Sector of demonstrated depth
AI-Native & Technology
If your product is AI, your finance function should be too. Catalyst pairs a senior CFO with ~10 years of in-production AI experience and 3 founded AI ventures — so the discipline of capital, cost, and unit economics keeps pace with the discipline of model + product.
Where it usually hurts
You’re probably here because…
Your COGS line is dominated by inference cost / API spend — and finance treats it as a black box.
Investors want a real burn-multiple and contribution-margin view, not just ARR — and your bookkeeper hasn't caught up.
You need a CFO who can talk model economics, not someone who learned the word 'AI' in 2024.
How we engage inside this sector
The Catalyst playbook for AI-Native & Technology
AI-cost economics + unit margins
Build the contribution margin view that includes inference, vector storage, and model serving — and then attack it. We've been running this analysis since before it had a name.
Burn-multiple, runway, and round prep
Investor-grade reporting with real cohort retention, burn-multiple, and AI-COGS tracking. Diligence-ready before the next raise.
Operator-CFO with embedded AI in the practice
Catalyst's own bookkeeping, FP&A, and reporting workflows run on AI — so the CFO advising you is using the same discipline they're recommending.
Outcomes you can expect
- AI-COGS tracked and managed as a first-class KPI
- Diligence-ready burn-multiple and cohort metrics
- A CFO who builds AI-driven finance, not just talks about it
Anti-commoditization
How to vet anyone you talk to in this sector
| 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 | ~10 years embedding AI in finance ops; 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 Fractional CFO, Fractional 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. |
Other sectors of demonstrated depth
VC-Backed Startups
Seed-to-Series-C teams that need investor-grade reporting without a $400K full-time CFO.
Explore the sectorFounder-Led Lower Middle Market
$10M-$100M owner-operated companies bridging from gut-feel to systems-driven decisions.
Explore the sectorPE Portfolio Companies
Sponsor-backed platforms and add-ons needing operating CFO depth between portfolio CFOs.
Explore the sectorReady to put a real CFO at the table for your ai-native & technology engagement?
Schedule a 30-minute discovery call. We'll walk through your situation and tell you straight whether fractional, interim, or something else is the right next move.