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MenuWhat are the pros and cons to having an interim CFO or a CFO consultant?
Answers
You want to prioritize your financial structure. It is apart of the foundation of your business and will cause a lot of harm if you aren't hands on about it. Yes- Get one-on-one help from a financial adviser or consultant. If you want to get a CFO, make sure they are are not just capable- but are committed to your company's success. Having a CFO long term will be likely be the best option.
Personally, I am currently assisting a friend of mine with her start up company and her lack of financial structure is a source of conflict. You cannot expect success without planning for it, it's a part of the bloodline for your business!
From a cultural perspective, I can provide a few thoughts
Pros
-You can get some of the immediate work done that you mentioned without risking a bad, quick hire
-A consultant might be able to provide you with a current state analysis, helping to determine key factors of your hire (type of work needed, experience, etc.)
-If you trust this consultants options, they can support you during the interview process to check for industry skills/knowledge
Cons
-Potential on-boarding and support time of someone who will not be with you in the long-term
-Potential bad culture fit giving your current employees a bad taste for what the role can do for the organization
-Poor optics of investing money in an outside resource in a small organization
I hope this helps a little. Good luck!
Related Questions
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The number one would be shipping product (or anything really) out in front of a customer. If you can't work together to get something done fast, that is usually a huge indicator that somethings wrong. That usually means your values or mission aren't aligned.DM
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Instead of looking at who does what .. why not look at the things that need to get done for a small techology team. Product: 6 people - 3 full stack engineers - 2 front end developers - 1 designer / product person Marketing & Community, 1 person - Full time hire, or CEO Support & Operations, 1 person - Part time hire, or CEO + Whole team I believe it's important for everyone on the team to help with support. Also, if you have a great product, then support shouldn't be that taxing. Q&A is usually needed when you have a bad development process (no unit testing or continuous integration deployments). Outsource everything else. - Bookeeping - HR stuff - Legal - Government program paperwork Hope that helps. P.S. I would put as many people on product as that's where you'll get the most bang for your buck.DM
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