Fractional CFO services in San Diego
San Diego is the US's leading biotech and wireless technology hub outside the Bay Area, anchored by Qualcomm - the inventor of CDMA and the dominant force in mobile chipsets - and a life-sciences cluster in Torrey Pines and La Jolla that rivals Boston in NIH funding per capita.
The city has produced Illumina, Tandem Diabetes Care, Brain Corp and Tealium, alongside a growing enterprise SaaS layer that includes ClickUp (which relocated its HQ here) and a cluster of cybersecurity and data-infrastructure companies.
We work with San Diego-based startups from seed to Series B+, supporting them on financial modelling, runway management, fundraise prep, investor reporting, unit economics and cap table management.
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San Diego startup ecosystem
The US's foremost biotech and wireless technology hub outside the Bay
San Diego receives more NIH funding per capita than almost any other US metro, sustaining a biotech cluster that has produced Illumina (genomics), Hologic, Tandem Diabetes Care and Halozyme. Qualcomm's patent portfolio and engineering alumni have seeded a wireless and semiconductor cluster that exports IP globally - San Diego accounts for a disproportionate share of 5G and IoT chip design.
Biotech, wireless, enterprise SaaS and defence-tech anchors
Tealium (customer data platform, $1.2bn valuation) and ClickUp (productivity SaaS) represent the enterprise software layer. Brain Corp (autonomous robotic systems, backed by SoftBank) and Joby Aviation's San Diego engineering team anchor the robotics and future-mobility cluster. The defence-tech corridor - SAIC, Leidos, General Atomics - provides engineering talent and dual-use IP pathways for hard-tech startups.
Sorrento Valley, La Jolla biotech mesa and UTC
Sorrento Valley hosts the densest concentration of biotech and pharma companies in California outside of South San Francisco. The La Jolla mesa - anchored by the Salk Institute, UCSD and the Scripps Research Institute - is where academic-to-commercial life-sciences translation happens. The UTC corridor along Genesee Avenue is the semiconductor and enterprise software cluster, with Qualcomm's campus and the companies that formed around it.
Engineering talent from UCSD and the defence-tech alumni pool
UC San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering consistently ranks top-ten nationally in computer science and bioengineering, feeding directly into the biotech and wireless clusters. The secondary pool - Qualcomm, SAIC, General Atomics and Illumina alumni seeking founding or early-employee roles - is one of the deepest specialist engineering talent pools in any US city outside the Bay.
Accelerators and angel networks active in San Diego
San Diego's accelerator landscape reflects its biotech, wireless and defence-tech roots. These are the most active programmes founders consider when starting or scaling in the city.
EvoNexus
EvoNexus is San Diego's flagship tech incubator, founded in 2009 and backed by strategic sponsors including Qualcomm Ventures. Focuses on CommTech, embedded tech, fintech and medtech - sectors that reflect San Diego's anchor industries. Portfolio companies have raised over $3.5bn collectively, with $10bn+ in pre-exit valuations and 50+ acquisitions.
CONNECT Springboard
CONNECT Springboard is the flagship programme of CONNECT, San Diego's oldest tech commercialisation organisation (founded 1985). Springboard provides mentor-driven business advisory and matches selected companies with its network of 200+ VC firms. Since 2015, Cool Companies - Springboard's curated cohort - has selected 200+ startups that raised $730M through the programme.
JLABS @ San Diego
JLABS @ San Diego is Johnson & Johnson's open innovation centre, opened in 2013, offering life-sciences startups lab space and industry connections at the Torrey Pines science park. Portfolio companies span biopharma, medical devices and digital health - the sectors where JLABS' J&J sponsor relationships create direct commercial pathway value.
Hera Labs
Hera Labs is a San Diego-based incubator and accelerator focused on women-led startups across tech, biotech and consumer sectors. Provides mentorship, investor introductions and business advisory, and has supported over 1,000 founders across its San Diego and Los Angeles programmes.
Biocom California
Biocom California is the trade association and commercialisation network for San Diego's life-sciences cluster, representing 1,300+ member companies. Biocom's Accelerator programme provides early-stage biotech and medtech startups with investor access, regulatory guidance and the San Diego Biopharma network - a uniquely valuable resource for pre-clinical and clinical-stage founders.
San Diego startup accountants vs Flow fractional CFO
Most San Diego startups work with a CPA firm for federal and California tax filings, R&D credits (particularly important for biotech), Delaware franchise tax and payroll. That role is essential - but it does not replace a fractional CFO.
Tax compliance, R&D credits, biotech accounting and payroll. The firms most used by San Diego venture-backed startups.
- LevitZacks
San Diego-based CPA firm (now part of the Ascend network) with experience across biotech, defence contracting, internet services and alternative energy - sectors that map directly to San Diego's startup mix. Three-time Accounting Today #1 small firm nationally.
- Baker Tilly San Diego
Formerly Squar Milner - now part of Baker Tilly (merged with Moss Adams in 2025) - with a San Diego office that has historically served the city's tech, biotech and real-estate sectors across audit, tax and transaction advisory.
- Lavine Lofgren Morris & Engelberg (LLME)
San Diego-based boutique CPA firm with long-standing experience in the local tech, biotech and real-estate communities, providing tax planning, audit and advisory to owner-managed and growth-stage companies.
- Considine & Considine
San Diego-based CPA firm providing tax, accounting and advisory services to entrepreneurs, closely-held businesses and high-net-worth individuals across the San Diego tech and professional-services community.
- Armanino San Diego
San Diego office of the top-25 national accounting and consulting firm, with a technology, life-sciences and startup practice covering audit, tax, R&D credits and equity compensation advisory.
Financial modelling, FP&A and fundraise prep. We work alongside your accountant - not instead of them.
- Builds the financial model - revenue assumptions, headcount, unit economics, runway.
- Sets up the monthly FP&A cycle: budget, forecast vs actual, variance analysis.
- Puts together the monthly board pack - P&L, cash, KPIs and forward outlook.
- Prepares the fundraise: investor model, deck financials, data room and diligence prep.
- Keeps the cap table tidy and handles 409A valuations and stock option grants.
- Reports on the KPIs that move the business - ARR, gross margin, CAC payback, retention.
- Pressure tests hiring, pricing and big spend decisions against the model before the founder commits.
- Sits in board meetings and is embedded week-to-week, not just engaged annually for compliance.
We provide fractional CFO services across San Diego and beyond
Simple pricing
No hidden costs, no complicated long-term contracts. We understand how important flexibility is for San Diego startups.
Per month
- Accounting / FP&A tech stack implementation
- Monthly financial statements and reporting pack
- Quarterly board pack with detailed financial analysis (with variance analysis vs. budget, relevant KPI observations etc.)
- Investor-friendly output
Per month
- Everything in Core, plus
- Operating model (via an online platform like Runway or Excel-based)
- Ongoing model maintenance, refining projections, burn/runway management
- Customer cohorts modelling, churn and retention analysis
- LTV / CAC, unit economics analysis
- Cap table management
Per month
- Everything in Grow, plus
- M&A / fundraising support; review of business plan
- Pitch deck preparation
- Investor approach strategy / list building
- Due diligence support and deal negotiation
- Valuation as required and free access to Multiples Pro
Packages shown are illustrative, final pricing is tailored to client requirements.
Recently completed fractional CFO projects
Selected fractional CFO engagements and prior CFO experience.
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