Our Fractional Model Enables us to Rapidly Deploy Highly Skilled Leaders to Address Specific Business Challenges or Capitalize on Emerging Opportunities: Alan Giles of Fractional Execs Ltd

Fractional Execs Ltd was founded by Alan Giles in 2022, who was working as a Fractional CRO and was looking for a group of active, multi-disciplined Fractional Executives to assist him in his engagements. After being unable to find one, he set about building one, with the vision of creating an ecosystem of experienced C-Suite level experts collaborating in start-ups with sustainable growth in mind. The vision behind this was to provide cost-effective excellence and leadership to those organisations that need it most – Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Another goal was to provide not just resources, but solutions and services to support the growth, and the Fractional Execs partner ecosystem was born. 

‘Ecosystem’ really is the right word: the company’s incredible, selectively chosen partner network works with its accomplished fractional executives—with combined centuries of experience—within a culture of collaboration, delivering an amazing symbiotic environment to perfectly nurture its clients towards growth.

Fractional Execs’ model of providing seasoned executives on a flexible basis has proven to be a game-changer, enabling businesses to accelerate growth and overcome challenges. The company’s team of highly skilled professionals is passionate about driving business success and is committed to fostering strong partnerships based on trust and collaboration. The future of Fractional Execs is bright as it continues to innovate and expand services to meet the evolving needs of the SME market. The company exists to help SMEs navigate the treacherous waters of growth.

SME Business Review reached out to Alan Giles, Founder & CEO of Fractional Execs Ltd, for an interview, and he provided invaluable insights into the company’s innovative approach and future strategies for supporting SME growth. Here’s what he had to say.

Interview Excerpts

As a leading Business Growth Consultancy, what are Fractional Execs’ key focus areas?

Our primary focus is on accelerating business performance by providing high-level strategic guidance and operational expertise on a flexible, cost-effective basis. Our senior executives are instrumental in identifying and capitalizing on growth opportunities, bringing a fresh perspective to uncover untapped potential and develop actionable growth strategies. One focus, and real key tenet for us, is that we want our clients to outgrow us. If we’re working with a client for more than three to four years, we haven’t done our job right. One of the fundamental parts of being deployed by Fractional Execs is by helping the client to identify and hire a full-time executive to take their place once they have grown to where that makes the most financial and strategic sense for the company. Our expertise comes without ego.

How does Fractional Execs tailor its resources and services to help technology companies achieve their growth ambitions?

As strategic partners, we are uniquely positioned to accelerate the growth trajectories of technology companies. Our deep-seated understanding of the tech landscape, coupled with our proven track record of driving business transformation, empowers us to deliver tangible outcomes for our clients. Unlike traditional consulting firms, we offer a hands-on, executive-level approach that sticks around to deliver outcomes rather than just recommendations. Our fractional model enables us to rapidly deploy highly skilled leaders to address specific business challenges or capitalize on emerging opportunities. By seamlessly integrating into our clients' organizations, we become an extension of their leadership team, providing strategic direction, operational efficiency, and cultural alignment. In today's fast-paced and competitive tech landscape, companies need agile, experienced leaders who can deliver results quickly. Fractional executives offer a compelling alternative to traditional hiring models, providing access to world-class talent without the long-term commitment. By partnering with us, technology companies can unlock their full potential, accelerate growth, and achieve lasting success.

What services does Fractional Execs provide to support the growth ambitions of these companies?

Everything we do is about growth: not only are our execs obsessed with helping businesses expand and develop, but we also offer a range of services that we call the ‘Playbooks’, and our first two are all encompassing guides to major growth milestones. Our M&A Playbook offers  a comprehensive data room to give detailed, impartial evaluations of your company’s assets against defined and trackable metrics. This is game-changing when supporting due diligence activities as it dramatically reduces the time taken for evaluation. Our Prefunding Playbook is not dissimilar, but with the focus on gaining investment, especially the right kind of investment. Alongside these Playbooks, also on offer is a raft of services that are available in smaller packages from the areas of strategy, marketing, sales, enablement, coaching, human resources, intellectual property, finance & governance. Fractional Execs exists to help with any challenges that a SME might face. If we come up against something we can’t help with today, we start looking for solutions tomorrow.

How does Fractional Execs collaborate with clients to develop and execute their business growth plans?

At the heart of our engagement model is a collaborative partnership. We work closely with our clients to develop a shared vision and align our efforts with their overarching business objectives. By leveraging our industry insights and strategic thinking, we help our clients identify new growth opportunities, optimize resource allocation, and build high-performance teams. Our commitment to open communication, transparency, and accountability ensures that our clients are fully engaged and informed throughout the partnership. Our core competencies span a wide range of critical business functions, including strategy development, business development, sales and marketing, operations, and financial management. This breadth of expertise allows us to tackle complex challenges from multiple angles and deliver holistic solutions. Whether it's scaling operations, expanding into new markets, optimising product-market fit, or enhancing go-to-market strategies, we possess the skills and experience to drive sustainable growth.

Could you provide an example of a recent success story where Fractional Execs’ solutions significantly enhanced a client’s business growth?

One of our favourite success stories is with our client Demeter. When we first got involved, the company didn’t exist! Lean Marketing Systems (LMS) developed and were providing a sister company (EIMS) with a powerful Work Management system that was used to great effect to scale their business. They recognized that the solution had huge potential as a horizontal SaaS product in the work OS space. Fractional Execs came in with high-quality resources, on a fractional basis. This team included a CFO, CMO and CRO on a fractional basis. They were able to pull together a super-star team at a fraction of the cost. Our favourite quote from this client was “Fractional execs are extremely business friendly and unlike a typical consultancy engagement they stick around to be accountable against that plan. Within five months we have built a brand, established everything we need for a market launch and gone live on time!”. We are chuffed for them and are very excited to keep on building the company. The results of this business build activity can be seen at mydemeter.com.

We are a business that has start-up, scale-up, and growth in our DNA – ‘a start-up for start-ups,’ and we are proud of our ability to deliver measurable results and ROI for our clients.

Will Fractional Execs be launching any new solutions that we should be aware of?

Having recently launched our M&A Playbook and Prefunding Playbook; we are excited to announce that we are extending the Playbook range. Over the next few months, we will be adding ESG, AI and Cyber Security Playbooks to our portfolio, which we are itching to bring to market. All of our Playbooks take the respective company through a comprehensive analysis of their assets and inner workings, before delivering detailed advice and an expert team to help them act on it. We are also launching Fractional Talent Solutions, which will offer activities to support the hiring process, such as employee onboarding/offboarding, staff development, HR ‘as-a-service’ etc. All of our products and solutions are developed following market feedback and demand from our clients and prospects, so you can expect there to be continuous evolution of the services portfolio.

Alan Giles: Founder & CEO

A versatile senior international business leader, with a proven track record in driving business growth, development, and sales, Alan Giles possesses a deep understanding of strategy creation and execution. He has a distinguished history of expanding businesses into new markets and verticals. His expertise lies in guiding companies through their growth trajectory, from start-up to scale-up. With a 30-year career focused on enterprise mobility, security, and FinTech, he brings a wealth of experience to technology providers at all stages of their corporate lifecycle. His most recent roles as Chief Commercial Officer in the FinTech, PropTech, and Identity sectors have solidified his reputation as a strategic leader capable of delivering exceptional results.

“We are a business that has start-up, scale-up, and growth in our DNA – ‘a start-up for start-ups,’ and we are proud of our ability to deliver measurable results and ROI for our clients.”

“Everything we do is about growth: not only are our execs obsessed with helping businesses expand and develop, but we also offer a range of services that we call the ‘Playbooks’, and our first two (M&A Playbook & Prefunding Playbook) are all encompassing guides to major growth milestones.”

“Fractional Execs exists to help with any challenges that a SME might face. If we come up against something we can’t help with today, we start looking for solutions tomorrow.”