Dan DeGolier: How Fractional CFOs Become a CEO's 'Strategic Teammate'

In the startups I worked at, we never had spare laptops.  When we hired someone, we’d order their laptop that day. That’s Startup Cashflow 101: don’t spend money until you have to. The same principle applies to your leadership team. Hiring a CMO before product-market fit? Too soon.  And a CEO can handle COO duties for a while. Most seed-stage companies don’t need a full-time CFO either.  A good controller can handle day-to-day finances, while a fractional CFO can plan future fundraising and create investor-friendly forecasts — all without reducing your runway. To understand why a fractional CFO might be the smarter move, I spoke to Dan DeGolier, founder of Ascent CFO Solutions. Runtime 27:21 Episode Breakdown (1:44) Dan explains Ascent CFO Solution’s origin story. (4:53) Why so many founders hire full-time CFOs before they actually need to. (6:33) A list of specific value-adds a fractional CFO can provide. (7:29) “We might be two days a week or three days a week. But we are very much a part of that team.” (8:57) Inside Dan’s client onboarding process. (12:44) “Part of it is getting a handle on cash flow and spend.” (15:24) “Understanding what the risk factors are to your runway is really critical.” (18:39) Which stats and KPIs are most important to share with the entire company? (20:51) If you want cash flow to break even, “be capital efficient to begin with.” (23:31) Clients “often supplement a VC round with a venture debt round so they can extend that runway a little bit further.” (25:09) How to interview a CFO if you don’t have an entrepreneurial background. (26:08) Resources Dan recommends for founders seeking financial discipline. Links Dan DeGolier Ascent CFO Solutions Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't, Jim Collins Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant, W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business, Gino Wickman EOS One® Subscribe 📥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/ 📓Substack: https://fundbuildscale.substack.com   Thanks for listening! – Walter.