{"id":801049,"date":"2026-07-14T09:55:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/801049\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T09:55:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:55:15","slug":"meet-the-fractional-executives-behind-some-of-miamis-fastest-growing-startups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/801049\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the fractional executives behind some of Miami\u2019s fastest-growing startups"},"content":{"rendered":"

As startups stay lean and AI reshapes how companies are built, a growing network of experienced operators is helping Miami founders scale without ever becoming full-time employees.<\/p>\n

A Miami startup has just closed a funding round and suddenly needs investor reporting that can stand up to scrutiny. Another is preparing for its first audit. A third has product-market fit and growing revenue, but no real marketing strategy. A fourth is hiring so quickly that culture, compliance, and people systems are starting to buckle.<\/p>\n

Ten years ago, many of those companies would have begun searching for a full-time executive.<\/p>\n

Today, they\u2019re increasingly making a different call.<\/p>\n

Across Miami, a growing number of startups are turning to fractional executives: experienced CFOs, CMOs, COOs, people leaders, and operators who join leadership teams on a part-time basis, bringing years of experience without becoming full-time employees.<\/p>\n

The concept isn\u2019t new. But as founders stay lean for longer, investors push companies to spend more carefully, and AI automates more routine work, fractional leadership is taking on a much bigger role.<\/p>\n

For years, the story of #MiamiTech has centered on founders, investors, and companies relocating to South Florida. Less attention has been paid to the people helping those businesses scale once the headlines fade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They rarely appear on cap tables or keynote stages. But inside many of Miami\u2019s fastest-growing companies, they\u2019re becoming indispensable.<\/p>\n

More than consultants<\/p>\n

Fractional executives don\u2019t fit neatly into a traditional organizational chart. Unlike consultants, who are often hired to solve a specific problem before moving on, they become part of a company\u2019s leadership team, helping shape strategy over months or even years. The difference is that they do it across several companies at once.<\/p>\n

Many startups don\u2019t yet need a full-time executive, but they do need someone who has already been through the challenges they\u2019re about to face.<\/p>\n

That demand is what led Kartheek Mulpuri<\/a> to make fractional work his full-time career.<\/p>\n

After beginning fractional work during the pandemic while balancing corporate leadership roles, Mulpuri moved to Miami in 2023 and built a practice focused on helping startups with strategic finance, controller support, operational finance, and bookkeeping.<\/p>\n

\u201cFounders usually don\u2019t need a full-time CFO on day one,\u201d Mulpuri told Refresh Miami. \u201cThey need someone who\u2019s already helped companies navigate fundraising, audits, and growth before.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has worked with companies including Dose, FIT:MATCH<\/a>, CoralVita, and IRIS Intelligence, helping build investor models, guide first audits, implement ERP systems, and strengthen financial reporting. He have also supported local investors such as Reformation Partners with quality of earnings work during acquisitions.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the kind of work founders rarely post about on LinkedIn. But behind many successful fundraising rounds is someone making sure the financial foundation is ready when opportunity arrives.<\/p>\n

\"\"Kartheek Mulpuri <\/p>\n

Experience on demand<\/p>\n

Finance is only one piece of the puzzle.<\/p>\n

As startups grow, founders face a different set of questions. How should the company position itself? Is the brand telling the right story? When is it time to hire? How do you build an organization that can scale?<\/p>\n

Increasingly, they\u2019re bringing in experienced leaders who have answered those questions before.<\/p>\n

Through her consultancy Bring on the Brand<\/a>, Alana Elias Kornfeld serves as a fractional chief marketing officer, chief communications officer, and brand strategy advisor, helping technology companies sharpen their positioning, develop fundraising narratives, build executive visibility, and create go-to-market strategies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fractional model has become increasingly valuable because many growing companies need senior-level strategic leadership long before they need, or can justify, a full-time executive hire,\u201d Elias Kornfeld said. \u201cFounders gain access to executive experience, pattern recognition, and cross-functional leadership without adding permanent overhead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elias Kornfeld believes Miami is particularly well suited to this model.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city attracts ambitious founders who move quickly, build lean teams, and value access to specialized expertise,\u201d she said. \u201cFractional leaders can help companies accelerate growth, avoid costly mistakes, and bridge the gap between early-stage scrappiness and mature organizational leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2713<\/p>\n

Check your inbox for a confirmation email.<\/p>\n

\"\"Alana Elias Kornfeld<\/p>\n

Rafael Garcia<\/a> has watched that shift play out over nearly a decade as a fractional marketing executive and growth advisor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe common thread is usually the same: strong founders, real products, early traction, and the need to move from opportunistic growth to more intentional scale,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cMany companies are not ready for a full-time CMO, but they still need experienced executive judgment at the leadership table.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has also watched Miami itself mature.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarlier in my fractional career, many of my clients were based outside Miami,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cToday, most of my clients are local or deeply connected to the Miami ecosystem. That shift says a lot. The ecosystem has grown from being mostly a promise into becoming a place where serious companies, founders, investors, and operators are actually building.\u201d One example of a Garcia client: F\u00e9lix<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Rafael Garcia<\/p>\n

The same evolution is happening in people operations.<\/p>\n

Sara Josephs, founder and CEO of SJ Startup Solutions<\/a>, works with startups as they establish hiring strategies, build culture, and create the organizational foundations they\u2019ll eventually hand over to a full-time Head of People.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy background in people operations has given me a front-row seat to one of the biggest challenges facing startups: growth often outpaces infrastructure,\u201d Josephs shared. \u201cFounders are expected to simultaneously hire, retain talent, develop culture, implement processes, and drive business results.\u201d<\/p>\n

She believes Miami\u2019s mix of entrepreneurial energy, international connections, and willingness to embrace new ways of building companies makes it a natural fit for fractional leadership.<\/p>\n

\"\"Sara Josephs<\/p>\n

The next evolution of the startup team<\/p>\n

If Miami\u2019s growing startup ecosystem is creating more demand for fractional executives, artificial intelligence may be accelerating the trend.<\/p>\n

After leadership roles spanning traditional finance and crypto, Adina Fischer<\/a> now works as a fractional CFO and COO, helping investment funds and startups build operational systems that can scale efficiently.<\/p>\n

Increasingly, those systems include AI.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve automated things like reviewing pitch decks against predefined criteria, updating CRMs after investments, and preparing quarterly LP reporting,\u201d Fischer told Refresh Miami. \u201cAI handles a lot of the repetitive work, which lets experienced operators focus on the decisions that actually require judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather than replacing experienced operators, she believes AI makes them even more valuable.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of companies actually do not need full-time hires anymore, but they need more fractional help,\u201d Fischer said. \u201cIf they\u2019re new founders and perhaps don\u2019t know exactly how to execute in a certain way, having experienced people come in fractionally can be really valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Adina Fischer<\/p>\n

The rise of fractional executives is about changing where expertise is applied. As software automates more routine work, experienced operators spend less time on administration and more time helping founders make better decisions.<\/p>\n

For Garcia, that\u2019s exactly what Miami\u2019s next chapter requires.<\/p>\n

\u201cCapital will matter, but operators will matter just as much,\u201d he said. \u201cThe next phase is about building durable companies with real revenue, strong teams, clear positioning, and scalable go-to-market systems. Fractional leadership can help fill that gap by giving companies access to experienced executives earlier and more flexibly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miami has spent years attracting founders, investors, and attention. As the ecosystem matures, the companies that thrive may be defined just as much by the operators working behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

They rarely appear in funding announcements or on conference stages. But inside many of Miami\u2019s fastest-growing startups, they\u2019re already helping build what comes next.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Pictured at the top of this post: Adina Fischer (front) with founders, investors, and builders at a recent Superteam USA event in Miami. Fischer is among a growing number of\u00a0fractional\u00a0executives helping startups scale by bringing senior operational expertise to multiple companies.<\/p>\n

READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:<\/p>\n

\"Riley<\/a> <\/p>\n

I am a Miami-based technology researcher and writer with a passion for sharing stories about the South Florida tech ecosystem. I particularly enjoy learning about GovTech startups, cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence, and innovators that leverage technology to transform society for the better. Always open for pitches via Twitter @rileywk or www.RileyKaminer.com.<\/p>\n

\"Riley<\/a>Latest posts by Riley Kaminer (see all<\/a>) \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As startups stay lean and AI reshapes how companies are built, a growing network of experienced operators is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":801050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[45,49,48,137],"class_list":["post-801049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entrepreneurship","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entrepreneurship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/801050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}