When Kat Wellum-Kent founded Fractional Finance in early 2023, she was stepping into a space that barely existed in the UK. âFractional wasnât a common word in the UK to describe what we do,â she says. But a gap in the market was clear to her: fast-growing companies desperately needed better financial supportâbut didnât necessarily need (or want) to hire a full-time CFO.
Kat, who had spent 16 years at Deloitte and later joined a smaller firm advising startups and scale-ups, saw the opportunity firsthand.
âI saw start-ups and scale-ups looking for better financial information to make decisions, but they didn't have in-house support, and traditional accountants arenât set up to provide this type of support. This is the kind of work that excites me. I saw the demand, so I took the leap and launched Fractional Finance.â
Starting from scratch
That leap didnât come with a safety net. Kat had no regular clients and had to quickly get up to speed with salesâan area sheâd barely touched. âIt was a leap,â she says. âIt wasnât something Iâd done huge amounts of, so that was a steep learning curveâone Iâm still on.â She also had to adjust to selling herself, not just providing a service.
âIâve always been part of a company, so I had their brand to stand behind. Now, people were choosing to buy meâwhich was daunting. I was experiencing imposter syndrome and had to spend a lot of time working on my mindset to overcome this. But ultimately, I backed myself.â
That belief has paid off. Today, Kat leads a nine-person team while juggling roles in operations, sales, marketing, recruitmentâand of course, serving clients as a hands-on Fractional CFO.
âI love running my own business and being an entrepreneur. I think it makes me a better Fractional CFO for my clientsâI get what theyâre going through in a way I didnât when I was in practice.â
Building a broader fractional vision
From day one, Kat set out to help companies build stronger, more strategic finance functions. Her sweet spot: fast-growing tech and service businesses needing sharper insights, faster reporting, and smarter financial planningâespecially around funding and investor comms.
But as she dug into her clientsâ businesses, a pattern emerged. âHR and Finance often go hand in hand,â she says. In many scale-ups, one internal person covers both functionsâwithout being an expert in either. That insight sparked her next move.
She co-founded Fractional Human Resources alongside an experienced Chief People Officer from the tech world. This wasnât just another offeringâit was a reimagining of the fractional finance model. By pairing Finance and HR, Kat began shaping a more holistic approach to supporting fast-growth teams, and sheâs just getting started.
That bigger vision is now coming to life through The Fractional Groupâa growing umbrella brand set to house seven specialist service lines.
âAlthough it's not final yet, I'm happy to share that the plan includes Fractional Marketing and Fractional Operations. The idea is to mirror the structure of a full C-suiteâso each area (like Marketing or Operations) has a fractional leader, supported by a broader team underneath them.â
Itâs a bold step away from the traditional one-person fractional finance role. And it shows just how much opportunity there is in the spaceânot just for CFOs, but for any specialist ready to work smarter, not smaller.
Looking ahead: The future is fractional
Kat is optimisticâand bullishâon the future of the fractional finance space. As automation and AI streamline the back office, she sees a world where fractional roles become the norm.
âWith more AI and automation, full-time roles will become less common as work can be delivered more efficiently. I think fractional careers are the future.â
The market dynamics are also shifting in a way that benefits fractional professionals. Founders now better understand the model.
âMost founders, particularly in the scale-up space, know what the model is,â she says. âThere are a lot more people working as Fractional CFOs, but there is still more demand than supply, from my experience.â
Whatâs especially exciting is the influx of younger professionals in the spaceâbringing energy and a tech-first mindset.
âItâs now seen more as a career move rather than a wind-down to retirement, with many younger Fractional CFOs focused on tech, automation, and AIâwhich is really exciting.â
Katâs advice for aspiring fractional finance professionals
For those contemplating the leap into fractional finance work, Katâs advice is clear and actionable:
âBe really clear on your ideal client and what sets you apart. There are lots of Fractional CFOs, so you need to stand out by clearly talking to and attracting the clients you want to work with.â
She also recommends practical tactics, particularly for those just starting to build their pipeline.
âDepending on your target market, companies looking for a Fractional CFO will approach recruitment agencies, so this might be a good place to start whilst you build up your portfolio.â
But above all, Kat is proof that the transition is not only possibleâit can be transformative. By betting on herself, building her own brand, and launching multiple service lines under one vision, sheâs not just riding the wave of the fractional movementâsheâs helping shape it.
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