For companies
A senior leader who owns the result.
For owner-led, family and growing companies in Europe, where growth has outrun one person's calendar. One experienced leader, one or two days a week, one result, reviewed every month.
Typical moments
When companies call us.
- A sales director left, or a senior seat has been empty for months.
- Revenue is falling, and nobody owns the turnaround.
- A succession or a sale is coming.
- A bank or an investor wants tighter financial discipline.
- You are entering a new market.
- Growth still depends on the owner being in every deal.
Why a fractional leader
An experienced leader, for the days your company needs.
For the moment when a leadership seat matters, but does not need five days a week.
Senior experience, sooner
Someone who has done it before, at a level you could not yet hire full time.
More seniority for the money
For the budget of a mid-level hire, you get one or two days a week of a leader who has done this before.
Starts in weeks
A full-time search for a senior leader takes months. A fractional leader can start within weeks of the Seat Check.
Owns a result
Sits in your leadership team, decides within agreed limits, and is measured on the result.
Grows with you
Reviewed every month. When the seat needs more days, you scale up, or we help you hire full time.
The seats
Four seats, each with a result agreed before the work starts.
A seat is a leadership role with a defined responsibility, one result it answers for, and a set number of days a week.
Seat
Chief Sales Officer
Growth has outrun the owner's calendar. Deals wait for one person, and the forecast lives in one head.
- The result
- New recurring revenue, and a forecast the board can plan on
Seat
Chief Financial Officer
Cash, margin or investor reporting need a leader who owns them, beyond the accountant.
- The result
- Cash and runway, margin, and the accuracy of the forecast
Seat
Chief Marketing Officer
Pipeline depends on the owner's network, and marketing produces activity rather than opportunities.
- The result
- Qualified pipeline from marketing, and what each opportunity costs
Seat
Chief Operating Officer
Volume has outrun the way the company delivers. Promises made in sales are broken in operations.
- The result
- Delivery on time and in quality, and the cost of serving each customer
Other C-level seats, such as CPO and CTO, on request.
Why two days are enough now
More of what matters, in fewer days.
Companies increasingly buy a result, and look for the person who has delivered it before. AI now does much of the preparation that used to fill a leader's week: reports, analyses, first drafts. That leaves an experienced leader's days for decisions and people, so one or two days a week carry more than they used to.
There is a limit. Judgement and attention do not scale with software. AI may let a fractional leader take on a third company. It will not make anyone a leader for ten.
How it works
Four steps. Each one earns the next.
Start with the result you need, then find the person who has delivered it before. Companies often come to us asking for a sales director. When we look inside, the problem is sometimes elsewhere: the customer focus, the pricing, or every decision still waiting for the owner. So the seat is designed before anyone starts in it.
Seat Check
One seat, looked at properly: a working session with you, short conversations with your team, and a look at the figures. The scope is agreed before it starts.
You getA plain answer: is a fractional seat the right answer here, yes or no.
Seat Brief
What the seat owns and what stays with you, the result it answers for, its authority and budget, the days per month, the risks we see, and an outline of the first 90 days.
You getA written brief your company keeps.
Seat Match
If it helps, we introduce you to people we know who have done similar work in similar companies. You meet them, decide whether to work with any of them, and agree the terms directly. We help both sides set the seat up well.
You getA leader you chose yourself, on terms you agreed directly.
Seat Review
Every month we check the seat with the leader. Every quarter we review the result with you and the leader together. When it doesn't move, we change what needs changing, including the seat itself.
You getA problem caught early, not at the end of the year.
How it is charged
What you buy, and how it is charged.
Prices depend on the seat and the company, so we agree them before each step starts. This is what each step delivers and how it is charged.
| Step | What you get | How long | How it is charged |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat Check | One seat looked at properly, and a plain yes or no | Two to three weeks | A fixed fee, agreed before it starts |
| Seat Brief | A written brief your company keeps | Part of the Seat Check | Included in the Seat Check |
| Seat Match | If you want them, introductions to people we know who have done similar work | Usually a few weeks | Agreed before it starts |
| The leader in the seat | One result owned, one or two days a week, inside the leadership team | Usually long-term | A monthly amount for the agreed days, agreed directly between you and the leader |
| Seat Review | A monthly check on the seat and a quarterly review of the result | For as long as the seat runs | Included |
What decides the price
- The seat, and how much of the function it covers.
- The days per month the seat needs.
- The size and complexity of the company.
- Whether there is a new market, a turnaround or a sale on top.
Commitment and exit
- Every seat is reviewed monthly, and the result quarterly.
- How a seat ends is agreed in writing before it starts.
- If the result does not move, we change what needs changing, including the seat itself.
Want a price for your situation? Ask us. One of us replies within two working days.
The first 90 days (Example)
What happens in the first quarter, and what you can show at the end of it.
Every seat starts with the same rhythm. The exact goals are agreed between fractional leader and company before day one.
| When | What happens | What you can show |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1 to 2: Listen | Conversations with you, the team, a few customers and someone who has left. | A one-page read of how the function really works |
| Weeks 3 to 4: Map | Naming what is real: the pipeline deal by deal, or the cash and the margin. The first three decisions move from you to the seat. | A map you can trust, and three decisions in writing |
| Weeks 5 to 8: First result | A decision framework for prices or cash, and a weekly rhythm the team runs. One visible result by week six. | The framework in use |
| Weeks 9 to 13: Hand to rhythm | The team runs the rhythm with the leader out of the room. | The first quarterly review: the result against the plan |
Who we work with
The strongest signal is what the owner will hand over.
If you can name three decisions you would hand over in the first month, a seat can work. If every decision has to come back to you, a seat would be advice with a bigger invoice.
We work best with
- Owner-led and family companies where growth has outrun one person's calendar.
- Owners who can name three decisions they would hand over in the first month, and put them in writing.
- Companies whose customers already pull, with one result both sides can name.
- A budget that is approved before we start, and a regular review.
We are the wrong call when
- You want someone to run campaigns or train the team.
- You want a strategy document.
- The authority has to stay with you for now.
- The result depends on something you do not control, such as a single distributor.
- Customers are not pulling yet. Before that, the owner belongs in every sales conversation.
Questions companies ask
Before the first conversation.
- Why not hire full time?
- Sometimes that is the right answer, and we will tell you. A full-time leader makes sense when the seat needs five days a week and the company can carry the cost. Many seats need one experienced leader for one or two days a week, especially when the need is tied to one task, such as a new market, a turnaround or a funding round. Often it is also the step before a full-time hire: the fractional leader builds the function, and when it needs five days, helps you hire the person who takes it over.
- What does it cost?
- It depends on the seat and the size of the company. The Seat Check has a fixed scope and a price agreed before it starts. What the leader costs depends on the seat and the days, and you agree it with the leader directly.
- Will someone with several clients care about ours?
- A fractional leader cannot hide a weak result behind an organisation chart. Their name, their reputation and the next seat are at stake with every client.
- What if the result does not move?
- We check the seat every month and review the result with you every quarter. If it does not move, we help change what needs changing, including the seat itself.
- Is this interim management?
- Interim holds a function together full time through a gap or a crisis. A fractional seat builds structure over a longer period, one or two days a week. Fractional, interim and consultant compared.
- We tried a fractional leader before and it did not work.
- Usually the design failed: the leader advised instead of deciding, the authority never moved, or nobody agreed what success looked like. We read what happened and say plainly whether a second attempt is worth making. Tell us what happened.
Not sure which seat you need?
Start here.
If you are not sure whether the problem is a missing leader or a system that leaks, start with the Growth Systems Review. The first read is free, takes about ten minutes, and one of us answers within two working days.
Talk to us
Tell us which seat is missing and what result it should own.
One of us replies within two working days, with whether a Seat Check is the right next step.
Investor or board member? The same model works across a portfolio, including the CEO seat. Talk to us as an investor.