The Blog

Practical writing from independent Australian fractional operators on finance, operations, growth, people, product and more.

• Your Employees Use AI. But Where Does Your Company Data Go?

  Learn how to adopt AI without risking your data or customer trust.

• I Thought SaaS Wasn't Dead. A Friend Made Me Rethink It.

  Before building an AI product, ask what customers are looking for.

• What Does Each Fractional Role Actually Do? A Founder's Guide

  A plain-English breakdown of what a fractional CFO, COO, CMO, CTO and the rest actually do day to day, so founders know who to hire and when.

• Myth: buying more leads fixes sales

  Paid lead acquisition looks good but usually doesn’t help the revenue.

• Before You Spend Another $1,000 on Marketing, Do This

  When you're running a business, there's always another thing you're being told you should be doing.

• Stop chasing capital and focus on your business

  Before you chase a $260,000 cheque, see what it really buys and what to build first.

• Kevin Costner Didn't Need to Think About GTM While Building. You Do.

  Figuring out how to sell your product shouldn't come after figuring out what to build.

• 4 Seasons in 1 Day: Why Melbourne Founders Should Stop Finding PMF

  You found product-market fit. Here’s why it won’t stay found, and what to do about it.

• Two Customer Segments. Same Product. Or Is It?

  A new customer segment could mean a different product roadmap and a whole new GTM strategy. Is your early-stage startup ready for it?

• Raising in Six Months? Fix Your Numbers Now, Not During Due Diligence

  Here are the five numbers investors will test in due diligence, and why you should fix them before you raise.

• Do you need a FinOps tool? Probably not yet

  Here’s why buying software rarely brings a cloud bill down, and what does.

• Scaling doesn’t require giving up operational control.

  The absence of a key role could be the handbrake holding back the growth of your business.

• You’ve Exhausted Your Friendship Group. Now What?

  Recruit beyond your current network.

• "The Startup Ways of Working Don't Always Scale"

  Spot the early people signals that your business may be outgrowing the ways of working that got you here, before they become bigger problems.

• The people fire at $5m is telling you what will break at $20m

  Because fixing the person problem in front of you might solve this week. Fixing what created it can change how your business scales.

• Building health tech is getting easier. Selling it isn’t.

  HealthTech founders can build faster than ever. That does not mean healthcare buys faster.

• Fractional exec or portfolio operator: working out who you actually need

  A lot of founders asking for a fractional hire actually need a senior operator who will set the strategy and deliver it. Here is how to tell the difference.