Bring experienced, high-calibre leadership to your organisation without the overhead of a full-time hire. Our fractional executive service provides fresh perspective and strategic insight, helping you drive growth and innovation – without paying for holidays, sick leave, or downtime. Learn more about the exciting opportunity that fractional leadership provides.

With extensive Board and Executive experience, Start Bay offers the leadership you need, when you need it – delivering impact without the hefty price tag. This is a bespoke service that can be discussed at a free initial consultation.

Start Bay isn’t just a strategic partner—we’re now a delivery partner too.

We know that good strategy can stall without the right operational support. That’s why we’ve built a small, trusted network of associates who can work with your organisation on:

Finance and management accounting

CRM setup and support

Reporting and dashboards

Business analysis and insight

These are professionals I trust to work with the same care and clarity Start Bay is known for. They work part-time, flexibly, and under our continued oversight—so you can count on continuity, quality, and value.

Whether you need a few days a month or short-term help to get a system in shape, we’re here to make it happen.

Get in touch to talk about what kind of support would make the biggest difference right now. Read more about fractional leadership

Under-investment in leadership results in stagnation, loss of confidence and even burnout. 

Years of experience as a Board Member and a decade as an Executive at a £50m+ organisation means that Mark Preston is well placed to coach and support third sector leaders.  10 years as a Church Minister also helped Mark to hone his listening and counselling abilities.

 After a free, zero-commitment initial consultation, 6 and 12-month contracts are available. Please note that capacity for this service is limited. Contact us today to discuss.

Presently Start Bay offers two key in house training opportunities 

The Start With Your Story workshop can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your fundraising, marketing or communications team.  Book for one of our events or contact us for in-house training for your whole team.

Public speaking and ‘asking’.  

The ability to speak confidently and effectively in public is vital for charities and fundraisers to master.  

Having spoken to audiences large and small for 30 years, Mark Preston can train your team how to speak boldly, to create empathy and to deliver a compelling ask. 

Start Bay can provide a major donor, trust and regular giving diagnostic service. This can be a stand alone piece of work or can be part of a programme to level-up your fundraising capabilities. 

Check out the feedback from previous clients here.

Where does world class exist?  

Who does what your organisation does better than anyone else on the planet? 

We can serve your organisation by conducting a ‘best in class’ benchmarking exercise. We will then work relationally with your team to provide insight and collaborative implementation. 

Our experience in large NGOs, academia and business will bring focussed, high value skills to your organisation. You can enquire here about this service.