The Fractional CFO Show with Adam Cooper

This week, I sat down with Stephen Knight, Founder and CEO of Pimento, to unpack how business can turn marketing from a cost into a profit driver.Some of my favourite takeaways from our conversation:✅ The #1 mistake SMEs make when hiring marketing help, and how to avoid it.✅ Why cutting brand spend in a downturn is often a strategic mistake.✅ How to find the right marketing partner in a sea of thousands of agencies.✅ How PE-backed businesses can still build brand equity without losing performance focus.✅ And, what happened when a FTSE30 firm spent just 17p per customer per year on marketing.

This week, I sat down with the brilliant @Sarah Lamontagne, Founder of @Montagne Motion Consulting, to dive into what really matters when founders make those all-important first hires.Sarah’s seen it all, from prisons to AI scaleups, and brings some refreshing honesty, and tonnes of experience to bear hiring, culture, and building the foundations for a people-first business.Some personal highlights from our conversation: ✅ Why founders waste time (and budget) trying to DIY their early hires. ✅ The real cost of a 5-stage interview process (and why it needs to die). ✅ How finance and HR should actually collaborate (hint: start with muffins). ✅ What culture really is, and why Slack emojis don’t count. ✅ Why every founder needs to think about succession planning before they think they’re ready.

In this conversation with Peter Charalambides, CEO of The Upper Room and former Property CEO, he dives into applying a business mindset to charity leadership. He shares insights on the importance of diversifying income streams and fostering community impact. Peter discusses vital financial lessons from the business world, including cash flow and salary benchmarking. He also emphasizes engaging younger donors through innovative partnerships and maintains a unique balance between tradition and modern technology in his charitable work.

In this engaging talk, Dan DeGolier, CEO of Ascent CFO Solutions, sheds light on the critical role of KPIs for small businesses. He discusses why 'cash is king' remains essential at any growth stage. Listeners learn about common dashboard pitfalls, the importance of linking KPIs to team bonuses, and how to distinguish between tracking leads and tracking the right ones. Dan also evaluates the use of Power BI versus Excel, providing actionable insights for those feeling overwhelmed by their financial metrics.

This week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Mark Jenkins, CEO of The Gap, a platform to help accountants, CFOs, and advisors turn their expertise into scalable value-driven services.Some of my personal highlights from the conversation include:✅ Why clients struggle to see your worth.✅ The sweet spot between “art and science” when selling services.✅ The importance of systemising delivery with repeatable frameworks.✅ Tools to turn advisory chats into valuable and commercial outcomes.✅ And why “efficiency ≠ profit”—unless you reinvest that time intentionally.This one's packed with insights for anyone selling services, especially if you’ve ever found yourself thinking, “I know I added value... but did I explain it well enough?”Business Book Bonus Section:The Grapes of Wrath: https://amzn.eu/d/4SCeJHpWhat Got You Here Won't Get You There: https://amzn.eu/d/3n48q3K

This week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with @Gerri Phillips, Co-Founder and Chief Experience Officer of @Cue Gravity - a company that’s built its niche helping retailers tell their story successfully by blending the physical and the digital.While Cue Gravity is already working with top-tier brands across the U.S. Gerri is now leading the U.K. charge, focusing on bringing that U.S.. experience and success to the UK.🌟 Some of the most interesting parts of our conversation were:✅ Why UK businesses are more sceptical of tech innovation than the U.S. ✅ How content, technology, and storytelling combine to drive retail performance.✅ What Gerri’s learned about building a support network when you’re starting out.✅ What it’s like launching in a new country with no team, no pipeline, and no profile. ✅ Why “tech for tech’s sake” is a problem, and how to avoid it with a strategy-first approach 

This week, I had a fascinating conversation with @Rajeev Nandan, founder and CEO of @Pierian, about the evolution of Marketing technology and the impact of AI on digital marketing strategies.We covered:✅ The move from traditional marketing to AI-driven, data-led strategies.✅ The transition from a consulting business model to a scalable SaaS offering.✅ The financial metrics that drive e-commerce success and sustainable growth.✅ How businesses, big and small, can use AI to improve customer acquisition and retention.✅ The importance of balancing creativity and data in a world increasingly shaped by automation.

This week, I sat down with @Alistair Roman, Founder and Managing Partner of @Cost Optimisation Consultancy, to explore cost optimisation for small businesses and discuss how you can reduce costs in your business sustainably.We discuss the model that Alistair has developed - the cost transformation maturity map - why most businesses fail to retain cost savings, and explore how SMEs can build cost efficiency into their company culture.🌟 Some of my favourite parts from our conversation:✅ How Alistair helped John Lewis drive major cost efficiencies - and what smaller businesses can learn from it.✅ Understanding the difference between cost optimisation and cost savings and why one is more sustainable. ✅Why Finance Teams must be front and centre leading cost optimisation efforts, regardless of their size.  ✅ How cost optimisation fuels growth rather than just being a defensive strategy. ✅ How SMEs can leverage technology to streamline finance and operations.  ACCA Scale Up Success Article: https://www.accaglobal.com/content/dam/ACCA_Global/professional-insights/Scale-up/pi-scale-up-success-SMEs.pdfAlistair Roman Contact Details:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alistairroman/Website:  https://www.costoptimisationconsultancy.com

Sinjin Dalgleish, CEO of Perlon AI, shares his journey from trading to leading a company specializing in AI-driven solutions. He discusses the move from consulting to product development, highlighting the complexities of tailoring AI for 15 industries. Sinjin also delves into the tension between AI adoption and skepticism in businesses. Looking ahead, he predicts the future of AI by 2025 and advises on preparation strategies for integration. His insights on building a lean, remote team add a unique dimension to the conversation.

On this one I had the pleasure of speaking with Paul Sherratt, founder and CEO of gloveglu – an innovative brand that’s reshaped the goalkeeping product category with products sold in 55 countries and over 1.1m followers on social media.This conversation was a real lesson to me in entrepreneurial courage, strategic pivots, and turning challenges like Brexit and COVID into opportunities for growth. Paul’s journey from a corporate career to creating a globally recognised brand is inspiring, and definitely a great conversation to start the new year with.🌟 Some of my highlights from our discussion were:✅ Leap of faith: How Paul managed the risk of starting again at 50, remortgaging his house to go all in on gloveglu.✅ Turning obstacles into opportunities: How Brexit and COVID shaped his business strategy.✅ Category creation: Building a market where none existed and the benefits of becoming the “category king” in a niche category.✅ Scaling smartly: Leveraging existing B2B relationships before pivoting to a successful B2C model.✅ R&D insights: The role that product development played, and how Paul used quiet periods to innovate and stay ahead of the competition.Paul’s story is packed with lessons for anyone looking to scale a business, navigate uncertain times, or simply turn a great idea into reality.