When to hire a fractional CEO.
Six trigger situations. Each comes with a one-line test. If you nod at the test, the model fits.
Topic: when to hire a fractional CEO
Founder is the bottleneck
TEST: Hire one if every meaningful decision waits for the founder.
Common at EUR 2M to 20M revenue. A fractional CEO takes the operating cadence so the founder can own product and vision.
Stuck at a revenue ceiling
TEST: Hire one if revenue has been flat for 3 quarters and the same playbook is being repeated.
Most ceilings are operating model problems, not market problems. Fractional CEO rebuilds the model, not the deck.
Post-acquisition by PE
TEST: Hire one if the portco needs operating horsepower between full-time CEOs.
Two days a week is enough to install cadence, KPI discipline and a hiring plan while the search runs.
First-time CEO needs a co-pilot
TEST: Hire one if the CEO is brilliant on product but green on operations.
Fractional CEO sits beside, not above. The CEO keeps the title; the operating model gets adult supervision.
International expansion (Italy, EU)
TEST: Hire one if the next market is Italy or Europe and no one on the team has run a P&L there.
Trilingual EN/IT/SV, Milan-based, with a 6x Italy track record.
Turnaround that is not yet a crisis
TEST: Hire one if EBITA is sliding but the cap table is intact.
If the situation is acute, see turnaroundceo.biz. If it is early, fractional CEO is cheaper and faster.