Start-ups and the Growing Need for Part-Time Executives

The global business landscape has been in a constant state of change for decades. Start-ups, in particular, are becoming an increasingly important part of the business landscape. The Wall Street Journal reported how demand for part-time CFOs has increased, as there are more start-up companies with limited budgets for an executive team.

Start-ups can force drastic changes within industries by upending the status quo. However, they still face a major hurdle in getting and keeping business leaders on their staff. With the economy tightening, companies are looking for ways to reduce costs and focus their resources on fixing problems. 

One way of doing this is by relying on fractional executives instead of having full-time executives on staff. More start-ups are trying this method with positive results leading many to ask, “are fractional executives the key to future start-up growth?”

What Are Fractional Executives?

Fractional executives are hired to work for the company in a limited scope. In most cases, it is for a specific project or working part-time for the company. 

In start-ups, they don’t always need to have high-level executives on staff at all times. Switching to a part-time executive structure can lower costs while freeing resources to focus on a specific problem. It also makes it possible to hire executives with expertise in a specific problem, increasing their effectiveness in helping the company. 

Benefits of Part-Time Executives

Hiring a part-time executive can help a company in several ways. The most prominent of the benefits is the reduced cost. Because the executive works part-time, their pay is reduced proportionally to how much they work. If a company only needs an executive for a limited time, they can save some of the costs of hiring an executive by reducing his or her hours. 

Another benefit is that it becomes easier to find executives with the skills needed to fill specific roles. With an increasing number of companies struggling to afford their CXOs, many are leaving to find viable work in other places. Hiring part-time executives means they can still find work while making as much, if not more than they did working in several companies part-time. Companies can also pick executives that can address specific problems exceptionally well. 

Part-time executives also work for a larger number of companies over their careers than a traditional C-Suite member. This is because they often work at multiple companies at once. For example, a CMO can lead marketing operations at several companies provided that there is not a conflict of interest.

This can be a significant benefit, as the part-time executive can offer the insights that they’ve learned throughout their experience to help your company. While they won’t be able to give specific details of what other companies are doing, they will be able to make custom recommendations for your start-up using this knowledge.

Contact Us to Discuss Our Fractional CMO Services

Arch Collective can help provide your start-up company with a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer to guide marketing efforts on a part-time basis, ensuring that it stays on a strong growth trajectory. You'll get experienced executives that build effective marketing strategies from the beginning. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation with the Arch Collective to learn how we can help your new start-up thrive with its marketing efforts.