Today, in 5 minutes or less, you’ll learn:

• 🔍 Why some fractional executives struggle to build sustainable businesses while others thrive
• 💡 Battle-tested strategies from a 15-year consulting veteran in Asia
• 🎯 The exact framework to land (and keep) long-term clients as a fractional leader

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🔋Building a Sustainable Fractional Business | Moritz Kaffsack

Fractional careers have exploded as much as tech IPOs did in 2021.

In the past year, we’ve interviewed several fractional executives and business owners: Sergio Pereira (Fractional CTO), Karina Mikhli (Fractional COO), Taylor Crane (Founder, Fractional Jobs), Gabriel Tudela & Pedro Marin (Co-Founders, Landa Club), Mark Mullinix (Fractional Head of Growth).

However, one thing has kind of haunted me.

The consulting world is a bit ephemeral. Sure, there’s more folks getting into fractional or consulting work today. But how many have lasted a decade or more in this business?

Today, I’m very excited to introduce Moritz Kaffsack, a consulting veteran and fractional community leader who will share exactly how he’s built sustainable consulting businesses for the past 15 years:

Moritz Kaffsack builds communities and businesses in the freelance economy. He runs Flexer, deploying top independent professionals to growth companies in Asia. He also runs Portfolio Careers in Asia, the leading community of senior professionals in Asia pursuing diverse careers outside the corporate world.

Prior to this, he was Chief Growth Officer at an Allianz-backed insuretech venture, rolling out the b2b2c platform across Europe, Asia and LatAm. He has also led marketing agencies and consulting firms in India, Vietnam, the UAE and Germany for 15 years.

Without further ado, let’s get started:

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Tell us about your career journey.

Almost my entire professional journey since 2005 has been in Asia: India, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore. Running agencies and consulting firms in dynamic markets is very much a talent game and it taught me about the sheer wealth of talent in emerging markets in Asia, the power of building the right teams and the pain when you don’t get it right.

Since 2015 I started working with fluid talent models: I co-founded the fluid collective. One of our members founded Britebirch, an entirely liquid marketing agency. Then I took on a fractional role that led to a number of fractional projects. When I joined an insuretech venture as full-time CGO, I hired senior freelancers to solve specific issues and fill gaps for us. Experiencing it from the employer’s side convinced me of the potential of the model.

Then two things happened: I started meeting more and more senior professionals in Asia who wanted to step out of the corporate world after 15-20 years. They were all C-level executives, very successful, but not fulfilled by their jobs anymore. They had realized the second half of their work life needed a change, to allow them to work on the things they really want to. That’s how Portfolio Careers in Asia was born. We’re now the leading community in this space, with 1,000 members this month.

And I saw potential in providing very senior freelance talent to Enterprises and SMEs in Asia. Hands-on operators that are a better alternative to traditional consulting firms or expensive full-time hires. Eliminating the risk of hiring individual freelancers and delivering higher quality through a stringent vetting and tested project management process. That’s how Flexer was born. Our biggest wins last year were two major tech firm - one global, one an Asian champion.

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You have 15+ years of consulting experience, including being a fractional C-level executive since 2019. How has your client acquisition strategy evolved over the years, and what's been most effective to secure long-term engagements?

• One thing I cannot stress enough is the power of a clear ‘Ideal Customer Profile’ that focuses on the maturity of the customer. At the agency, I would evaluate every product with ‘are we too early for the client’ or even ‘is this too early for the market?’ For freelancers, the client needs to be ready for new models of work to create impact..
• Secondly: timing and trusted recommendations - two crucial elements to convert. This means among your ICP you need to be out there, visible, present and available to provide your service the moment it’s required.
• For long-term engagements, it’s essential to be the most dynamic person in the room. You need to be able to work to the client’s needs from the set-up. And once the work starts, you have to be able to work with everyone on the client team.
• This is often underestimated but one of the key skills of top freelancers is: They make it easy to work with them. They self-manage, onboard fast, show impact within the first two weeks - and on top they make it a great experience for the client. A part of that is being enthusiastic about the work and spread the enthusiasm with everyone on the client team and in their environment.
• You have to show relentless ownership! That also means admitting mistakes unreservedly and transparently. Come with solutions and be ready to fix anything, whether in your remit or not. And don’t ever sweep anything under the carpet. Always flag issues early.
• Lastly, referrals are everything. Do good work and good work will come to you.

In your experience, what are the key factors that differentiate successful long-term fractional executives from those who struggle to sustain their practice beyond the first few years?

Grit, adaptability & network.

You need to stick with it. The first time I opened my own firm in 2018 it took me 9 months to get my first fees. That’s 9 months of getting up every morning, selling something that no one is buying (yet). It takes grit and resilience.

Don’t build a unicorn dream castle that no one wants to buy. You might have a vision but it might not work for your audience or it might not match what you can credibly offer. Recognize this early and pivot.

And you’ll find you’ll need to build a new network. You might be very well networked in your industry, but that’s not necessarily where your leads will come from.

We support all 3 of these in the Portfolio Careers in Asia community - at times it feels like we’re colleagues who debate challenges and celebrate wins together. We provide a lot of learning opportunities, best practices and masterclasses. And members connect and collaborate with each other - and also connect each other to opportunities.

How do you approach continuous learning and skill development to stay relevant in fast-moving markets like in Asia? Can you provide examples of how you've adapted your services?

The principal is universal: the most important thing is to listen to your clients, they will tell you where their needs and pain points are. The needs change more quickly so gaining a status as a trusted advisor is key to be called on at the right moment.

And then speed of execution is crucial. At Flexer, we recently received a brief in an area we hadn’t even considered working in, and therefore had no immediate freelance talent on our bench to deploy. Through our network within days we turned around a vetted bench of senior experts with precisely the skillsets needed, ready to deploy. This is what clients appreciate - anywhere, but especially in Asia.

On a personal level, I believe it’s so important to keep our learning muscles fit. One way I do this is by doing something I enjoy a lot: learning languages. In any year I’ll always be learning a language, usually the language of the country I live in, but not always. It trains not just the learning muscle but also teaches humility and forces me to put myself out there and take the risk of making mistakes, publicly. All of that is very healthy, I think.  

Of course on top of this the amazing PCA community keeps me on my toes with the latest developments in AI, Blockchain, regulation, trade, consumer trends, talent trends - you name it. I’m incredibly grateful to be plugged into such an incredible group of high-caliber professionals sharing their knowledge and network with each other daily.

What systems or processes have you implemented to managing the financial aspects of your business?

Just the regular systems - it’s not different from running a consulting business, and that’s a pretty simple business model. You need to be very careful with payment terms and cash flow, that’s all.  

What should companies do to get the most out of hiring freelance talent?

• Cast your net wide: be clear what you’re looking for in a freelancer and then don’t go to the first person recommended to you. There is a vast unorganized market out there, which means you should always be able to find exactly the talent you need in terms of industry experience, market experience, skills and cultural fit.
• Projects over retainers. In open-ended retainer scopes there’s a tendency to lose track of objectives and milestones. Package the work into clearly defined projects - consecutive projects if needed - to ensure constant focus on impact and delivery. Or retainers with clear and frequent milestone reviews.
• Get a structured onboarding process - if you’re not sure what it should look like. ask the freelancer to provide one. Getting off to the right start with all the best practice that entails is crucial to a successful project.
• Introduce the senior freelancer to your entire leadership team - not just the people they will work with. Help them get a full view of the company and in return have your team evaluate them. If the freelancer isn’t proposing this themselves or is hesitant to do so, consider it a red flag.
• In line with that: Embed the freelancer like a colleague - as much access as needed, information, and close collaboration. Avoid the arms-length relationship you have with consultants - your freelance operators should be hands-on, working with the team for maximum knowledge transfer.
• And if you’re not sure how to make it work: get in touch with me, we can help build a freelancer strategy along with the right processes and goals.

Where can we go to learn more about you?

• On Linkedin
• At Flexer.ai and Portfolio Careers in Asia

🌐 Beyond your borders

🏖️ Passive investing now accounts for 57% of all equity fund assets and over $13 trillion. Is this a problem?

🧑‍💻 For busy FT workers, entrepreneurs, and parents… imagine AI agents that can help you book reservations, order groceries, and plan flights. OpenAI just launched Operator, which along with Anthropic’s “Computer Use” does exactly this. I can’t wait to delegate day-to-day chores.

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