Answers to the most common questions — about how fractional works, what to expect, and whether it's the right fit.
These terms get used interchangeably, but they mean very different things in practice.
Advisory · Project-based · External
Strategic · Embedded · Ongoing · Part of your team
Task-based · Flexible · Executional
Fractional is the only model where you get senior leadership experience embedded in your team — with full accountability for outcomes — at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.
A full-time hire costs £100k–£130k+ in salary alone, plus recruitment fees, notice periods and onboarding time. A fractional engagement gives you the same senior expertise, embedded in your team, at a fraction of the cost — and you can start in days, not months.
It's the right model when you need the capability but not the full-time overhead. And when the time comes to make a permanent hire, you'll already have the operating model built.
Typically within one to two weeks of agreeing scope. There's no lengthy procurement process, no notice period, no onboarding delay. Most engagements are up and running faster than a permanent hire would even have handed in their notice.
On a 2–3 day/week retainer: regular leadership check-ins, hands-on work on the operating model or reporting infrastructure, cross-functional alignment with your Marketing and Sales leads, and a clear weekly update on priorities and progress.
You always know what I'm working on and why. No black boxes.
Yes. I work across Salesforce, HubSpot, Power BI, Clari and most common GTM tech stacks. I don't come in and rip things out — I work with what you have, rationalise where it makes sense, and build on it.
The goal is always to make the people around me more effective, not to create dependency on me.
Typically Series A to Series C B2B SaaS companies — from around 20 to 200 people. Early enough that the foundations still need building, large enough that the GTM complexity is real.
If you're earlier than Series A but have genuine traction and are serious about building the right foundations, that's worth a conversation too.
Yes — that's the nature of fractional. I typically work with two to three companies simultaneously, each with dedicated, focused time. If I don't have capacity for the right level of engagement, I'll tell you upfront.
Retainer engagements run on a rolling monthly basis — no long-term lock-in. When the time is right to wind down, everything is documented, handed over cleanly, and whoever takes over has everything they need to carry it forward.
We agree a specific problem to solve, a clear deliverable and a fixed fee before we start. The engagement typically runs for two to six weeks. At the end you have a concrete output — a framework, a diagnostic, a set of dashboards — that you own and can act on immediately.
Many Sprint clients move to a retainer afterwards. But there's no obligation — a Sprint stands alone as a complete piece of work.
The best way to figure out whether this is the right fit is a 30-minute conversation. No pitch, no pressure.
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