W3 Strategic Management Services
Fractional CFO and Intelligent Operating Systems for $5M–$50M Companies. Minneapolis, Minnesota.
You've built something real. W3 partners with you on the financial and operating layer underneath the business: cash and forecast you can defend, the 3–5 KPIs that actually move your P&L, and AI plus automation that takes the painful work off your team's plate so they can think, decide, and ship faster. Sharper numbers. Smarter systems. A team with superpowers, not a team replaced by AI.
Which one of these actually sounds like you?
Most founders and operators we meet show up in one of two ways. They have revenue and need operating leverage, or they need capital before they can scale. Pick the one that fits. The discovery call works the same way either way.
Operating Growth Partnership. You have revenue and budget. The numbers are foggy, the forecast keeps missing, leads die in the CRM, and your team rebuilds the same report every month. You need an embedded growth and intelligent operations partner, not another consulting deck.Capital-Enabled Growth Partnership. You see the next stage clearly, but you're not investor-ready. Financials aren't clean. There's no clean use-of-funds story. W3 helps you become investable, supports the raise, then locks in a defined post-raise budget for execution.
How does W3 take a company from urgent fixes to a scalable foundation?
W3 works in three layers. First we stop the bleeding. Then we connect the pieces into one intelligent operating system. Then that system becomes the durable foundation that makes you easier to run, easier to fund, and easier to scale.
Layer 1. Acute Needs. Cash visibility, fundraise support, accounting cleanup, CRM chaos, missed leads, manual reporting. Immediate relief and sharper decisions inside the first 30–60 days.Layer 2. Unified Operating System. Finance, revenue, and operations stop living in silos. One connected platform where leadership sees cash, pipeline, delivery, and bottlenecks in the same place, with AI summarizing, routing, and escalating.Layer 3. Foundational Architecture. The connected platform becomes the strategic foundation. A durable layer of financial discipline, data, process, and decision intelligence. Easier to scale, more attractive to investors, less dependent on tribal knowledge, ready for AI.
What problems does W3 actually solve for a $5M–$50M company?
Every problem below is one founders and CEOs name on the first call. The fix is the same shape every time: an embedded leader plus the system that makes the fix permanent.
"We're not investor-ready."
W3 builds the institutional-grade fundraise package. Teaser deck, memorandum, defensible model, due diligence room. We stay in the seat through diligence. $25M–$75M+ fundraise experience across technology and infrastructure.
"I don't know which numbers actually matter."
W3 isolates the 3–5 KPIs that move your P&L, builds the dashboard around them, and automates the reporting so leadership and the board see real-time truth, not last quarter's PDF.
"I need a CFO. I can't afford a full-time one."
W3 provides fractional CFO, CMO, and BD leadership for growth-stage companies. Our fractional leaders embed with the team. Board meetings, finance function, capital planning. We build systems that outlast the engagement.
"Our revenue model is leaving money on the table."
W3 designs platform monetization. Tiered pricing, data-as-a-service, subscription marketplaces, ecosystem economics. Recurring revenue compounds and your competitive moat actually deepens with scale.
"We keep talking about AI. Nothing actually ships."
W3 turns the AI conversation into installed systems. Automated reporting, lead scoring and routing, AI-drafted investor updates, agentic workflows. Grounded in real operating experience, not theoretical frameworks.
"We have a cross-border opportunity and no playbook."
W3 selectively engages on cross-border and public-private partnership work. Same finance-first approach, applied to emerging-market infrastructure and international expansion where the risk of getting structure wrong is highest.
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What is the intelligent business operating system W3 builds?
It's the connected layer across your finance, sales, and operations. Leadership stops chasing answers and starts running the business. You see cash, pipeline, delivery, and bottlenecks in one place, with AI doing the summarizing, routing, drafting, and escalating.
Dashboards that surface what's broken before you ask. Real-time visibility into the KPIs that actually move your P&L. Forecasts you can defend in front of a board.A pipeline that stops leaking. Leads scored, routed, and answered in under two minutes with context. CRM hygiene that holds. Sales activity tied to revenue and margin outcomes.Workflows that move across departments. AI-driven workflows replace manual handoffs, so per-transaction cost falls as you scale without dropping service quality.AI that drafts your investor updates. Decision support that summarizes performance, drafts board memos, monitors anomalies, and recommends next steps.
What kinds of companies does W3 work with?
$5M–$50M founders, CEOs, and operators at an inflection point. Growing fast enough to outgrow tribal knowledge, but not ready for a permanent C-suite. Across technology, medical devices, consumer markets, infrastructure, and services. The thread: leaders who want a builder embedded with them, not a deck delivered to them.
Who is going to sit across from you?
Shawn Aronson and Adam Roozen. Two operators, not consultants. Both have sat in your seat.
Shawn Aronson, President & CFO
20+ years of progressive finance leadership across Deloitte, St. Jude Medical, Stratasys, Renewal by Andersen, Agiliti, and IMRIS. Shawn has led financial operations for organizations generating $100M+ in annual revenue, managed $75M+ in capital formation across technology and infrastructure, and built KPI-driven reporting systems for 15+ companies.
Adam Roozen, Strategic Advisor
Nearly three decades building and scaling digital commerce systems. From leadership at $1B Sam's Club eCommerce to founding and growing a digital commerce agency serving Michael Kors, Kohl's, and the largest retailers across Mexico and Africa. Adam operates at the intersection of board-level strategy and real-world execution.
Who does W3 partner with to deliver?
A curated bench of marketing, automation, technology, and government partners. When your engagement needs a specialist, the right one is already in the room. You get one accountable partner, not five vendors to coordinate.
What actually happens on a discovery call?
30 minutes with Shawn. No deck. No pitch. We map your acute needs against the three-layer model, name the two or three things we'd fix first, and you get a written one-page recommendation within one business day. No obligation.
01. 30-minute call. You talk about what's actually keeping you up. Cash, growth, the raise, the team. We listen and ask the questions a CFO would ask.02. We map it to the three layers. Acute fixes named, operating system sketched, honest answer on whether W3 is the right partner.03. One-page recommendation. Within one business day you get a written one-pager. What we'd do first, what it costs, what it changes. Yours to keep.
Questions prospects actually ask us.
How do I know if I need a fractional CFO?
If your forecast keeps missing, you can't answer "how much cash do we have in 90 days?" with confidence, or you're heading into a raise without clean financials, you need fractional CFO support. W3 embeds a senior finance leader with you for a fraction of a full-time hire.
What's a discovery call like?
30 minutes with Shawn. No pitch deck. You describe the acute pain. We map it to the three-layer model. Within one business day you receive a written one-page recommendation: what we'd fix first, what it costs, what changes. No obligation.
What does W3 cost?
Engagements are sized to the company. A fractional CFO retainer is structured well below a full-time CFO salary. Capital-formation and project work is scoped against the raise size or specific deliverable. We quote a real range on the discovery call once we know the scope.
What does it take to get my company investor-ready?
Clean financials, a defensible model, a clear use-of-funds story, and a data room investors can move through quickly. W3 builds all of it. Teaser deck, memorandum, financial model, due diligence packet. We stay in the seat through diligence. We've done this on $25M–$75M+ raises.
How fast can W3 start?
Acute-needs work typically starts within one to two weeks of the discovery call. Cash visibility, KPI scoping, or fundraise prep can move faster if there's an immediate trigger. The one-page recommendation lands within one business day.
How is W3 different from a traditional consulting firm?
Consulting firms deliver reports. W3 builds and installs the actual systems. Financial reporting, KPI dashboards, automation, lead engines. We stay embedded until they run. Fractional leadership means ongoing strategic support without a permanent executive salary on the books.
What size companies does W3 typically work with?
$5M–$50M in revenue is the sweet spot. Companies big enough to have real complexity, small enough that one embedded operator can move the whole system. We also work with smaller companies preparing to raise and larger enterprises optimizing finance and operations.
What industries does W3 serve?
Technology, medical devices, consumer markets, infrastructure, and services. The financial-strategy-first approach is industry-agnostic. What matters is whether you're at an inflection point where KPI-driven performance and operating leverage will move the business.
What does "intelligent business operating system" mean?
It's the connected layer across your finance, sales, and operations. One system where leadership sees cash, pipeline, delivery, and bottlenecks, with AI summarizing, routing, and drafting. You scale without proportionally adding headcount or rebuilding the same spreadsheet every month.
Where is W3 located and who do you serve?
Headquartered in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro in Minnesota. W3 serves clients nationally, with selective international engagements involving public-private partnerships and emerging market infrastructure.
W3 Strategic Management Services solves urgent financial and operating problems first, then turns those fixes into the intelligent operating system you need to scale. A Minneapolis-based fractional CFO and intelligent operations partner for $5M–$50M founders, CEOs, and operators across technology, medical devices, consumer markets, and infrastructure.
Fractional CFO · KPI & Board Reporting · Capital Formation · Operating System Build · AI & Automation
Contact: 651-248-5269 | shawn.aronson@w3stratms.com
Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota | w3stratms.com
Last updated May 2026 · © 2026 W3 Strategic Management Services. All rights reserved.
