I’ve had quite a few people ask me the same question recently:

Why did you go fractional in 2019, build a successful company, and then decide to go back into a full-time role this month?

This post is my attempt to answer that properly, with context.

Not because fractional “didn’t work”.  It very much did.  But because career decisions are rarely binary, and the right choice depends on timing, stage, and what you’re actually trying to solve.

Why I Went Fractional in 2019

Back in 2019, I was working as a senior finance leader in a fast-growth business that had just exited via an IPO on the London Stock Exchange.

I’d worked in listed environments before, but after about nine months, I realised it wasn’t where I wanted to be. Quarterly cycles, governance-heavy processes, and a very different pace to startups. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t what I enjoyed.

At that point, I already had close to 15 years’ experience in startups and scaleups. I knew where I added the most value: early-stage, messy, fast-moving businesses where finance was reactive and founders were overwhelmed.

What I saw again and again was a gap,  startups needed CFO-level input but they couldn’t afford a full-time CFO.

And they didn’t actually need one full-time yet.

Most had a bookkeeper and a tax accountant, and that was it.

Fractional felt like a genuine gap in the market. At the time, very few people were doing it in the UK. We didn’t even call it fractional.  It was “portfolio CFO”.

So it was a deliberate move. Not something I fell into, but something I chose.

What Worked Well About Being Fractional

Over almost seven years, there were a lot of upsides.

Variety and pace was the obvious one. Different businesses, different models, different problems. If you like juggling and don’t want to look at the same business every day, it’s energising.

Impact without internal baggage was another. You’re external. You don’t carry years of politics or history. That makes it much easier to challenge founders and say the uncomfortable things that need to be said.

Flexibility mattered a lot to me personally. I had young primary-school-aged kids at the time. Being fractional meant I could choose when I worked, travel more, and be present for school life in a way that a full-time office role didn’t really allow.

But the more interesting benefits showed up over time.

Working across lots of startups gives you pattern recognition at speed. After a while, you realise that most problems are the same, just at different stages. That massively improves judgement and decision-making.

Fractional work also forces strong commercial instincts. You don’t have time to get lost in theory or perfection. You focus on what moves the needle and what founders and boards actually care about.

And you build confidence differently. As a fractional CFO, you’re hired for judgement. You’re expected to challenge, to say no, and to bring perspective. That accelerates leadership skills quickly.

Building a Fractional "Firm"

At some point, this stopped being “me as a fractional CFO” and became a proper business.

I built a fractional "firm" (chatting to others, we don't know what to call this yet, hence the quotation marks!).

At its peak at the beginning of this year, I had eight people working with me. We supported multiple startups and scaleups at once, with repeatable ways of working rather than ad hoc advice.

That didn’t happen by accident. I had to learn how to onboard quickly, spot problems early, and understand where fractional works brilliantly and where it doesn’t.

Unexpectedly, becoming a business owner made me a better CFO. Pricing, hiring, delegation, quality control, client selection, all of that gave me a much deeper understanding of what founders are actually dealing with day to day.

The Hard Parts of Fractional Work

Fractional isn’t the lighter option people sometimes assume.

Context switching is real. Different stages, different systems, different founders. It’s mentally expensive if you’re not set up for it.

You’re never fully inside. You influence, but you don’t always own the outcome. Execution still depends on the internal team.

Scaling yourself is hard. You either stay small or you build a firm. Both are valid, but you do have to choose.  And if scaling is what you want to do, then welcome to sales and marketing.  Not my natural skillset.

Fractional gives you optionality, but it also demands clarity about how you want to work.

Why I’m Going Back Full-Time in 2026

I’m not switching back because fractional failed. It worked extremely well.

I’m switching back because the role on the table is genuinely too good to walk away from.

It’s a long-standing client. I know the team well. It’s the right stage of business, with real trust, scope, influence, and long-term upside.

After years of advising from the outside, there’s something appealing about owning outcomes end-to-end and going deep on one business again.

This isn’t a step backwards. It’s another deliberate choice.

And when this role reaches its natural end, I fully expect to go back to fractional again.

Fractional vs Full-Time Isn’t the Real Question

Fractional isn’t easier. Full-time isn’t safer.

The real question is: What problem are you trying to solve at this point in your career?

For me, fractional changed my career completely. I’m a much better CFO because of it.  I'm more confident, more commercial, and far more experienced.

That’s exactly why I’m now building a Fractional CFO module within FLF. After almost seven years, I know what good fractional looks like, why people burn out, and what actually works.  My workflows, SOPs, onboarding new clients, the works.

If you’re considering fractional work, or already doing it and want to do it properly, I’ve opened a waitlist for that module. The course exists because I learned this the hard way.

Click here to add your name to the waitlist.

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