Big-company talent, small-company budget.
The largest employers in the region absorb the strongest operators. Owner-run firms around the Sound, from marine and construction to specialty food and professional services, still need that calibre of judgement, for a few days a week.
Why the usual route does not work
Hiring a permanent CFO or COO looks like the obvious step. Around here it rarely fits:
You are bidding against the giants
The people you would want have offers with stock from much larger companies, and a smaller employer cannot match them.
Hiring takes a season
Filling a senior seat permanently can take a season, and by then the problem has moved on.
A fixed cost before a clear job
Salary, benefits and an executive agreement with its own exit terms, all committed before you know the job.
You need judgement, not a full week
Most firms this size need a few days of senior input. Paying for the whole week is an expensive way to solve a part-time problem.
A fractional executive is a seasoned operator embedded in your team for a share of each week that you agree up front. Not an adviser who leaves a report. A senior operator who becomes part of your team, takes the decisions in their area and is held to the result. It is how a firm of your size reaches people that the large employers would otherwise absorb.
Who this is for, and who it is not
Best for
- Founders carrying a C-suite function themselves with no time left to lead
- Businesses that need senior capability two or three days a week, not five
- A specific gap in finance, operations, marketing, technology or people that is holding growth back
- Teams that cannot yet justify, or afford, a full-time executive salary
- Owners who want an operator accountable for outcomes, not a consultant with a deck
Not for
- A junior or purely execution role a full-time manager should own
- A one-off project an agency could deliver and hand back
- Businesses wanting a figurehead rather than someone who does the work
- A pre-revenue idea with no function yet to lead
What the engagement looks like
We match an operator to your firm and stay in the picture for the whole engagement, not just the introduction.
No surprises
A regular check-in with the owner and the executive keeps small drifts from becoming expensive ones.
Reserve expertise
One executive in your team, with a collective of 800+ behind them for anything outside their field.
Continuity through us
We keep the brief and the relationship with the owner, so if the executive changes, the handover is ours to manage.
Matched to your trade
Marine, construction and food businesses run differently. We match on the trade as well as the role.
What an engagement looks like
From first call to an embedded operator in weeks, not months.
Discovery
We spend time understanding your business: challenges, goals, team dynamics, and what 'success' looks like in 90 days.
Match
We introduce the right fractional executive from our vetted collective. You meet them, ask hard questions, and confirm the fit.
Scoped engagement begins
The engagement launches with a defined scope, clear deliverables, and a structured cadence. Your fractional is embedded, not advisory.
Adapt and evolve
As your business changes, the engagement changes with it. Add hours, shift focus, introduce a second specialist, all without restructuring.
Which executive do you need first?
You do not need to know the answer before you call. Match the problem you feel most to the operator who owns it.
Each fractional role maps to a different SME challenge
Start with the gap that is costing you most, and the roles below show which leader owns it.
Backed by executives who have led at
