ABOUT ME
MY STORY
About the Author
Brad Martyn is an entrepreneur, husband, and a proud dad and grandpa. He and his wife, Michelle, live just outside of their hometown of Columbus, Ohio. They have five adult children and now enjoy a growing crew of grandchildren.
After nearly two decades, mostly spent in corporate finance and operations, Brad took a leap of faith at the age of forty, walking away from his corporate career to found FocusCFO. What began as a vision to give a handful of business owners greater financial control in their businesses has since grown into one of the largest fractional CFO organizations in the United States.
Along the way, Brad has met with hundreds of entrepreneurs and business owners, learning from their journeys and sharing insights from his own experiences. Today, with an experienced internal team now carrying FocusCFO forward, Brad spends much of his time in and around Central Ohio, sitting across the table from fellow entrepreneurs listening, advising, and encouraging.
He’s seen firsthand the challenges—and rewards—of building something that lasts. And through it all, Brad has come to believe one thing deeply; no business owner should ever have to climb alone.
Brad’s Background
After graduating from college with a degree in Accounting, Brad followed the traditional path of that era—joining a large public accounting firm, Arthur Andersen & Co. (back when it was one of the great firms).
After six months in audit (which he quickly realized he didn't like) and a few years in tax (which he tolerated, but not much more), Brad left public accounting for industry. While he respected the profession, he knew his passion wasn’t in auditing or tax compliance—he wanted to understand business and how it really worked.
Brad went on to spend fifteen years in industry, primarily with two high-growth entrepreneurial companies. Each still had its original founder/entrepreneur at the helm, alongside a president who ran day-to-day operations. Both companies went public—one in 1986 and the other in 1997—giving Brad firsthand experience inside fast-growing, professionally managed public companies. He worked closely with visionary founders and integrator-style presidents before Gino Wickman would popularize those terms.
During this period, several experiences shaped Brad’s career and his perspective on business:
-
Learning business from the ground up. Working directly with sales and operations teams taught him how business truly works—from sales calls and estimating to pricing, production, and project management.
-
Leading acquisitions and integrations. Brad served as the point person in acquiring and integrating seventeen entrepreneur-led companies over a 24-month period, each ranging from $500,000 to $20 million in annual revenue. It was during this time that he first conceived what would later become the fractional CFO model.
-
Completing his Executive MBA. Brad earned his Executive MBA from Georgia State University in Atlanta—then a Top 10 nationally ranked EMBA program. The experience proved transformational, broadening his understanding of both tactical and strategic business leadership.
-
Having tremendous business and financial mentors. Brad was fortunate to work closely with both entrepreneurs and professional managers on the business and operations side, and highly successful CFOs. These mentors guided Brad in his professional development and were foundational throughout his career.
After this successful run in the public-company and acquisition world, Brad decided to change direction. He accepted the CFO position at a mid-sized privately-held company in Central Ohio, telling his wife he wanted to “slow down.” She laughed—and rightly so. Within a few months, Brad realized it wasn’t the right fit; there simply wasn’t enough challenge or opportunity to make an impact.
A few months later, he resigned to start FocusCFO—and the rest, as they say, is history.