Fraction brought full visibility into spending and results. "Everything's accounted for. We know how much we're spending, we know what results we're getting. It's all quantified," he noted.
Accountability and Professionalism: McLean described the experience as refreshing compared to freelancer platforms. Deadlines were met, communication was easy, and the team brought genuine technical expertise. "Everything's done when we set a time for something to be done. It gets done."
Flexible, Cost-Effective Structure: As a small business, Investments Illustrated did not need a full-time team. Fraction's quarter-time arrangement gave McLean access to professional-grade support at a scale that made sense for his business, with the ability to adjust up or down as needed.
Investments Illustrated saw significant progress from the engagement with Fraction:
Modernized E-Commerce: The Shopify migration brought the business's online operations from a basic, piecemeal setup to a consolidated, professional-grade platform. McLean described it as bringing his business "into the current age as far as e-commerce standards go."
Measurable Performance: With everything tracked and quantified, McLean moved from guessing at ROI to making informed, data-driven decisions about where to invest.
Early Momentum: McLean noted the satisfaction of seeing results quickly. "It's been fun as a business owner to see your business making the steps in the right direction and seeing results early on."
Scalable Model: The fractional arrangement allowed Investments Illustrated to access the expertise of a full team without the commitment of full-time hires, with built-in flexibility to scale the engagement as the business grows.
McLean summed up his experience simply: "I couldn't recommend Fraction highly enough."
