Interview with fractional CFO and author Alysha Randall

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Alysha Randall is the Founder & CEO of Fast Growth Consulting Ltd where she conducts courses to train new and aspirational FDs and CFOs. Starting at LoveFilm in 2006, she took on the role of director of finance, and she worked for Amazon as they acquired the business.

Alysha then moved over to Funding Circle and, after building a finance team, worked on its exit to LSE. Since founding her consultancy she has collaborated with multiple fast-growth businesses, such as Collagerie, GoTrade, Just Move In, Legl, SideQuest VR, Super Payments, and VenueScanner.

Alysha’s new book Financial Leadership Fundamentals is the ultimate guide for those seeking a tried-and-tested path to success as a CFO in start-ups and scale-ups. 

What’s your career background?

Since arriving in London in 2006 as a newly qualified accountant, I was fortunate enough to work for two very successful start-ups. The first was Lovefilm, which was very innovative at the time (but now sounds archaic!), posting DVDs through the post to its subscribers.

The business then pivoted to an online streaming platform, which Amazon Prime acquired. I was the Director of Finance and worked heavily on this acquisition and transition to the Amazonian way. After working for Amazon for 18 months, I decided to move back to start-ups and joined Funding Circle as their first Finance Director. This company too saw huge growth and after five years was listed on the London Stock Exchange. I was part of the IPO team.  

How did you move from idea to actual business?

After both experiences I decided to stick with early stage start-ups as a Fractional CFO at Fast Growth Consulting. While working with founders, I was often approached to coach or mentor aspiring CFOs and finance leaders to the point that I exceeded capacity. I created the Financial Leadership Fundamentals course so that I could train more people and included everything that I had learnt during my career.

I basically wrote a course that I wish I had 15 years ago and critically it includes an action list and workbook at the end of every module. My students find this really useful, as you aren’t given a task list when moving into a leadership role and this gives a framework to work from.

Where did the idea for your book come from?

My book Financial Leadership Fundamentals is along the same principles as the Financial Leadership Fundamentals course. It’s the same Framework and includes relevant case studies that I have experienced both as a new leader earlier in my career, all the way through to how we support the founders that we still work with today.

As I have so many stories and examples, I thought that including this in a book would be a great format for any accountant or finance student who is interested in both working in a startup or scaleup and leading the finance function.

Who’s your target audience?

Accountants who want to or are working in a startup environment, in addition to new and aspiring CFOs who work or want to work in this industry.   With most larger corporations or accounting firms there are mentors to learn from and more resources for learning & development.  Startups & scaleups don’t have this luxury and so first time finance leaders or aspiring leaders can struggle in this demanding role.  

What’s been the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome?

It’s two fold for me. Firstly, understanding the difference between management and leadership. Early in my career, I thought that if I worked hard enough I would be a good leader – and this is not the case.  It’s a different skillset and mindset.

Secondly, to have the confidence to speak up and share my ideas and opinions, and provide insights to the business and leadership teams as a finance leader. It took me a while to find my voice and I talk about this in the book.

And your proudest moment so far?

Right now is pretty good! I’m really proud of this book – it took all of 2024 to write.  My test readers and quite a few peers who have read it have given me great feedback and all agreed that this book is very practical and would be brilliant for any accountant who is interested in pursuing a career in the startup world. I was so incredibly nervous to share my manuscript with my mentor and peers, so it’s been just wonderful to get such a positive response.

How do you balance your work with your family?

Very cliche, but I do set very specific boundaries that work for me. This hasn’t always been the case and in fact, has been a relatively new phenomenon.  Previously I would burn the candle at both ends and my health would suffer for it. Now I have certain rules. These include never working Friday nights or Saturdays. Twice a week, I don’t work between school pick up and dinner time.

I have no work notifications on my phone and I generally try to schedule all meetings in the morning, as I prefer meetings in the morning and focused work in the afternoon.  

Why is work so important to you?

I enjoy using my brain, creating new things, problem solving, helping others, making an impact and feeling proud of what I have accomplished. There is a lot of satisfaction when a student or founder tells me what they have been able to achieve and having been part of that accomplishment.  

Who inspires you?

There are quite a few female founders who I find inspiring. Trinny Woodall here in London.  Mia Freedman of Mamamia Out Loud in Australia. Famously, Arianna Huffington and Indra Nooyi who I quote in the book. The founders & Fractional CFOs who I work with, I also find really inspiring.

What are your three top pieces of advice for someone wanting to do something similar?

My number one piece of advice is always If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. 100% true. Something that my male colleagues are much better at and I’ve had to learn this. I still say this mantra to myself if I’m scared to ask and then hit Enter!

When moving from a manager to a leader I would have two pieces of advice. Firstly, you need to block time in your calendar for thinking and planning time. Working in a startup is chaotic and you can often feel overwhelmed with fire fighting. This might help the business in the short term, but not the business or your career in the long term – so make time to plan and strategize and stick to it. I still have recurring thinking time blocks in my calendar.

Secondly, never stop learning. I personally stopped for a couple of years after I became qualified. I learnt my job and the business or industry I was in, but I stopped personal development. This was a mistake. I fell behind my peers and I had to really dedicate myself to catch up, so never stop learning! 

Find out more about Alysha Randall.