Should early stage startups have a CFO? What about a fractional or part time CFO?
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CFO in Finance (non-banking)a year ago
It depends on the company but I think early stage startups can benefit from a fractional CFO to help raise funds and manage burn. When a company should hire one depends on complexity of the business and the experience of the founders.
EVP Finance & CFO in Services (non-Government)a year ago
Definitely. Having a CFO to bring their experience, financial and operational knowledge along with FP&A, cash & risk management can make a huge difference for a start-up. At miminum a fractional CFO.CFO in Finance (non-banking)a year ago
I’ve spent my career in the start-up space as a CFO, and I argue unequivocally that startups need this position to speak the language of VCs and PE groups and to establish controls in this fast-moving space. To see what happens when startups don’t have a solid CFO, see FTX.Principal in Finance (non-banking)a year ago
There is little value to having a full time CFO as a startup. Do the math: If a CFO is going to command a salary, on average, of $150K and the startup is doing $1 million with 30% margins, the CFO alone makes up 50% of the remainder.There’s value to bringing in some talent like a fractional CFO on a very part time basis but even that’s usually not money well spent as a startup.
This is very different from having bookkeeping and accounting. I think you need bookkeeping and accounting from formation.