James Kennedy talks with Darren Cherry, Partner at FocusCFO and leader of the firm’s Exit Planning practice, about building a business that thrives without the owner. Darren explains the three reasons companies bring in a fractional CFO, why exits take 12-18 months (minimum), and how to grow value (not just income) by reducing owner dependency, tightening approvals, and installing metrics that drive behavior. He also shares a turnaround story from industrial manufacturing and the mindset entrepreneurs need to scale and sell.
About Darren Cherry
With 30+ years across Fortune 500 finance and operations, Darren has served as both CFO and CEO, leading turnarounds and growth plays – including taking a business purchased out of bankruptcy to a $50M+ valuation. At FocusCFO, he guides founders from “wearing every hat” to running owner-independent companies that are attractive to buyers.
What You’ll Learn
- The 3 Triggers for a Fractional CFO:
Turnaround (unhealthy business), rapid growth (outgrowing systems), and exit readiness. - Exit Timelines & Readiness:
Why most sales take 12-18 months and why starting 4-6 years ahead de-risks valuation. - Value vs. Income:
How to grow enterprise value by reducing owner reliance, not just boosting profit. - Approvals that Scale:
Designing an authority matrix and cost ownership so decisions don’t bottleneck at the founder. - Metrics that Move Behavior:
Converting goals into leading indicators (calls, meetings, conversion) with a weekly cadence. - Pricing & Positioning in Ops:
Aligning quality with customers who value it – how this unlocked a manufacturing turnaround.
Episode Highlights
- “Your business is your baby – and you don’t know when your baby’s ugly. See it through a buyer’s eyes.”
- “Income is the result of what you put in. Value is the result of what the business does without you.”
- “Start exit planning when you start growing – so growth also increases value, not just revenue.”
- “Hire people smarter than you. If you’re the hub, you cap how high and wide the company can grow.”
- “Authority comes with clarity: write the approval matrix, assign cost pools, and review them on a cadence.”
More about Darren’s role
At FocusCFO, Darren leads founders through diagnostics → de-risking → value growth → exit. Typical work includes:
- Owner-dependency audits and org design for owner-independent operations
- Approval matrices, budget ownership, and KPI/scorecard cadences
- Go-to-market and pricing reviews to align quality, customers, and margin
- Exit readiness assessments (customer concentration, team depth, systems, documentation)
