Quick Hit 🎯

Singapore's government-backed fractional pilot is now live - Korn Ferry reports 6x more requests from Singapore firms for fractional leaders in 2025 vs last year. More on this below.

Scaling Beyond Solo: Four Models That Actually Work🦸 

You've cracked the fractional code. You've got clients. You're delivering. The income is good.

And now you're thinking about putting a team together.

This is the natural progression for high performers. You didn't become a fractional to cap out at three clients. You're wired to build, to grow, to find the next level.

The question isn't if you should scale. It's how.

I've been watching four models work across APAC and the UK. Each takes a different path beyond solo. Each comes with trade-offs.

Model 1: The Cooperative (Proxi, New Zealand)

What they do: A team of fractional CMOs who work collectively for NZ tech companies.

Website: proxi.co.nz

Proxi co-founder Christelle Blanchet-Aissaoui started the company in 2018 after burning out from a global CMO role. She realised NZ tech companies needed senior marketing leadership but couldn't afford or attract full-time CMOs. So she called a peer, who said: "I did that a few years back, but it was called consultant back then and I felt it was really lonely. What about we join forces?"

That's the core insight: together we are stronger.

How it works:

• Most engagements start with a 4-hour accelerator workshop with two Proxi CMOs

• Combined expertise delivers exponential value. As Christelle puts it: "By bringing our two expertise together, we were able to deliver a very solid strategy quite fast."

• They work from the inside, not the outside: "We work as if we are full-time CMOs within the business."

• The goal is to leave: "The idea is to really leave the business as soon as we can and not stay because we can."

Why it works: Not everyone in a collective needs to be a rainmaker. As Christelle says: "Not everybody's an entrepreneur and not everybody's gonna go fishing for clients. But they are amazing at what they do. So it's not because you don't go fishing, that you can't eat the fish."

The collective handles business development so the practitioners can focus on delivery.

The trade-off: You're building a shared identity, not just your personal brand. That's a feature for some, a bug for others.

Best for: Fractionals who want collaboration, shared pipeline, and complementary expertise without the overhead of building an agency.

Go deeper: I interviewed Christelle about building Proxi's co-op model here.

Community News 🗞️: FEC 2.0 a year in the life

uick recap of what we've been up to in 2025:

Live Events: IRL meetups across Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Pubs, proper venues, good conversations. There's something about getting fractionals in the same room that just works.

Virtual: Twelve monthly calls (one every month, as promised), plus workshops and office hours throughout the year.

The Numbers: Over on Mighty Networks, we've hit 3,500+ contributions from around 100 members. That's a lot of questions answered, wins shared, and advice given. And we're just getting started.

What's Coming in 2026:

• The podcast is launching (honestly, this time)

• More workshops

• More live events

• Microevents

• And so, so much more

To each and every one of you who took some of your precious time to share and help each other in this brave new world of fractional: I deeply, truly appreciate it. Thank you.

Live Events: IRL meetups across Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Pubs, proper venues, good conversations. There's something about getting fractionals in the same room that just works.

Virtual: Twelve monthly calls (one every month, as promised), plus workshops and office hours throughout the year.

The Numbers: Over on Mighty Networks, we've hit 3,500+ contributions from around 100 members. That's a lot of questions answered, wins shared, and advice given. And we're just getting started.

What's Coming in 2026:

• The podcast is launching (honestly, this time)

• More workshops

• More live events

• Microevents

• And so, so much more

To each and every one of you who took some of your precious time to share and help each other in this brave new world of fractional: I deeply, truly appreciate it. Thank you.

Join FEC 2.0 now and get:

• Founding member rates

• Access to masterclasses

• AI-powered member matching

• The complete Fractional Playbook

Not ready to join yet? Follow us on LinkedIn to stay in the loop.

Member Spotlight 👋 Kayla Medica

"Tell us about your pivot to fractional work - what sparked the change?": I was working at an organisation that was affected by the 2022 tech mass layoffs, and my whole team (both above and below me!) was cut, with just me left to do the work of the whole team. Sounded like a great time to get a new job, but it was also 2 weeks before Christmas, so I put out a LinkedIn post to organise some coffees and talks, and instead quite a few people offered me project work "to get to the new year".... 2 and a bit years later I'm still here!

"What's your superpower as a fractional leader?": I'm all about bridging the gap between teams who aren't working well together. Usually it's sales and marketing, but it can also be the product or customer success teams, and any way these four teams work together as a go-to-market function.

"Describe your ideal client in one sentence": B2B SaaS just approaching the scale up phase, with a founder who isn't doing this for the first time.

"Share one unexpected joy of fractional work": I've really become friends with a lot of my clients and they treat me as a true member of the team! It's been great to be so welcomed, and have my contributions so highly valued.

"What's your #1 tip for new fractional executives?" Your experience, advice, and mental library of situations and contexts is valuable and should be factored into your price.

"What should founders know before hiring their first fractional?" Founders need to think about whether they want someone deeply embedded in the team, joining WIPs or standup meetings, and having access to systems. If they're not going to do this, then fractional won't be the best arrangement, and they should look to a contractor or freelancer.

"Where can people connect with you?" Please come and say hi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayla-medica/

"Share a recent win or learning moment": I'm looking to expand my offering to workshops and recently ran a full day workshop on a new topic for the first time and received great feedback during and after the workshop. This was really validating and is boosting my confidence ahead of launching this publicly! 

"What's one tool/resource you can't live without?": I'd actually say my laptop itself. It can handle having a billion tabs open that are all for different clients, plus running multiple browsers, having outlook and adobe apps open, Slack and Teams both open, and still have enough juice for Spotify. If I had a crappier laptop I wouldn't be able to jump around and respond when my clients ask me for something.

"Describe your fractional work style in three words": Transparent, over-communicating, friendly

"What's the most common challenge your clients face?": Lack of foundations. Whatever the problem they come to me with is, it's almost always traced back to scaling quickly without taking a moment to stop and put foundations in.

"Share your favorite time management hack": To-do lists and dopamine hits when you tick an item off

🛠️ Tactical Gold: Structuring Revenue Shares That Actually Work

If you're collaborating with other fractionals: whether formally or informally: you need to talk about money. Here's what I've seen work:

The 10% Rule

• Structure: 10% in, 10% out. Someone brings you work, you give them 10%. You send work to someone else, you can ask for 10%.

• When it works: Referrals, introductions, passing on overflow

• Pro: Simple, fair, easy to remember

• Con: None really. It's okay to ask for this. Normalise it.

The Joint Delivery Model

• Structure: Split based on time/contribution (e.g., 60/40, 70/30)

• When it works: When you're genuinely co-delivering

• Pro: True collaboration, client gets multiple experts

• Con: Requires clear scope definition and trust

The White-Label Model

• Structure: You subcontract to another fractional at a set rate, mark up to client

• When it works: When you have the client relationship but not the capacity

• Pro: You control the client experience

• Con: You're on the hook if your subcontractor underdelivers

The Equity/Partnership Model

• Structure: Formal business entity with profit sharing

• When it works: Long-term commitment to building something together

• Pro: True alignment, can build enterprise value

• Con: Complexity, legal costs, harder to unwind

The golden rule: Get it in writing before the first dollar changes hands. A simple email confirmation beats a handshake every time.

 🤖 AI Tip of the Month: Claude Code Is Your New Strategic Partner, Research Team, Developer, Data Analyst, Friend, Co-worker, and Co-conspirator

If you're not using Claude Code yet, you're leaving money on the table.

With the new Opus 4.5 model, this is as close to AGI as we've seen. And here's the thing: it's not just for developers. I use it every single day as a fractional, and not for coding.

My setup: 10+ terminal instances across 5 workstreams (2 business units + 3 clients), each running from dedicated project directories with isolated context. Why? Each project maintains its own context, file structure, and conversation history. I can context-switch between clients without cross-contamination or re-explaining the domain.

What I'm using it for:

1. Content Creation - Newsletter writing, social posts, marketing copy

2. Strategic Thinking - Business planning, positioning, market analysis

3. Research & Synthesis - Funding announcements, company intelligence, industry trends

4. Workflow Automation - Building scripts to systematize recurring tasks (funding scrapers, calendar invite generators)

5. Technical Implementation - Web scraping, API integrations, data processing pipelines

6. Client Deliverables - Reports, proposals, analysis documents, dashboards

Think of it as a strategic partner that's available 24/7, never gets tired, and has read everything. If you're a high-performing fractional who wants to multiply your output, this is the tool.

I've got a full post coming on how I use Claude Code as a fractional. Watch this space.

CRM of choice: While I'm here: if you need a CRM, check out Attio. It's AI-first, the free version is more than enough for most fractionals, and it doesn't feel like you're wrestling with Salesforce. Use my referral link for 10% off:

Cool Stuff Worth Checking Out 👀 

Singapore Pilot Update: The pilot with The Fractional Directory is now underway. Cheering for our friends over there. If you haven't already, check them out and make sure you're registered. They're active in New Zealand, Singapore, and now Australia, so it's worth being on there for sure.

• Full announcement

• Michelle Allbon on iHeart discussing the deal

On Scaling Models:

• Proxi Case Study: FileInvite: How multi-fractional leadership transformed a SaaS business

Worth Your Time:

• Lenny's Podcast: What World-Class GTM Looks Like in 2026: Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO of Vercel, ex-Stripe) on modern GTM strategy. Fun fact: I've flunked out of the interview process with two of her sales orgs. Still a fan.

• Lenny's Newsletter: Everyone Should Be Using Claude Code More: 50 creative ways non-technical people are using it

• Every.to: How to Use Claude Code for Everyday Tasks: No programming required

• Vendux: Now 850+ fractional sales leaders, largest network in North America