Case Study: The Outsized Impact of a 2-day per week Fractional CFO

‍Diana Maichin has had over a dozen Fractional COO, CFO, and CBO positions for Seed, Series A, and Series B stage companies, involving company formation, fundraising, business strategy, operations, and financial management. She has 15+ years’ experience as an entrepreneurial financier and operator with domain knowledge in biotech, diagnostics, health-tech, and fintech. Diana has incubated five companies which subsequently raised over $150M in venture capital financing and was co-founding COO of three. 

‍

I am the Fractional VP of Finance for Primefocus Health, a digital health platform that simplifies healthcare recovery. Of note, Primefocus Health is a corporate spinout from LG Electronics. I dedicate approximately two days per week toward the following outcomes:

1. “NewCo” financial and business model case development. In particular, customer discovery, headcount, compensation and salesforce planning, P&L development, and sources and uses for fundraising needs.
2. Board of Directors prep (+fundraising / due diligence). Specifically, investor-facing collateral and storytelling, KPIs, OKRs, LTV/CAC, CRM and other fun CFO-acronyms!
3. Humdrum “FinOps”. Interfacing with accounting, legal, and tax service providers to ensure compliance, variance of actuals to plan, and other “housekeeping.”

Given the nature of being “connected but separate” with LG, Primefocus has the added complexity of the need to operate as a nimble Silicon Valley start-up while complying with Corporate policy.

‍

How I Landed the Client

I found Primefocus Heath through Fractional Jobs. I initially saw this job post in a CFO Slack channel, and knew I was an incredible fit given my background in remote patient monitoring and health-tech more broadly.

I requested an introduction to the client, and was set up to talk with the CEO within a couple of weeks. We immediately hit it off, and the rest is history.

‍

Why the Client Wanted a Fractional Exec

Generally, early-stage companies do not need a full-time CFO: there is simply not “enough” work to justify an FTE at this nascent stage of company development. What is needed at early stage though, are strong financial foundations which are tough to “catch up on” later. Dually, lack of basic paperwork and internal organization can hinder a company when they are in VC diligence. This takes time to assemble and is the last item on the CEO’s mind.  I view my role as not only a tactical financial one but one that is a thought-partner, coach, and strategist to the CEO. 

‍

Why I Was the Perfect Fit

My X-factor is a combinatory set of execution experience across Corporate Venture Capital spin-outs, institutional investing, and founder-operator mentality in the life science, healthtech, and fintech spaces.

My sector experience in healthcare IT and services, provider systems, and employer health is instrumental to the development of Primefocus Health’s business model and capital needs. In a former role, I developed a deep thesis specifically in the areas of remote patient monitoring (RPM) and chronic care management (CCM) so not only do I understand how customers buy and sell, but also understand their pain points and financial hurdles to buy into a solution like the one Primefocus Health is developing. This sector experience was the determining factor in selecting me versus other candidates.

As a general matter, the unspoken but frequent deciding factor in most Fractional hires is the connection and communication style sync to the CEO. During our first conversation, the CEO and I were finishing each other’s sentences, so I knew we would have a healthy dynamism of pushing back on each other and laughing through the tough times.

‍

Key Accomplishments

In four months (mid-November to mid-March) Primefocus Health has forged the following under my financial and operational leadership:

1. Closed an internal and institutional financing round. (Primefocus Health spun out of LG NOVA, and is an independent, majority owned company of LG.)
2. Developed financial infrastructure and monthly operating cadence
3. Constructed a five year revenue model with clinical and commercial implications
4. Created a culture of “if it don’t make dollars, it don’t make sense” in evaluating partnerships and opportunities
5. Built a strong executive camaraderie 

Candidly, I have done this a lot: over two handfuls of times. There is no varsity shortcut for deeply entrenched experience. If other options seem too affordable to be true, it may cost you later! The power of fractional expertise is akin to financial compounding. An experienced executive who can onboard quickly and obsessively hit the ground running is a unique phenotype that pays for itself in spades.

Not only was my engagement extended through calendar year 2025, but I was also able to negotiate using company savings to date as a marker. 

‍

‍

Diana partners with early-stage healthcare companies. Her best fit is Seed to Series B, pre-revenue or early revenue, where the CEO / Founders need strategic thought partnership and hands-on financial operations help to leverage their time and execution ability.

Learn more about Diana on her website, DMEM & Co, or on LinkedIn.

And if you’re looking for a different kind of fractional leader, that’s where Fractional Jobs can help (the site you’re reading this on). Fractional Jobs helps startups, SMBs, and nonprofits hire fractional talent across about 10+ different function areas. You can book a call with Fractional Jobs founder Taylor Crane right here to learn more.