Founder-Led Part-Time & Interim Executive Leadership
Catalyst CFO Advisors puts senior CFO and COO leaders in the seat — part-time or interim, not fractional consultants — at growing companies, paired with AI-Enabled, Human-Led bookkeeping and a bench of bookkeepers and FP&A analysts who execute alongside them.
The Catalyst Framework
We Are Your CFO — Not Your Consultant
We embed senior leadership and judgment directly into your finance function. We close your books, analyze performance, and make decisions—not recommendations. Finance meets AI: we deliver institutional-grade financial rigor at startup velocity, compressing weeks of traditional CFO work into days.
A Rolling 13-Week Cash Forecast You Actually Trust
Cash is the only resource you can't borrow at the moment you need it. When visibility here is the priority, we stand up a rolling 13-week forecast — wired to your AR/AP, payroll, and debt service — on a cadence that fits your team, not a generic playbook timeline.
13-Week Cash
Updated · Monday 8:00am ET
Projected ending balance · week 13
A Monthly Board Pack on Day 10, Every Month
A one-page board pack with the metrics that matter, delivered consistently on day 10 of every month. No 60-page decks — the same KPIs, the same definitions, the same cadence, every cycle.
Catalyst CFOAPP
Today · 9:42am
February board pack delivered
Capital Strategy: Raise, Refinance, or Hold
Our team has helped raise and deploy capital across the cycle — equity, debt, and SBA. We'll tell you straight whether a raise is the right next move, when to refinance, and when to grow off the cash flow you already produce.
Capital scenarios
Modeled · 4 paths
Implied next-round multiple · base case
Operating Cadence — Not Just Finance
Most fractional CFOs only do finance. Catalyst packages COO depth as a first-class offering: weekly operating reviews, KPI ownership, cross-functional accountability, and the rhythm that turns plan into execution.
Catalyst CFOAPP
Tuesday · 4:30pm
Weekly ops review · Q1 plan tracking
Books That Close in 7 Days, Not 25
Our AI-Enabled, Human-Led bookkeeping operating model uses automation for transaction capture, categorization, and exception detection — with a human accountant in the seat for judgment, audit trail, and month-end close.
Catalyst CFOAPP
Today · 6:14am
February close ready for review
Why the Depth Matters
Founder-Attributable Experience by the Numbers
No aggregated firm vanity metrics. These credentials anchor how we lead engagements — and how we train the analysts and bookkeepers who execute with you.
25+
Years of strategic finance leadership
CFO and senior executive roles, capital markets, asset management, and strategic planning since 1999.
2020
AI in finance operations since
Building AI-driven finance and operations since the ORtelligence CFO seat — long before "AI-augmented" became a marketing line.
3
Firms co-founded
AI-driven compliance, AI scheduling, and the AI/automation practice inside Catalyst.
5x
Institutional AUM growth
Helped grow a boutique long/short equity asset manager from $3B to $15B.
Sectors of Demonstrated Depth
Built for Sophisticated Buyers Across Five Sectors
Catalyst is sector-agnostic in capability and sector-deep where it matters. These are the buyer profiles we've delivered against repeatedly.
Founder-Led Lower Middle Market
$5M-$75M owner-operated companies (sweet spot $15M-$45M) bridging from gut-feel to systems-driven decisions.
Explore the sectorSponsor-Backed Companies & Portfolios
Independent sponsors, search funds, family offices, and LMM PE platforms — interim, embedded, and add-on integration finance leadership.
Explore the sectorProfessional Services Firms
Agencies, consultancies, MSOs, and design firms where utilization and realization decide profit.
Explore the sectorEstablished SMBs & Family Businesses
Multi-decade home services, contracting, and healthcare operators preparing for the next leg: succession, exit, or systems modernization.
Explore the sectorProfitable AI-Native & Vertical Software
Profitable B2B SaaS, vertical SaaS, and AI-native software ($5M+ ARR, GM-positive, post-burn), operator-grade finance from a CFO who runs AI in his own practice.
Explore the sectorAnti-Commoditization
How to Tell a Real Fractional CFO From a Six-Month Rebrand
The fractional CFO market exploded after 2023. Here is how to vet any provider you talk to — including us.
| Metric | Industry Red Flag | Catalyst CFO Advisors |
|---|---|---|
| Years in Finance Leadership | 5 - 10 years; often an ex junior or non-exec finance FTE | 25+ years across Wall Street, asset management, and CFO/COO seats since 1999 |
| AI & Automation Depth | "We use ChatGPT" — no track record building or running AI in production | AI in finance ops since 2020; venture work spans AI compliance, healthcare/telehealth, AI scheduling, and the AI/automation practice inside Catalyst |
| Founder-Operator Experience | Zero — first-time fractional, never sat in the exec seat | 12+ years running Catalyst plus CFO/finance leadership at venture-backed, PE sponsored and privately funded companies across multiple industries |
| Capital Raised & Deployed | Has only modeled or advised — never closed a round | >$25M secured for SMB clients; institutional Series A and strategic capital across multiple ventures |
| Wall Street Pedigree | No institutional or capital markets experience | Partner at a boutique institutional equity asset manager; helped grow firm AUM from $3B to $15B; sell-side equity research at global bank franchises |
| CFO + COO Scope | Lacks senior finance experience, little or no operational experience | Both functions; packaged as Part-Time CFO, Part-Time COO, Interim CFO, and Interim COO |
| Crisis Leadership | Has not led through a market collapse, bank failure, or cyber attack | Macro (since 1999): recessions, the GFC, COVID-era disruption, inflation/rate cycles, banking-system stress. Company-specific: cyber attacks, liquidity strain, and national payments-infrastructure outages |
| Time-to-Value | Weeks of "discovery" before producing anything useful | Two-week onramp; first operating model in days; close cycle reduced from 15 to <3 days at clients |
| One-Sided Commitment | Tries to lock into 6–12 month engagements | All CCA contracts are month-to-month — if we don't produce ROI, we don't get paid. |
Use this table as a checklist for any fractional you evaluate — including us.
Not ready for a consultation call?
Take the 3-minute CFO Readiness Assessment and get a practical read on your current finance setup.
Integrations
Some Of The Tools We Plug Into
Catalyst is stack-agnostic — we work inside the systems you already run, including finance stacks and modern AI assistants.
QuickBooks
NetSuite
Sage Intacct
Xero
Carta
Mercury
Stripe
Plaid
Ramp
Brex
Bill.com
OpenAI
Claude
Perplexity
Google
Google Gemini
Microsoft Copilot
Cursor
Bland.ai
Rippling
Gusto
ADP
Workday
HubSpot
Salesforce
LinkedIn
Microsoft 365
Slack
Zoom
RingCentral
Notion
Monday.com
Box
DocuSign
Coupa
SAP Ariba
AWS
Supabase
Netlify
Doppler
Services
Executive Leadership + the Books Underneath Them
Six flagship offerings, scoped to where you are in the growth curve. Engage one — or run them as an integrated stack.
Part-Time CFO
A CFO in the seat on your leadership team, without the cost of a full-time hire.
Strategic CFO presence one to three days per week on a regular schedule. Capital strategy, board reporting, FP&A leadership, and the operator discipline of someone who has actually closed quarters under pressure. A part-time CFO in the seat, not a fractional consultant.
Explore the service →What's Inside
- Monthly close, board pack, and KPI review
- 13-week cash + scenario forecasting
- Capital strategy and lender / investor management
Part-Time COO
Operational discipline, systems, and execution rhythm for ops-heavy companies.
Learn more →Interim CFO / COO
Full-time executive coverage during a transition: departure, integration, turnaround.
Learn more →AI Finance Operations
CFO-grade AI: forecasting, scenario modeling, FP&A automation, board-pack automation.
Learn more →Strategic Finance & Capital Readiness
Fundraising, lender package, M&A prep, investor-grade financials.
Learn more →AI-Enabled, Human-Led Bookkeeping
Senior human bookkeeper. AI co-pilot. Catalyst-grade controls.
Learn more →Resources
Operator-Tested Templates & Checklists
Pulled directly from Catalyst engagements
Free with email — no fluff, no sales call required
Browse all resources →13-Week Cash Flow Forecast Template
The exact rolling cash forecast our team uses on part-time CFO engagements.
Get the resourceAI-Bookkeeping Readiness Checklist
30 questions to vet whether your books are ready to move to an AI-Enabled, Human-Led model.
Get the resourceBoard Reporting Framework
The one-page board pack template Catalyst delivers monthly to PE- and sponsor-backed clients.
Get the resourceReady to Put a Senior CFO or COO in the Seat?
Schedule a 30-minute consultation. Our team will walk through your situation and tell you straight whether part-time, interim, or something else is the right next move.