Nacho ordinary executives
C-suite leadership without the C-suite salary
Nacho matches growing businesses with vetted, 100% US-based Fractional CMOs, COOs, CFOs, and CTOs who own the strategy 2 to 3 days a week, starting at $125/hr.
Free 30-minute call. Every match backed by the Nacho re-match guarantee.
The short answer
What is a Fractional Executive?
A Fractional Executive is a senior leader who runs one function of your business part-time, usually 2 to 3 days a week. The most common roles are Fractional CMO, COO, CFO, and CTO. They own the strategy and the outcome the same way a full-time executive would. Through Nacho, the rate is $125 an hour.
The word "fractional" describes the schedule, not the seniority. These are career leaders who have already run the function somewhere else, taking on your company as one of a small number of clients. It is the same commitment and context an employee brings, without the full-time salary attached to it.
The model exists because the traditional path is broken for most growing businesses. Recruiting senior leadership is a two-to-four-month project on its own, the loaded cost of a six-figure executive is far higher than the salary suggests, and a single mis-hire at that level can set a company back a year. So most owners simply wait, acting as their own CMO, CFO, and COO, and growth stays capped at the edge of their bandwidth.
A Fractional Executive removes the wait and most of the risk. You get senior judgment on the function that needs it, sized to what the business can actually use, and you can change your mind next month.
- Seniority
- Full C-level experience in the function
- Schedule
- Usually 1 to 3 days a week
- Reports to
- You, the founder or CEO
- Common roles
- CMO, COO, CFO, CTO, Head of Sales, Head of People
- Cost through Nacho
- $125/hr from one monthly Talent Budget
- Based in
- The United States, 100% of the time
Pick your gap
Four roles, one network, one rate
Each role goes deep on its own page: what they do day to day, when to hire one, what it costs, and the questions owners ask before they commit.
Fractional CMO
Chief Marketing Officer
Marketing strategy, budget, positioning, and the pipeline number.
- Decides which channels get funded
- Manages your marketers and agencies
- Builds a repeatable demand engine
Fractional COO
Chief Operating Officer
Process, systems, delivery, hiring, and the operating rhythm.
- Documents how the work actually runs
- Owns delivery capacity and quality
- Takes daily decisions off your desk
Fractional CFO
Chief Financial Officer
Forecasting, cash, pricing, and the money relationships.
- Builds the forecast and cash plan
- Prices against real delivery cost
- Handles lenders and investors
Fractional CTO
Chief Technology Officer
Architecture, roadmap, engineering, vendors, and technical risk.
- Makes the build-or-buy calls
- Reviews your agency or dev team
- Owns security and key-person risk
Timing
When should you hire a Fractional Executive?
Hire a Fractional Executive when a whole function needs senior ownership but cannot yet justify a full-time salary at that level. The usual trigger is a founder who has become the de facto head of marketing, operations, finance, or technology, and has run out of week.
Signs you are ready
- A whole function of the business runs on you, and growth is capped at the edge of your week.
- You need senior judgment a few days a week, not another pair of hands five days a week.
- A full-time executive salary would be the largest line on your payroll and you are not sure of the return.
- You have tried to solve a strategy problem by hiring more people to execute.
- Something big is coming, a raise, a rollout, a rebuild, and nobody senior owns it.
- You are about to write a C-level job description and cannot confidently define the role.
When it is the wrong hire
- What you actually need is capacity. An Executive Assistant at $40/hr or a Specialist at $65/hr is the better buy.
- You are pre-revenue and still finding the product. Strategy on a moving target gets thrown away.
- The function already has a strong leader and simply needs more people under them.
- You want a co-founder with equity and full-time commitment. That is a different search.
- You are not willing to change budget, people, or process based on what they find.
We would rather tell you on the discovery call that this is not your bottleneck than sell you a leader you do not need. If the real problem is capacity rather than direction, an Executive Assistant or Specialist solves it for less, from the same network and the same budget.
Real numbers
What does a Fractional Executive cost?
A Fractional Executive through Nacho costs $125 an hour. There is no placement fee and no separate retainer. Hours draw from one monthly Talent Budget with a $1,000 monthly minimum, so about $4,000 a month buys 1 day a week and about $8,000 a month buys 2 days a week.
The comparison most owners never run is the loaded cost of the full-time alternative. A salary is not the price of an employee. Payroll taxes, benefits, insurance, software, and equipment commonly add 25% to 35% on top of it, and a retained search adds 20% to 25% of the first-year salary in year one alone.
| What you are comparing | Fractional Executive through Nacho | Full-time executive |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | $125/hr, published up front | Six-figure base salary, negotiated |
| Typical schedule | 1 to 3 days a week | 5 days a week |
| Payroll taxes and benefits | None. They are not your employee. | Commonly adds 25% to 35% on top of salary |
| Recruiting cost | None | 20% to 25% of first-year salary for a retained search |
| Equity | None | Frequently expected at this level |
| Time to first day | About a week from the discovery call | 2 to 4 months to search, close, and start |
| Ramp-up | Arrives having run the function before | 30 to 90 days before they truly own it |
| Commitment | 3-month initial term, then month to month | At-will in name, expensive in practice |
| If the fit is wrong | Free re-match under the Nacho Guarantee | Severance, a second search, and lost quarters |
The same comparison, role by role
| Role | Typical full-time base salary | Loaded cost at +30% | Through Nacho, 2 days a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fractional CMO | $180,000 to $280,000 | About $286,000 on a $220,000 salary | About $96,000 a year |
| Fractional COO | $170,000 to $260,000 | About $273,000 on a $210,000 salary | About $96,000 a year |
| Fractional CFO | $200,000 to $300,000 | About $312,000 on a $240,000 salary | About $96,000 a year |
| Fractional CTO | $190,000 to $300,000 | About $299,000 on a $230,000 salary | About $96,000 a year |
Salary and search-fee ranges above are broad US market ranges for each role and vary widely by industry, region, and company stage. Treat them as a planning starting point, not a quote. The Nacho column is our published rate: 2 days a week is about 64 hours a month at $125/hr.
Up to $200 of unused budget rolls over each month. Everything bills as one flat monthly Talent Budget, and if you also need an Executive Assistant at $40/hr or a Specialist at $65/hr, they draw from the same budget. The only other fee is the $300 Delegation Strategy Plan, which comes before your first match. See how pricing works.
The Nacho way
How hiring a Fractional Executive through Nacho works
You book a free 30-minute discovery call, we build a $300 Delegation Strategy Plan, and we introduce you to 1 to 3 hand-picked candidates from our vetted, 100% US-based network. Most clients meet their first match within about a week.
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Book a free discovery call.
Thirty minutes, no obligation. Tell us which function is stuck. We will tell you honestly whether a Fractional Executive is the right role, or whether a Specialist or an Executive Assistant would move faster for less.
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We build your Delegation Strategy Plan.
For $300 we scope the engagement in writing: what the Fractional Executive owns, how many hours a week that takes, what the first 90 days should produce, and how you will know it worked.
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You meet your shortlist.
We hand-pick 1 to 3 candidates from our vetted, 100% US-based network and send you their backgrounds. You interview them. Nobody starts until you say yes to a specific person.
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One budget, one invoice
Contracts, payments, and onboarding run through Nacho. Everything bills as one flat monthly Talent Budget with a $1,000 minimum, and up to $200 of unused budget rolls over each month.
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Scale it up or down.
A 3-month initial term gives the work time to land, then it is month to month. Change hours as needs change, and if a match is not right we re-match you free under the Nacho Guarantee.
Proof over promises
Owners who stopped doing it all
Our fractional COO from Nacho has been an incredible addition to our team. We're so grateful for her warmth, care, and how seamlessly she's stepped in.
Dorly Roy Creative Director, Golden Light Creative 
Nacho has become a trusted extension of my business, consistently connecting me with skilled professionals for everything from design and marketing to CRM support and AI projects.
Amy Wolfgang Owner + Executive Leadership Coach, Coach Wolfgang 
Nacho has figured out what the small business owner needs to thrive. The day I hired Nacho was the day when my personal productivity and job satisfaction began to soar.
Kathy Schwartz Founder, SmallBizBrands Frequently asked questions
What owners ask before they hire
What is a Fractional Executive?
A Fractional Executive is a senior leader who runs one function of your business part-time, usually 2 to 3 days a week. The most common roles are Fractional CMO, COO, CFO, and CTO. They own the strategy and the outcome the same way a full-time executive would, but you pay only for the time you use.
Which roles can I hire fractionally through Nacho?
Fractional CMO, COO, CFO, and CTO are the four we place most often, along with Head of Sales and Head of People. If you need hands-on support around them, Specialists and Executive Assistants come from the same network under the same Talent Budget.
How much does a Fractional Executive cost?
Fractional Executives are $125/hr through one flexible monthly Talent Budget with a $1,000 monthly minimum. Roughly $4,000 a month buys about 1 day a week and roughly $8,000 a month buys about 2 days a week. Up to $200 of unused budget rolls over each month, and the only other fee is the $300 Delegation Strategy Plan before your first match.
What is the difference between a Fractional Executive and a consultant?
A consultant recommends and hands you a plan. A Fractional Executive decides, manages the people, owns the number, and sits in your leadership meetings. You are hiring a leader for part of the week, not an advisor for a project.
How is a Fractional Executive different from a part-time employee?
A Fractional Executive is not on your payroll. There are no payroll taxes, benefits, equity, or severance, and there is no recruiting fee. You also get someone who has already run the function elsewhere rather than someone growing into it.
How fast can we start?
Most clients meet their first match within about a week of the discovery call, and many start the same week they meet the right person.
Where are the executives based?
Every person in the Nacho network lives and works in the United States. No offshore teams, no exceptions.
Is there a long-term contract?
There is a 3-month initial term so your executive has time to get real traction, and after that it is month to month. Scale up, scale down, or pause as your needs change.
What if it is not a fit?
We re-match you free under the Nacho Guarantee until the fit is right. It is a re-match guarantee, not a money-back guarantee, and a re-match never means going offshore.
Ready when you are
Add executive horsepower without the overhead.
Book a free, no-obligation discovery call. Tell us where you're stuck and we'll tell you honestly whether a Fractional Executive is the right fit.