Step 5: Talk to a Fractional CFO or Finance Mentor

If you don’t have an in-house finance lead, schedule monthly check-ins with a fractional CFO or experienced operator. A second set of eyes helps you catch blind spots, refine forecasts, and make sharper, faster decisions.

Why This Matters

Early-stage founders often lack a sounding board when it comes to finance strategy. A fractional CFO brings structure, challenges assumptions, and prepares you for investor conversations, without needing a full-time hire. Many fractional operators will do hourly consults. It’s one of the highest ROI advisory moves you can make.

Key Activities

Identify a trusted advisor or fractional CFO
Set a recurring monthly call (60 mins or less)
Review: cash position, unit economics, runway, fundraising timing, opex trends
Share your forecast and get it pressure-tested
Use their feedback to make sharper spend, hiring, and scaling decisions

Common Mistakes

Waiting until you’re fundraising, or panicking to bring in help
Treating it like a formality vs. a working session
Sharing outdated or incomplete data
Only asking for help with compliance, not strategy
Letting meetings lapse due to “being busy”

Signals You're Doing It Right

Forecasts are improving and more realistic
You catch financial risks earlier and act with confidence
You’ve revised key assumptions after mentor input
Your investor conversations feel sharper and more grounded
You consistently update your advisor with current data

Red Flags

You haven’t talked to a finance expert in months
You're unsure if your runway estimate is accurate
Forecasts are based on assumptions no one has reviewed
You only look at numbers when you “have to”
Your ops and finance decisions are made in isolation

Who Should Own This

Founder, meeting with CFO — with materials prepped by whoever maintains financial data (e.g., Ops Lead, Bookkeeper)