Mosaic - Interim Leadership - Scalewise Case Study

Business type

Data analytics

Solution type

Interim & Fractional

Size of commercial team

Company stage

Series B

Mosaic Smart Data’s technology transforms unstructured raw data into meaningful smart data. Working predominantly with financial institutions and most particularly with banks, Mosaic’s AI and machine learning software provides real-time data analytics and forward-looking intelligence that help companies better understand their markets and optimise their activity. Founded in 2014 by former MD at Deutsche Bank and Citigroup, Matthew Hodgson, Mosaic Smart Data closed its $9m Series B in April 2019 and currently employs 45 staff.

Mosaic Smart Data Need

Having established Mosaic Smart Data’s product market fit, CEO and Founder Matthew Hodgson was looking to build the company’s commercial arm and prepare it for scale. After a senior sales hire didn’t work out, Matthew approached ScaleWise seeking an experienced commercial ‘guide’ that understood the challenges, knew what elements drove success in SaaS and could help build a sales team focused on selling software.

ScaleWise Impact

ScaleWise matched Mosaic Smart Data with seasoned fractional CRO Sophie Carter. Working initially 1.5 days per week (gradually increasing to two days), Sophie was tasked with building the commercial function, defining the sales structure, putting key processes in place and making essential hires. The ScaleWise Delivery Partner had the following key impacts:

1. Defined commercial strategy and ICP

Sophie created a new commercial strategy for Mosaic Smart Data receiving universal buy-in from all members of the team, from Sales Development Reps (SDRs) up to board level. As part of the strategic plan, Sophie set about defining Mosaic Smart Data’s ideal customer profile (ICP). She built a clear roadmap and organised working groups with key members of the team to define client personas and establish their pain points, leading to a brand new pipeline of ICP opportunities.

2. Reduced sales cycle by 50%

Sophie embedded the ICP findings into a restructured sales pipeline, which looked at the relationship between leads and qualified opportunities, while also helping drive the business forward on a KPI framework. This streamlined process enabled Mosaic to cut its sales cycle in half.

3. Built out sales team with key hires

Matthew initially wanted to hire a salesperson with experience selling to financial markets, but Sophie recommended prioritising experience of selling software. Mosaic subsequently hired, ramped up and upskilled a mid-level Account Executive with SaaS experience, as well as hiring a second AE and adding two SDRs to the team. The ramped-up team formed the basis of the sales function and with Sophie’s support consistently exceeded their monthly targets.

4. Identified subject matter experts

Sophie helped define what success looks like for Mosaic’s commercial arm, building and implementing a strategic plan, which included identifying subject matter experts for key functions. With Sophie’s guidance, Matthew hired Nora Khalili as a fractional leader for Customer Success, tasked with ensuring Mosaic delivered the proposed ROI to its clients, and hired Andrew Davies to lead the Accounts-Based Marketing (ABM) function. The subject matter experts have not only brought a big picture outlook to the company, but also enabled Matthew to focus on driving growth in other parts of the business.

“As a founder, you’re expected to know everything, but you don’t. Having someone with Sophie’s experience as a guide has been brilliant. We get on like a house on fire, but she also challenges me, helping me correct some of my rigid thinking, think through the organisation’s structure and avoid potential pitfalls.”

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Interim & Fractional leadership?

Think of it as head-renting instead of head-hunting. Rather than spending time and money trying to hire a full-time leader, Interim & Fractional leadership involves hiring leaders on either a short-term or part-time basis usually to carry out a specific purpose. They are experienced senior-level operators that can be parachuted into your company on short notice to drive high-performance in particular aspects of your business.

Unlike a coach or a consultant, Interim & Fractional leaders are hands-on doers whose remit is to get stuck in and get things done. For more information, check out our: Definitive guide to Interim & Fractional Leadership.

2. What is the difference between Interim & Fractional?

Interim & Fractional leaders both provide flexible GTM support based on your specific needs. Interim leaders usually work full-time (4-5 days per week) for a set period of time (i.e. 4-6 months) to bridge an ‘interim’ leadership gap. Fractional leaders work a fraction of the time for a fraction of the cost, usually working between 2–4 days per week on a rolling basis. As Interim & Fractional leaders flexibly work between both roles depending on the requirement, we consider them as one leadership solution.

3. How does ScaleWise place the right Interim & Fractional candidate?

We’ll help you define what you need and produce a detailed role brief with realistic goals. This goes beyond a job description, capturing the specific leader profile required and clear deliverables. Then we’ll produce a shortlist of suitable candidates (based on your needs, culture and leadership style) from our wide network of experienced Interim & Fractional commercial leaders. Finally, we’ll organise interviews to ensure there’s a cultural chemistry and expertise alignment from the outset.

4. How experienced are the Interim & Fractional candidates?

At ScaleWise, all our Interim & Fractional leaders have scaled at least one company (Seed to Series C) in senior GTM roles, usually at VP or C-Suite level in sales, marketing, customer success, partnerships or revenue operations (RevOps). Many have worked with other scale-ups in Interim & Fractional roles too. As such, they’re adept at quickly diagnosing issues, prioritising solutions and having an immediate impact.

5. What are the standard deliverables an Interim & Fractional leader can achieve?

Instead of joining with a wide-ranging brief, Interim & Fractional leaders focus on pre-agreed objectives. During the engagement, they will implement and execute a pre-agreed plan, so it’s crucial to agree on these objectives, deadlines and KPIs beforehand. Interim & Fractional leaders can also help interview and onboard their permanent replacement, ensuring they hit the ground running.

For example, the five most common tasks for an Interim & Fractional VP of Sales include restructuring the sales process, devising a coherent commercial strategy with company-wide buy-in, improving sales team performance and advising on sales hires (i.e. SDRs, AEs or even their full-time replacement).

6. How long does it take to hire an Interim & Fractional leader?

Unlike full-time hiring (which can take up to 6 months), Interim & Fractional leaders are placed within 1–4 weeks and can have an immediate impact. This short time frame is possible thanks to ScaleWise’s unrivalled network of GTM leaders and the idiosyncrasies of the Interim & Fractional model (i.e. they don’t need company-wide onboarding and can dive into pre-agreed tasks straight away).

7. What happens if my Interim & Fractional leader doesn’t work out?

ScaleWise’s matching process vastly minimises the risk of a bad partnership. However, if the Interim & Fractional leader is not working out, it’s easy to terminate the relationship as there’s no long-term contract (you take out a month-by-month contract with ScaleWise, not the leader).

At ScaleWise, we find the reverse is usually true. Companies either hire their Interim & Fractional leader full-time (this happens in 35% of cases at ScaleWise) or they decide they no longer need support in one area (i.e. sales) and want support in another area (i.e. marketing). With ScaleWise, moving from an Interim & Fractional sales leader to an Interim & Fractional marketing leader is simple.

8. How do employees respond to being managed by an Interim & Fractional leader?

Interim & Fractional leaders are not hands-off consultants, but highly-experienced commercial leaders who join with a clear mandate and instantly command respect from the team due to their previous experience. Employees respond well to their ‘external’ status as it doesn’t disrupt the internal team dynamic (and avoids office politics) and enables them to objectively make swift strategic decisions (not decisions based on bias or nostalgia).

However, it’s important for the leadership team to support the Interim & Fractional leader and make it clear to employees that they have the authority to make changes (it helps if an internal leader introduces an Interim & Fractional leader to all the key divisions within the business at the start).

9. Do Interim & Fractional leaders often join full-time after working with a company?

Our Interim & Fractional leaders turn into permanent employees every 1 in 3 placements. If you’re looking for a leader that will eventually transition to full-time, it’s worth being upfront about this in the matching stage.

10. Who is the contract with: ScaleWise or the Interim & Fractional leader?

Interim & Fractional leaders placed through ScaleWise are contracted to ScaleWise, not your company. That means we can place them quickly and easily without you needing to negotiate payment terms or waste any time setting up contracts and billing relationships with lots of different leaders. It also makes it easier to change GTM support if required (i.e. using an Interim & Fractional Customer Success leader after working with an Interim & Fractional CMO).

11. When and how do Interim & Fractional leaders work?

Unlike a coach or a consultant, Interim & Fractional leaders are hands-on doers who get stuck in and get things done. At the outset, they will agree working schedules, practices and processes with you, including days of the week, communication channels, check-ins and access to the wider team.

For example, a leader might work part-time (i.e. three days’ work spread out across the week to ensure responsiveness to company needs) in a hybrid capacity for a few companies concurrently. No matter the working agreement, though, it’s crucial to schedule frequent catch-ups (i.e. one hour per week) to discuss updates, barriers and progress.

12. How do I know Interim & Fractional leaders are motivated to work for my business?

Interim & Fractional leaders are scaling professionals. To get roles, they need a strong catalogue of past successes, positive case studies of their previous Interim & Fractional work, and supportive references. As such, they always commit to the role whole-heartedly.

Yet, more importantly, they are motivated by enjoyment. They have often chosen a portfolio career as they love taking on new challenges and sharing their insights to help companies grow, so the more fulfilling the role, the more the Interim & Fractional leader will go above and beyond.

Mosaic Smart Data Case Study

Building a commercial arm with interim and fractional leaders.

Mosaic Smart Data Need