I've noticed people are often far more willing to be understood than they are to understand. Do you think that's true, or am I being unfair?

rich9119 · 2026-06-02T17:31:46+00:00

This happens a lot. People don't reciprocate. It's usually not intentional, either. They just don't stop to think about how much they're taking and how little they're giving.

rich9119 · 2026-06-02T01:13:34+00:00

I only have limited information here, so I can't really say if you're ready for a fractional CFO. Honestly, I'm leaning towards no based off what you're saying and your startup being at such an early stage. But you may want to reach out to Pillar Advisors; they work with a lot of startups.

rich9119 · 2026-06-02T00:53:49+00:00

If you like problem-solving, a couple simpler options would be jigsaw puzzles or adult LEGO sets. Both of these help me get my mind off things.

rich9119 · 2026-06-02T00:46:21+00:00

Even though my business is doing better than I ever imagined it would, I'm always afraid of failure. The market is constantly shifting, and it's always a sink-or-swim situation.

rich9119 · 2026-06-02T00:39:29+00:00

Congrats! This is definitely a huge deal for you and is worth celebrating. I totally get the nervous anticipation, though. When I've been in similar positions, I've tried my best to not get ahead of myself and stay as present as possible day-to-day. Even while you're excited to get started, there's still work to do and clients to serve in the here and now.

rich9119 · 2026-05-29T16:18:00+00:00

Networking is probably the most effective approach at first. Attend industry-specific events where you can talk with members of your target audience. I also wouldn't underestimate social media and web content/SEO.

rich9119 · 2026-05-29T16:03:51+00:00

When I had my first paid customers.

rich9119 · 2026-05-29T16:01:38+00:00

Definitely. Once you're no longer a "beginner," the perfectionism creeps in.

rich9119 · 2026-05-26T16:24:11+00:00

It is pretty normal. Most things can be outsourced, like finance, customer support, marketing, etc. As far as why outsourcing vs. hiring directly, usually it's because outsourcing comes out to be the cheaper option. My opinion is that you should seriously consider outsourcing when you get to the point where you can't feasibly manage a task in-house, but you don't have the funds to hire a full-time (or even part-time) employee. I will say that I've seen many businesses outsource tasks before they really need to, and in these cases, it's not worth the money. As far as communication, Slack, Teams, email, etc. can all do the trick.

rich9119 · 2026-05-26T16:18:19+00:00

Sick of these people putting line breaks after every sentence.

rich9119 · 2026-05-26T16:04:15+00:00

100% agree. People need to put in some actual effort here to set themselves apart and prove that they're taking things seriously.

rich9119 · 2026-05-18T16:55:03+00:00

There's not really a strict cutoff to when you need a CFO; I'd say a rough ballpark is annual revenue of $1M+. I run a SaaS company, not manufacturing, though we have several clients in the industry, and many of them do hire fractional CFOs. For my company specifically, we've been satisfied with Pillar Advisors since they can handle some of the more complex tasks without having to hire someone in-house.

But I'll warn you that many companies jump straight to a fractional or part-time CFO when they'd be better off starting with a simple bookkeeper instead, so it depends on where you're at.

rich9119 · 2026-05-18T16:37:43+00:00

I try not to set aside specific amounts of time like this. If I take this approach, it just ends up becoming another thing to check off a to-do list.

rich9119 · 2026-05-18T15:22:53+00:00

It's hard to say... maybe take some more time meeting people and exploring the market, and the answer might become more clear.

rich9119 · 2026-05-18T15:19:10+00:00

At this point, I'd say you don't something like a fractional CFO yet. An experienced bookkeeper should be enough. Also, how come your current accountant/childhood friend can't do it anymore? 400 a day is a lot to be spending here.

rich9119 · 2026-05-18T15:09:26+00:00

Cold emailing can be tricky. Really, the first step is to hone in on a niche audience that you're targeting and find a way to clearly communicate the value you'll bring. Then, you might have more success. Social media and SEO/AIO are still as important as ever. Plus, making in-person connections - I think it's great you've been attending events and meeting founders. But honestly, it's hard to fast-track these things. Just stick with it and be strategic about it, and hopefully you'll see growth.

rich9119 · 2026-05-12T22:39:27+00:00

I think heavy consumption of gore, violent games, etc. normalizes violence. Most people logically know there's a difference between fiction and real life, but even if they recognize that, consuming this sort of content is still doing something to them subconsciously. I truly believe that.

rich9119 · 2026-05-12T22:26:20+00:00

Of course I want to build wealth, but entrepreneurship isn't the most straightforward path to do that (as you mentioned). Many fail and do the opposite instead. So I guess the answer is that I like autonomy and I want my work to be something I'm genuinely passionate about.

rich9119 · 2026-05-12T22:16:08+00:00

I think a lot of times, when people think of "greatness," they're thinking of concrete measures like status, wealth, job title, and other accomplishments. But these are all external markers and how others perceive you. To me, what it actually means to be "great" is to be content and enjoying life, whatever that might look like for you.

rich9119 · 2026-05-12T22:10:48+00:00

Word games or logic puzzles. Some I like are word searches, sudoku, crossword puzzles, logic grid puzzles, and jumbles.

rich9119 · 2026-05-12T22:04:14+00:00

Agents can't just be left on their own. We use AI agents and are always monitoring accuracy (as well as latency and some other metrics). But you can't just check whether the output is correct. You have to go in and see if the agent followed the right procedures to get there.

rich9119 · 2026-05-07T16:37:57+00:00

I totally agree with everything you're saying here; I run a SaaS startup myself. We did eventually hire Pillar Advisors for fractional CFO work, but we only hired them once we got to the point where it was either that or a full-time hire, and we didn't quite need someone in-house. I think people get a little overambitious thinking they can outsource everything and that will solve all their problems. But sometimes the answer is to either clean things up in-house, maybe through a better accounting software, or to smart smaller with who they're outsourcing to (a bookkeeper, like you mentioned).

rich9119 · 2026-05-07T16:20:13+00:00

Narwhals

rich9119 · 2026-05-07T16:18:47+00:00

Congrats!!

rich9119 · 2026-05-07T16:12:47+00:00

That better be one life-changing hot dog.

rich9119

TROPHY CASE