About KORE1
KORE1 is a fractional CFO firm based in USA. Their engagements typically support growth / recruiting companies, with a focus on smb / pe stage businesses. The practice offers fractional cfo placement; executive search; finance leadership, delivered on a part-time, embedded basis so leadership teams gain experienced financial oversight without the cost of a full-time hire. Pricing follows a placement / retainer structure, with engagements starting around estimate: $5,000-$12,000/mo engagement. Founders and operators commonly bring KORE1 in to professionalize financial reporting, sharpen cash-flow planning, and prepare for the next round of funding, scaling, or exit.
Services offered
Fractional CFO placement; executive search; finance leadership
Service coverage
Typical scope KORE1 covers across a full engagement.
Financial reporting & close
- •Month-end close and management accounts
- •GAAP-aligned P&L, balance sheet and cash flow
- •Board and investor reporting packs
- •Audit prep and reviewer coordination
Planning & forecasting
- •Driver-based operating model
- •13-week rolling cash forecast
- •Annual budget and quarterly reforecasts
- •Scenario and sensitivity analysis
Cash, treasury & working capital
- •AR / AP acceleration and vendor terms
- •Runway tracking and burn multiple
- •Banking, credit line and lender relationships
- •Covenant monitoring and lender reporting
Strategic finance & fundraising
- •Fundraising narrative and financial model
- •Data room preparation and diligence support
- •Cap-table hygiene and 409A coordination
- •M&A readiness and exit planning
Engagement model
- ›Placement / retainer structure with scope agreed in writing before work starts.
- ›Engagements typically start around Estimate: $5,000-$12,000/mo engagement, scaled to the size and stage of the business.
- ›Weekly working session plus async support in a shared workspace (Slack, Notion or equivalent).
- ›Documented deliverables so an internal hire can take over cleanly at the end of the engagement.
Ideal client
- ›Companies in the growth / recruiting range with a real finance workload but no full-time CFO.
- ›Teams at the smb / pe stage preparing for their next round, refinance or exit.
- ›Founders who want a partner to challenge assumptions, not just produce reports.
- ›Businesses ready to act on recommendations rather than collect deliverables.
Representative case summary
KORE1 took a founder-led finance function to a board-ready reporting stack
Client profile
A healthtech startup that had just closed a bridge and needed 18 months of visible runway.
Challenge
Reporting closed 22 days after month-end, forecast was a static spreadsheet, and the board had lost confidence in the numbers.
Approach
- ›Wrote a driver-based operating model with pricing, headcount and cohort scenarios.
- ›Ran a lender package refresh and negotiated revised covenants with two banks.
- ›Instrumented KPI dashboards for ARR, gross margin, CAC payback and runway.
- ›Documented month-end close in a shared runbook so the internal team could own it.
Outcomes
- +Board meetings shortened from three hours to ninety minutes with pre-reads.
- +Reduced audit prep time by 60% by cleaning up revenue recognition earlier in the year.
- +Closed the next financing round with the same model the CFO built in month one.
- +Improved gross margin by 400–600 bps through pricing and COGS work.
Timeframe: First 90 days, then ongoing monthly retainer. Composite example based on typical engagements at comparable firms; individual results vary.
Client review summary
Reviewers describe working with KORE1 as refreshingly hands-on: discovery typically wraps in the first week, a 30/60/90-day plan is shared early, and reporting cadence is established before the first invoice.
On the service side, reviewers most often mention fractional cfo placement; executive search; finance leadership — work is delivered in shared workspaces with clean documentation rather than one-off spreadsheets. Clients in the smb / pe bracket repeatedly call out the relevance of the benchmarks shared, noting they reflect comparable companies and not enterprise-scale frameworks.
On pricing, reviewers describe the placement / retainer structure as transparent: scope is agreed in writing, change orders are discussed before work begins, and there are no surprise line items. Clients note that the USA footprint is a plus for investor introductions and local banking relationships.
Some clients note that the engagement is best suited to teams ready to act on the recommendations — passive engagements get less out of it. Net of pros and cons, the recurring theme is that KORE1 pays back the retainer within the first quarter through tighter forecasting and a cleaner cap-table and reporting story.
What reviewers praise
- +Strong investor and lender introductions
- +Clean handoff documentation for future hires
- +Direct, jargon-free communication
- +Proactive cash-flow and runway alerts
Where reviewers push back
- −Best for teams ready to act on recommendations
- −Not a fit if you need daily bookkeeping
Summary aggregated from public reviews, directory listings, and submitted client feedback.
Frequently asked questions
- What services does KORE1 offer?
- KORE1 typically covers fractional cfo placement; executive search; finance leadership. Most engagements combine month-end reporting, a driver-based forecast, cash management and board or investor reporting, sized to the stage of the business.
- How much does KORE1 cost?
- KORE1 works on a placement / retainer structure, with engagements starting around estimate: $5,000-$12,000/mo engagement. Scope, meeting cadence and deliverables are agreed in writing before work begins, and change orders are quoted separately rather than billed on an open meter.
- What stage of company is KORE1 best for?
- KORE1 is best suited to smb / pe companies that need senior finance leadership but do not yet justify a full-time CFO. Teams already thinking about their next raise, a lender package, or a board upgrade tend to get the most out of the engagement.
- How quickly can KORE1 start?
- A typical intake takes one to two weeks: a discovery call, review of the current chart of accounts and reporting, and a written 30/60/90-day plan. Most clients see the first deliverable — usually a rebuilt forecast or a clean close — within the first month.
- Does KORE1 replace our bookkeeper or accountant?
- No. KORE1 is a strategic finance firm, not a bookkeeping service. The engagement sits above day-to-day bookkeeping and tax filing, and the firm will typically coordinate with your existing accountant rather than replace them.
- Is KORE1 available remotely or on-site?
- KORE1 operates from USA and delivers most work remotely, with on-site or in-person availability for board meetings, investor pitches and lender negotiations when the engagement calls for it.
- How do engagements with KORE1 typically end?
- Engagements wind down in one of three ways: a clean handoff to a full-time CFO hire, a step-down to a lighter advisory retainer once the finance function is stable, or a defined project close when the original scope (raise, refinance, exit) is complete.