Most founders end up as their own default CFO, buried in spreadsheets, cash flow, and pricing decisions. In this episode of Growth Think Tank, Gene Hammett talks with Brennan de Raad, founder of Vessel Advisors (No. 2,665 on the Inc. 5000). We explore the key signs that it’s time to bring in strategic financial leadership, especially as your business grows beyond $5 million in revenue and the founder is still managing the finances. Gene sits down with Brennan De Raad of Vessel Advisors to discuss how fractional CFOs, controllers, and back-office accounting teams help businesses gain financial clarity, improve cash flow visibility, and make better decisions with actionable reporting. We also dive into how AI is transforming recurring finance tasks, the importance of tracking leading indicators alongside traditional financial metrics, and why weekly revenue, cash flow forecasts, and sales activity deserve closer attention. The conversation wraps up with a practical discussion on pricing strategy and gross margin, two of the most overlooked drivers of sustainable growth and profitability.

Episode Highlights & Time Stamps

0:03 Fractional CFO Basics
4:23 AI in Finance
7:19 When to Hire a CFO
15:03 Tracking the Right Numbers
19:47 Pricing and Margin Blind Spots
24:32 Final CFO Takeaways

The Warning Signs You Need Financial Leadership

Many founders don’t realize they need help until cash flow becomes unpredictable or financial reports stop making sense.

Brennan shares the biggest warning signs:

• You’re spending hours every week in spreadsheets.
• Cash flow feels tight even when revenue is increasing.
• Financial reports create more confusion than clarity.
• You’re making important decisions without reliable financial insight.
• You don’t know what you don’t know about finance.

How AI Is Changing Modern Finance

AI is rapidly transforming finance teams by automating recurring work that once required hours of manual effort.

You’ll learn:

• How AI tools are improving forecasting and reporting.
• Where AI saves time and where human expertise is still essential.
• Why finance professionals can now provide more strategic value instead of spending time building spreadsheets.

Leading Metrics vs. Lagging Metrics

Many businesses focus only on monthly financial reports, but Brennan explains why the best CFOs monitor leading indicators that predict future performance.

Important metrics discussed:

• Weekly revenue trends
• 13-week cash flow forecasts
• Sales pipeline activity
• Business development metrics
• Cash forecasting and liquidity planning

The Most Overlooked Profit Killer

One of the strongest insights from the episode centers on pricing.

Many businesses haven’t reviewed pricing or gross margins in years, assuming profits are healthy while margins quietly erode.

Brennan explains why founders should:

• Review pricing annually.
• Measure actual project profitability.
• Track gross margins by project or service.
• Stop assuming revenue equals profit.

Why Fractional CFOs Create More Freedom

A fractional CFO isn’t simply producing reports—they provide strategic financial guidance that allows founders to spend more time growing the business instead of managing it.

Instead of asking:

“How do I build another spreadsheet?”

Founders can start asking:

“What decisions should I make based on the numbers?”

Best Quotes

“If you don’t have a CFO, congratulations—you are the CFO. You’re also everything else.”

“Revenue is growing, but cash is still tight. That’s one of the biggest signals that you need better financial leadership.”

“Your highest-value work isn’t managing spreadsheets—it’s leading the business.”

“It’s okay to raise your prices every year. Most founders wait far too long.”

Action Items

• Audit how much time you spend each week on financial tasks.
• Build a rolling cash flow forecast instead of relying solely on monthly reports.
• Track leading indicators, not just monthly financial statements.
• Review your pricing and gross margins at least once a year.
• Consider whether a fractional CFO could help you scale before hiring a full-time executive.

The Spreadsheet Trap

One of the most powerful moments in the conversation comes when Gene shares the story of a $10 million CEO who spent most of his week managing cash flow spreadsheets instead of leading his company. After delegating those responsibilities, he no longer managed the spreadsheets—he simply reviewed them to make decisions. That single shift gave him back the time and focus needed to lead the business instead of getting buried in it.

In This Episode You’ll Learn

• When a growing business should hire a fractional CFO.
• The biggest financial mistakes founders make.
• How AI is reshaping finance teams.
• Which financial metrics predict future growth.
• Why pricing and gross margin deserve more attention.
• How founders can reclaim time by stepping out of day-to-day finance.

Key Takeaways

• The $5M threshold: Once a business crosses roughly $5M in revenue, it’s usually strong enough to benefit from a fractional CFO but not yet large enough to justify a $250K–$600K full-time hire.
• Warning signs it’s time to hire: Financial reports stop making sense, revenue grows but cash stays tight, or the founder feels lost in a finance world they no longer fully understand.
• AI is reshaping finance functions: Platforms like QuickBooks, NetSuite, and Sage are building in native AI agents, while tools like Claude are cutting cash-flow forecasting projects from hours down to a fast, natural-language process.
• Fractional works at scale too: Vessel Advisors now supports companies north of $100M on a fractional basis — a shift from a decade ago when a $25M company “had to” have a full-time CFO.
• Track leading indicators, not just lagging ones: Trailing 4–6 week revenue, a 13-week rolling cash forecast, and sales activity metrics (like meetings booked) give founders earlier warning signs than a monthly P&L.
• The #1 hidden problem: Most companies haven’t audited their actual pricing and gross margins in years — the deal they thought was a 35% margin project might really be closer to 4–12%.
• Time is the real cost: Founders who stay in spreadsheets they should have delegated aren’t just losing hours — they’re losing the deals, meetings, and strategic moves that would have grown the business faster. Pricing increases rarely cost you customers: One example shared: a 9% average price increase across the board resulted in customer gratitude, not attrition, once the founder finally acted.

This episode is a must-listen for CEOs and executives looking to lead innovation with purpose, scale responsibly with AI, and build cultures where people feel empowered to think boldly and grow.

Connect With Today’s Guest

Brennan De Raad is the Founder & CEO of Vessel Advisors. Vessel Advisors provides Fractional CFO, Controller, and Back-Office Accounting services for growing businesses, helping founders gain financial clarity, improve cash flow, and scale with confidence.

How to Connect with Brennan De Raad:

LinkedIn: Brennan De Raad (LinkedIn)
Company Website: Vessel Advisors – to learn more about his work and platform
Get In Touch with Brennan: Contact

Resources & Next Steps

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