How we work
A five-step engagement process and three engagement models. Two-week onramp. No annual contracts. The engagement ends when you no longer need us - which is the point.
The two-week onramp promise
First operating model in days. First reporting cycle within weeks.
We are not a six-month discovery firm. The diagnosis ships in week one and the execution plan ships in week two. If you cannot see traction by day fifteen, you are not engaged with us.
The five-step engagement process
The same arc on every engagement. The depth of each step scales with the complexity of the business - not the size of the deck.
Diagnose
Two-week diagnostic. We sit down with leadership, dig into the books, and build a working model of the business as it actually runs - not as the deck describes it. You leave week one with a clear-eyed map of what is broken and what is working.
Design
We translate the diagnosis into a 90-day execution plan: what we will build, who will own it, what the reporting cadence looks like, and what success means in measurable terms. Approved by you before any system change.
Build
Operating model, cash forecast, KPI dashboard, reporting cadence, ERP/finance system fixes - whatever the diagnosis prioritized. We do the work, alongside your team. Not advisory decks; production systems.
Operate
We sit in the seat through the engagement - in board meetings, on capital decisions, in pricing conversations. The reporting cadence becomes the operating cadence. Decisions get sharper because the numbers do.
Transition
Every engagement ends at the right moment - whether that is a permanent CFO hire, a successful exit, or a steady-state your team can run alone. We hand over a documented finance function, not institutional knowledge locked in our heads.
Three engagement models
Pick the shape that matches your gap. We will tell you honestly which one fits - including when the answer is “not yet.”
Strategic Advisor
Half-day per week or month
Founders and CEOs who need a senior thought partner on capital, pricing, and leadership decisions - but already have an internal finance team in place.
- Monthly leadership and board prep
- On-call decision support (capital, pricing, hiring)
- Quarterly board / investor narrative review
- Ad-hoc model and scenario reviews
Embedded Fractional CFO
1 - 4 days per week, ongoing
The default engagement. You need a CFO in the seat - building, operating, sitting at the leadership table - without the full-time hire.
- All Strategic Advisor scope, plus...
- Operating model and 13-week cash forecast
- Monthly close discipline and KPI dashboard
- Investor/board reporting package
- Capital strategy and fundraise execution
- Finance team management (controller, bookkeeper, FP&A)
Project-Based
Defined scope, defined timeline
A specific outcome - fundraise prep, M&A diligence, ERP migration, exit prep, or a turnaround. Fixed scope, fixed timeline, fixed deliverable.
- Discovery and scoping (week 1)
- Defined milestones and deliverables
- Weekly leadership progress checkpoints
- Final handover documentation
Embedded in every engagement
Three disciplines we run on every Catalyst seat
These are not add-ons or upsells. They show up in every engagement because they reflect how we believe modern finance leadership has to operate.
Bookkeeping integrity & security
Strategic finance is only as good as the data underneath. Every engagement begins with a hard look at the bookkeeping function: close discipline, segregation of duties, access control, vendor payment safeguards, and audit trail. We will tell you when the accounting layer needs reinforcement before any CFO work lands.
AI-augmented finance & bookkeeping
Catalyst has been embedding AI and automation in finance and bookkeeping operations since 2013 — roughly a decade before the category had a name. Brian's venture work spans AI compliance, healthcare/telehealth, AI scheduling, and the AI/automation practice inside Catalyst. That track record shows up in close-cycle compression (15 days → <3), AP/AR automation, and the practical guardrails on what AI should and should not be doing in your ledger.
Leadership coaching, not just reporting
A fractional CFO who only delivers reports is a missed opportunity. We coach the founder, CEO, and operating team to read the financials, run the cadence, and make capital decisions with conviction. Roughly 85% of clients cite leadership coaching as a core value of the engagement - not the deliverable they thought they were buying.
The strategic planning frame we run on every engagement
Three phases - the same operating discipline that ran inside the ventures we founded and operated.
Phase 1
Establishment
Define the strategic frame: where the business is, where the leadership wants it to go, and what financial reality says about the gap between the two. Ground every later decision in this baseline.
Phase 2
Implementation
Translate the strategic frame into operating cadences, capital plans, and accountability. This is where most CFO engagements break down - because most fractionals stop at the deck.
Phase 3
Evaluation
Quarterly review of what is working, what is not, and what the next 90 days require. Built-in iteration - because the plan that survived contact with the business is rarely the plan that started.
No annual contracts. Month-to-month.
We earn the next month every month. Engagements continue as long as we are creating measurable value - and end at the right moment, by design.
See how we'd structure your engagement
Schedule a 30-minute consultation. We will tell you which model fits, what the first ninety days look like, and the price - on the call.