Hire FTE when…
the role is permanent, scoped for a single company, and you can wait 4–6 months to ramp.
Decision Guide
Fractional vs. Consulting Firm vs. Full-Time Hire
Three ways to add senior partner leadership. Here's how to pick — written by someone who's been hired under all three models.
Retain a firm when…
the work is a one-time transformation and the deliverable is a strategy deck.
Go fractional when…
you need senior operator judgment in the seat, but not 5 days a week.
Side by Side
The Comparison
| Fractional Operator | Consulting Firm | Full-Time Hire | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to value | 2–4 weeks | 6–10 weeks | 4–6 months |
| Commitment | 1–2 days / week | Project SOW | 5 days / week |
| Typical cost | $$ | $$$$ | $$$$ + equity |
| Who does the work | The person you hired | Partner sells, juniors deliver | Hired leader (eventually) |
| Operator P&L experience | Yes | Rarely | Yes |
| Stays after delivery | Optional | No | Yes |
| Ramp risk | Low | Low (on the deck) | High |
| Best for stage | Series A–C, PE-backed scale-ups | Enterprise transformation | Public co or mature scale-up |
| Worst fit | You need someone 5 days/week | You need an operator in the seat | Pre-product-market-fit |
Honest Tradeoffs
No Model Is Strictly Better
Where a full-time hire wins
A full-time VP is the right answer when partner revenue is core to your three-year plan and the role genuinely needs forty hours a week. The tradeoff is real: $400K+ all-in and four to six months to source, sign, and ramp.
Where a consulting firm wins
Big-name consulting firms are built for board-mandated transformations with executive air cover. The tradeoff is who actually does the work: the partner sells, and a team of analysts builds the deck.
Where fractional wins
Fractional is built for the gap between too early for a $400K hire and too late for a one-time consulting project. You get a senior operator in the seat in week one, at a fraction of FTE cost.
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