Jan Pautsch
Contents
Review: What comes after Buy & Build – the pressure for structure
Review: What comes after buy & build – the pressure for structure. Buy & Build brings speed – but often also disruption: when FinTechs grow rapidly through acquisitions, integration, reporting, controlling, cash management and governance come under pressure. Fractional and interim profiles help to close these gaps in the short term and create stability.
The Global FinTech Report 2025 by BCG & QED also shows that this demand is growing: FinTechs grew by 21% in 2024, while traditional financial service providers only grew by 6%. At the same time, the proportion of profitable FinTechs rose to 69% – a clear sign of increasing maturity and the growing demand for governance and structures.
Fintech’s Scaled Winners and Emerging Disruptors | BCG
Interim, Fractional & Professionalization: The new management models
- Interim CFO: Full-time on a temporary basis, often for turnaround, post-merger, restructuring.
- Fractional CFO: Part-time at C-level, for specific projects or transitional phases.
- External specialists: e.g. Compliance Officer ad interim, FP&A leads for forecasts.
Typical fields of application:
- Turnaround & Restructuring
- Post Merger Integration
- Post Funding Professionalization
- Buy & Build Phase
Kooku X Market Observation 2025 – Assessments from mandates & projects
Does the know-how come from corporates?
The change from vision to structure opens up opportunities for specialists from corporates – provided they can keep up with the pace and culture of a scale-up.
That speaks for itself:
- Experience with regulation, reporting & investors
- Integration of acquisitions & governance
- An eye for profitability & structure
But:
- Often too hierarchical and specialized
- Speed and pragmatism are sometimes lacking
Recruiting perspective:
In discussions with corporate candidates, I carry out targeted checks:
- How do they react to unclear roles and rapid feedback?
- Do you have experience with remote teams and MVP logic?
- Are there concrete examples of speed and cultural change?
Basis: Interviews with candidates from the corporate and startup environment, Kooku X 2024/25
Practical insights: How do you find the right profiles?
Executive search for interim and fractional management:
- Precise briefing & talent mapping
- Active network instead of database
- Fast matching & clean onboarding
- Securing retention & handover
For a deeper insight into how interim CFOs organize their first 30 days and which factors are decisive, I recommend this article:
AMonth in the Life: Interim CFO Roles and Best Practices (Toptal)
Case Study: Interim Financial Controller for Turnaround
For a company in a critical growth phase, I found an interim financial controller at short notice to work alongside the interim CFO.
The role was filled after three days. The interim controller stabilized the finance team, took over reporting and financial statements, identified weaknesses and relieved the CFO. This enabled the management to quickly deliver reliable figures again and manage the restructuring.
Outlook for the future: Fractional becomes the norm
Fractional and interim models will no longer be stopgap solutions, but part of a strategic, hybrid workforce. Companies are increasingly combining flexible leadership with enablement through tools and processes – but experience and integration expertise remain irreplaceable.
The latest Global FinTech Report 2025 by BCG and QED also shows that scaled FinTechs must increasingly act like mature, listed companies – with sharper capital allocation, professional management, governance and risk management. Sustainable growth is replacing the old “growth at all costs”, which makes flexible and experienced financial management all the more important.
Fintech’s Scaled Winners and Emerging Disruptors | BCG
Conclusion: Flexibility as the key to scaling
Fractional and interim models balance governance, speed and growth. It is also worthwhile for scale-ups to build a network of flexible managers today – in order to be prepared for the next phase.
Finding managers for Finance & Transformation
As a finance headhunter at Kooku X, I fill key roles in finance, compliance and transformation – permanent, interim or fractional. Fast, precise, with an understanding of the market.
From clarifying the target image, through search and calibration, to onboarding: our process is structured and effective – often with initial profiles in just a few days.
If you are looking for leaders who make an impact, let’s talk.
Jan Pausch
Head of Expert Search / Kooku X
Your Experts for Digital Finance & Transformation
Jan Pautsch is Recruiting Director at Kooku X. He brings leadership experience from the design and digital industry and today fills key roles in finance, design and transformation
Finance headhunting that works.
Find managers who will really drive your finance team forward.
We deliver CFOs, Heads of Finance & Co. in record time: first candidates after 7 days, staffing within 30 days - thanks to data-based matching and active direct approach by specialized headhunters.
Finance Headhunter requestWhat decision-makers want to know now about leadership in FinTech scale-ups
If you need short-term leadership in a critical phase – e.g. turnaround, post-merger, buy & build or professionalization. Interim for full-time on a temporary basis, fractional for part-time in growth or transition phases.
Interim CFOs are usually employed full-time for a clearly defined period of time to solve acute problems. Fractional CFOs are part-time at C-level, often for longer periods of time, in order to advance specific projects or structures.
With a precise briefing and an active network, we can often present the first validated profiles within a few days. Interim and fractional roles can also be filled at short notice.
In four steps:
Clarify objectives – understand organization and expectations
Market & search – benchmarking, mapping, direct approach
Calibration – first profiles, fine tuning with feedback
Conclusion – decision-making, contract process, onboarding
