The changing shape of agency growth

It looks like “fractional” might be the LinkedIn word of the year. 

It’s everywhere. And according to research shared at Fracteura’s “Fractional Revolution” event in Bath yesterday, the number of LinkedIn profiles using the term jumped from around 2,000 in 2022 to 110,000 in 2024.

That’s a massive shift in a short space of time. But I don’t think this is just a buzzword cycle or a wave of people rebadging themselves. Not entirely at least.

To me, it speaks to the way growth has changed, particularly in founder-led agencies and scaling businesses. 

Only 5% of respondents said they were highly confident their current team structure could deliver their growth goals.

In growing agencies, the founder becomes everything from commercial lead to culture carrier. From escalation point to operational glue. All at the same time! 56% of founders surveyed said they’re still wearing five or more hats. So that tracks.

During the session, someone remarked to me that none of this is really new. And in some ways, they’re right. Agencies and founders have always used consultants, advisors, NEDs, retained specialists and outsourced expertise in different forms.

What has changed, though, is the scale of it, the normalisation of it and the economic reality that’s driving it. Nearly half of founders see cashflow as their biggest scaling challenge, with leadership bandwidth close behind.

In today’s climate, flexible access to expertise makes a lot of sense. Especially when businesses are still figuring out what the next stage actually requires.

But fractional isn't right for every business. I don’t think this replaces strong permanent leadership teams. It’s more about building the right structure for the stage they’re in, rather than simply following a trend.

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You can read the Fracteura research report here