Ian also gets into how Finvisor is weaving AI into a 50-step close process, patching together tools like Ramp, Rippling, and Claude rather than looking for one system to do it all. He shares what a magic AI robot would do in his business if he could build it today, and where he thinks finance roles are actually headed as AI gets better at the repeatable work. A big piece of Finvisor's growth this year has come down to a dedicated quality division that's changed the kind of referrals coming in.

Good conversation on where AI is actually useful in finance, and where judgment still has to come from a person.

Guest: Ian Ranahan, COO of Finvisor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-ranahan/

Website: https://finvisor.com/

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

Tim also gets into why word-of-mouth referrals don't stretch as far as they used to in a more crowded fractional CFO space, and how Savvy CFO is using the book as a front-end offer to build trust with a business owner before any sales conversation happens.

It's a good look at how a long-running CFO firm is adapting as the market around it gets more competitive.

Guest: Tim Krulia, President of Savvy CFO

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-krulia-77407525/

Website: https://savvycfo.com/

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

Jackson talks about growing without a formal growth plan at first, then setting concrete targets once his team asked for one, going from a "road to 100" clients to doubling that goal more than once. Growth has come almost entirely through word of mouth and staying active in the associations and communities where his clients already spend time.

He also gets into the tension between growing a firm and protecting family time, including using his kids' sports practices as a hard stop that forces him out the door, and how reaching out to more experienced firm owners for advice has shaped how he runs the business.

If you're weighing whether to niche down or stay broad, this conversation lays out what that decision actually looks like in practice.

Guest: Jackson Pace, Refractional CFO

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcpace/

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

Ethan also talks about how prospective clients are increasingly finding ProAssisting by asking Claude and ChatGPT who the best firm in their space is, and how that's pushed the business into answer engine and generative engine optimization, alongside the SEO work they'd already been doing for years. He explains why paid ads never moved the needle for them in a commoditized market, and why referrals and organic search have done more of the heavy lifting.

He also shares his take on where fractional work fits as AI reshapes how businesses hire, and why he thinks judgment and context are becoming more valuable, not less.

If you're thinking about how AI is changing the way your ideal clients find you, this one's worth a listen.

Guest: Ethan Bull, ProAssisting

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanbull/

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

He's now applying those lessons at CROFTI, including a project building a business from scratch designed to hit $10 million in revenue with zero employees, using AI to handle everything from site data capture to invoicing.

Lucas also shares how he built a Claude-powered LinkedIn agent that filters his messages and books meetings automatically, cutting out a lot of the noise that used to eat up his day.

This one's a good listen if you want to see what AI automation actually looks like inside a business, not just in theory.

Guest: Lucas Meadowcroft, CROFTI

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucasmeadowcroft/

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

Richard also talks about assessing cultural fit before a candidate ever meets the client. His approach: put the hiring CEO on his podcast and let candidates hear directly from them what the business and the role are really like, rather than taking his word for it.

He shares how the business has weathered the GFC, a mining downturn, COVID, and a business partnership that didn't work out, and why staying industry agnostic has kept Arete steady through all of it. He also gets into how he's using Claude day to day, from summarising his inbox to running a virtual CFO function.

If you're building a firm around trust and relationships rather than job ads, there's a lot here worth taking note of.

Guest: Richard Triggs, Arete Executive

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardtriggs/

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

He also explains why he's targeting the cannabis industry this year. Federal tax law won't let dispensaries write off basic costs like payroll or rent, so cost accounting becomes critical, and most big firms won't go near that client base at all.

Ed talks about how Succentrix has grown almost entirely through referral partnerships with attorneys and financial advisors, why he's now adding educational content to that mix, and how he's using AI inside the firm for client emails and lead screening.

If you're a fractional CFO or advisor thinking about client structure, or where the next growth opportunity is, this one's worth a listen.

Guest: Ed Siragusa, Succentrix Business Advisors

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edgardosiragusa/

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

In this episode, she explains why that split happened. Being fully remote across the US made staying "top of mind" in a referral network hard, so she leaned into SEO, Google Ads, and targeted keywords instead, including using negative keywords to filter out people who were never going to convert (like anyone searching for "free funding"). She's also just started experimenting with ChatGPT's new advertising tools, one of the first cohorts of smaller businesses able to access it.

Chelsie also breaks down how she gets non-accounting clients to actually understand their own financials, using a mechanic's "green, yellow, red" diagnostic as the analogy, and why she's now investing more in referral relationships too, not because ads didn't work, but because a referred lead still closes easier than almost anything else.

Guest: Chelsie Kugler

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsie-kugler/

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

In this episode, she breaks down the Profit First system Simple CFO Solutions runs on: separate bank accounts for income, expenses, taxes, owner pay, and profit, so a business owner can see exactly what they're keeping instead of guessing from one blended account. She also gets into why finances are one of the hardest topics to build trust around, and why that makes typical marketing (ads, quick pitches) fall flat for a business like hers. Her approach instead: teach for free inside coaching groups and give away real financial tools before ever asking for the sale.

She also shares how her team holds client retention around 90%, largely by having a client success manager check in before problems start, not after someone's already thinking about canceling.

Guest: Christina Gutierrez

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-gutierrez-macc-9486a770/

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

In this episode, he walks through a client that was doing $5 million a year in revenue and still losing money. The following year, that same client brought in less, $4.2 million, but walked away with $500,000 in profit. His point: the top line number means nothing if nobody's looking at what it costs to get there.

Leandro also gets into how Eightx builds financial clarity for CPG and e-commerce clients through dashboards and scorecards, why employee retention often comes down to giving people a reason for the work they're doing, and how the firm is using AI agents to turn work that used to take days into minutes, without using it as a reason to cut headcount.

He closes with the lesson that took him the longest to learn: knowing when to say no.

Guest: Leandro

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/delialeandro/

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

In this episode, Melissa breaks down why fractional COO work is still so misunderstood, and why businesses often wait too long to bring one in. She shares the exact revenue range where a COO actually makes sense (hint: it's not day one), and the signs a business has outgrown its current operating structure.

She also gets into how OnCall COO went from $9,000 in its first year to $3 million this year, and why roughly 90% of that growth came from paid advertising instead of word of mouth. Her reasoning: when the service you offer isn't something people know to look for, referrals dry up fast, so she went looking for people who already knew they had a problem and were actively searching for a solution.

She also touches on something newer: a growing share of her sales calls are now coming from people who asked ChatGPT or Claude who to talk to.

Guest: Melissa Franks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissafranks/

Website: melissafranks.com

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

That problem shows up long before the firm runs out of demand. It shows up when client work, sales activity, contracts, invoicing, and relationship management all depend on the owner keeping the details straight.

Salvatore Tirabassi from CFO Pro and Analytics has built systems that preserve the personal touch without relying on memory. His CRM manages the operational workflow, while AI reviews active deals, summarizes recent conversations, and suggests the next follow-up.

The real value of AI implementation is not removing the human relationship. It is removing the administrative work that makes that relationship difficult to maintain at scale.

Guest: Salvatore Tirabassi

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stirabassi/

Website: https://cfoproanalytics.com

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

Once AI starts influencing contracts, client work, internal decisions, or sensitive data, efficiency is no longer the only concern. The business also needs clear boundaries, accountability, and compliance built into the system from the start.

Adam Wardel from Black Hill Law has seen why this matters, particularly in legal and professional service environments where trust cannot be separated from automation. The firms that get ahead will not simply use more AI. They will know how it should operate inside the business before scaling it.

Guest: Adam Wardel

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamwardel/

Website: blackhill.law

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

Financial models, reporting, analysis, and forecasting can all move faster with AI. The risk is assuming faster output means better work.

Varun from The Algebra Group has seen this firsthand while supporting fractional CFOs, investment banks, and family offices. Their approach combines AI-enabled delivery with documented processes, experienced review, and strong client relationships.

The value is not in automating everything. It is in knowing which parts of the work can move faster without lowering the standard.

Guest: Varun

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/varun-tag/

Website: https://www.theelgebragroup.com/

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

Jenna Pipchuk from Big Geo is building a growth function around that decision. Her team uses an AI-first operating model, evaluates agents alongside every new hire, and turns sales conversations into faster positioning and marketing decisions.

But faster execution does not solve every growth problem. Partner-led growth is working. Traditional cold outreach is becoming less reliable. The real advantage comes from redesigning the operating model, not simply producing more activity.

Guest: Jenna Pipchuk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpipchuk/

Website: https://biggeo.com

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

Inventory gets too heavy. Fixed costs creep up. Marketing spend gets pulled back even when the returns are there. And every team ends up making decisions from a slightly different view of the business.

This conversation with Matt Putra from ADEX shows why financial and operating systems become more important as a company scales. The issue is not just reporting. It is connecting marketing, finance, operations, supply chain, and leadership back to cash flow.

AI can speed up analysis, SEO, quality assurance, content, and internal workflows. But the deeper constraint is still alignment.

The firms that win will not just use AI to do tasks faster. They will build systems that help the business make clearer decisions under pressure.

Guest: Matt Putra

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattputra/

Website: https://eightx.co/

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

People trust each other. Everyone knows the history. Decisions happen quickly because the business still feels personal.

But that same informality can become the thing that slows the business down.

Roles, money, succession, meeting notes, expectations, and personal tension all start blending together. What felt simple in the beginning becomes harder to manage as the business grows.

This conversation with Jocelyn Greenky from Cider Road shows why family businesses often need outside structure before the problems become expensive. Her work as an interim CEO and “super nanny” for family-run businesses is about helping owners create protocols, clean up operating gaps, and make better decisions without turning the business into something cold or corporate.

AI, automation, and better systems can help. But they do not replace judgment, trust, reputation, or the hard conversations families avoid.

The real issue is whether the people running the business are willing to build the structure that protects it from itself.

Guest: Jocelyn Greenky

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jocelyngreenky/

Website: https://siderroad.com

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

Sometimes demand is already there. The real constraint is whether the business can deliver without lowering quality, overloading the team, or putting unprepared people in front of clients.

My conversation with Sonja Pomerleau from Next Level Now showed why specialization changes more than marketing. It affects hiring, training, systems, margins, and the speed at which a firm can scale without chaos.

We also talked about where AI is useful in finance operations, where it still creates risk, and why accuracy, judgment, and industry context still matter when automation starts touching the numbers.

The firms that scale cleanly are usually not the ones chasing every opportunity. They are the ones that know where repeatability actually creates leverage.

Guest: Sonja Pomerleau

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonjafridell/

Website: https://nextlevelnow.net

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

A growing business can look healthy on paper and still be hard to run.

Revenue is up. Reports are in place. Dashboards exist. But cash still feels tight, hiring decisions drag, and the numbers do not clearly show what to do next.

In this episode, I speak with Umar Manzar, founder and principal of UM Advisory, about why fractional CFO work is shifting from reporting to execution. Umar explains how finance can help business owners focus on the few drivers that actually affect cash, pricing, hiring, and capital decisions.

We also discuss where AI implementation and automation fit inside firm operations, including invoice reconciliation, financial models, dashboards, and monthly reporting packs.

The pattern is simple: more analysis does not always create more clarity. Better finance systems should make decisions easier, not just reporting faster.

Guest: Umar Manzar

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/umar-manzar/

Website: https://umarmanzar.com/

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

They have a decision-making problem.

As the business grows, owners spend more time inside operations and less time thinking about the financial decisions that determine what happens next. The challenge is not whether they need a full-time CFO. It is whether they have access to the right level of experience when growth creates new complexity.

In this conversation, Marco Villarreal from The CFO Centre explains why many businesses reach a point where operational success starts creating financial constraints, and why experienced financial leadership is often needed before a company is ready for a traditional executive hire.

The discussion also explores an emerging shift in AI implementation. Not as a tool for replacing work, but as a tool for improving thinking, decision quality, and strategic reasoning.

Growth becomes harder when leaders try to solve new problems with the same decision-making systems that created the previous stage of success.

Guest: Marco Villarreal
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcoavillarreal/
Website: https://www.cfocentre.com/us

Host: Leonard De Beer
Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

The best operators optimize for learning.

A higher salary, a bigger title, or a safer role can look like progress. But the decisions that shape a career often come from taking responsibility before you're ready, stepping into uncomfortable environments, and solving problems that aren't technically yours.

Marcelo Abeno built his career through large organizations including Royal Caribbean, Inter Miami, and the Miami Heat before moving into entrepreneurship through Rework Capital. One of the recurring themes throughout the conversation was that the biggest opportunities rarely look obvious in the moment.

The move that feels like a step backwards can become the foundation for everything that comes after.

The people who stand out inside large organizations are often the ones already thinking like owners long before they become one.

Guest: Marcelo Abeno
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mabinum/
Website: https://www.rework.capital

Host: Leonard De Beer
Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

Often they're customer problems.

A business can have a strong team, solid delivery, and a growing reputation, yet still become vulnerable if too much revenue depends on a single type of client.

That was one of the key lessons behind the growth of Roundtable Strategy Advisors. After COVID wiped out most of the startup market they served, Greg Cucino and his team were forced to rethink who they worked with, how they generated recurring revenue, and what kind of business they were actually building.

The result wasn't a better sales process.

It was a different business model.

This conversation explores why resilience often comes from customer mix, recurring revenue, and operational discipline rather than growth alone.

Guest: Greg Cucino

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregcucino

Website: https://roundtablesa.com/

Host: Leonard De Beer

Helping fractional executive firms get more clients through strategic outreach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

If you needed leadership, you hired a full-time COO, CFO, or CMO and hoped the business was large enough to justify the cost.

That assumption is starting to change.

In this episode, Corina Ludwig from Wolf's Edge Integrators discusses how businesses are increasingly accessing experienced leadership without making full-time executive hires.

The shift is bigger than cost savings.

It gives companies access to expertise they may not otherwise be able to afford, while creating flexibility as priorities change.

For many growing businesses, the question is no longer whether they need executive-level guidance.

It is whether they need it forty hours a week.

The firms adapting fastest are often the ones rethinking how leadership itself is delivered.

Guest: Corina Ludwig

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corinaludwig

Website: https://www.wolfsedgeintegrators.com/

Host: Leonard De Beer

Business automation and transformation through AI and systems

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

They also touch on a reality most people miss. Accountants often do very well financially but rarely talk about it.

In this clip David Barbeito shares how his firm is using AI in real life, why they created an internal AI policy around privacy, and how tax software like BlueJay has been a complete game changer for efficiency and cost.

This is what AI adoption really looks like inside a modern accounting firm.

Pat is a Partner at Apple & Odom, a full-service CPA firm in Charleston, South Carolina. He breaks down how they built a 36-hour work week (even in tax season), grew to around 950 clients in about two years, and stayed focused on a high-service client experience.

Key Takeaways:
• Why a 36-hour week can improve quality and retention in public accounting
• How planning work two weeks ahead keeps busy seasons under control
• What drove their growth (mostly referrals) without paid advertising
• The real challenge of fast growth: onboarding and communication systems
• How they’re using AI (Microsoft Copilot) to save time on meeting notes

The big lesson: don’t build the firm you want “right now.” Build the firm you want five years from now — with clear expectations and the right clients.

Guest: Patrick Odom, Partner, Apple & Odom
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-odom-cpa-abv-cfe-53072516/
Website: www.appleodom.com

Connect with me, Leonard De Beer:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

Subscribe to the Business Growth Podcast and learn how top finance leaders are scaling smarter, serving better, and building firms that last.

In this episode, I sit down with Patty Santayana, founder of Delphi Advisory Services. She shares how CFO-level cash flow planning helps business owners grow, stay bankable, and increase the value of their business long before they think about selling.

We talk about the 16 cash flow drivers, how to simplify financials into clear actions, and why ignoring cash flow for tax savings can limit future growth. Patty also explains how dashboards, systems, and long-term planning help owners work on the business instead of just putting out fires.

Key Takeaways
• Why cash flow matters more than profit alone
• How reducing taxes can hurt financing and exit value
• How a red–yellow–green dashboard drives better decisions
• Why planning years ahead leads to higher sale value

The core message is simple: strong businesses are built with intention. Cash, systems, and strategy are what create freedom and long-term value.

Guest: Patty Santayana
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-santayana-0813a99/
Website: https://delphiadvisoryservices.com

Connect with me:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

Subscribe to the Podcast and learn how top finance leaders are scaling smarter, serving better, and building firms that last.

I’m joined by Bette Hochberger, CPA, CGMA, owner of a boutique CPA firm in Miami serving real estate, service businesses, crypto/Web3 and tech startups. We talk about AI in accounting, time tracking, billing, and what it really looks like to rebuild tax firm systems while still running a busy practice.

Key Takeaways
• Why Bette hired an external AI consultant instead of trying to do everything herself
• How a “no sacred cows” mindset led to better tools, better integrations and less friction
• Practical examples of AI and automation in a CPA firm (SmartVault, tax AI tools, Zoho CRM)
• The ongoing battle with time tracking, billable hours and pricing tax work fairly
• Why SOPs, documentation and “how you do one thing is how you do all things” shape firm culture

At the end, Bette shares the simple rule that guides how she runs her firm and her life: how you do one thing is how you do all things. It’s a helpful filter for the systems you build, the clients you work with, and the standards you hold in your accounting firm.

Guest: Bette Hochberger, CPA, CGMA – Owner, Bette Hochberger, CPA, CGMA
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bettehochberger/
Website: www.bettehochberger.com

Connect with me, Leonard De Beer:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

Subscribe to the Business Growth Podcast and learn how top finance leaders are scaling smarter, serving better, and building firms that last.

In this episode, I chat with Reuben, Managing Partner at New Wave Business Solutions, a multi-service advisory firm that started in accounting and now spans law, financial planning, insurance, and digital marketing. We dig into how his team drives 90% of new business through digital channels, where AI fits into their systems, and how they’ve added 30–35 people in just 12 months without losing culture.

Key Takeaways
• How New Wave evolved from an accounting practice into a multi-division business advisory firm
• Why Reuben focuses on AI and automation to handle bookkeeping and BAS prep while keeping humans on the final review
• The data-driven marketing funnel behind their growth: SEO, Google Ads, Facebook retargeting, and founder-led content
• Why most firms give up on paid ads too early, and how New Wave thinks about lead quality, conversion rates, and cost per acquisition
• How they attract talent by building a culture people want to join—clear growth paths, support, no-blame learning, and shared wins

Reuben’s story shows what happens when a firm stops relying on referrals, tracks its numbers properly, and treats AI as a way to free people up for higher-value advisory work.

Guest: Reuben Bergola, Managing Partner, New Wave Business Solutions

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/managementaccountantgoldcoast/
Website: https://www.new-wave.com.au

Connect with me, Leonard De Beer:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-de-beer/

Subscribe to the Business Growth Podcast and learn how top finance leaders are scaling smarter, serving better, and building firms that last.