San Diego Runs on Biotech,
Defense, and Cross-Border Trade
Torrey Pines life sciences, Navy defense contracts, craft beverage, DTC brands, and cross-border logistics — San Diego's economy is more diverse than any one industry can describe. Finance leadership here has to speak multiple languages. Fractional CFO services for San Diego County companies scaling past $10M.
The Finance Challenges Built Into This Market
San Diego's industry mix creates finance complexity that generic advisors don't understand. These are the specific pressures we see most often.
Biotech & Life Sciences Burn
R&D capitalization. Grant accounting. Milestone-based revenue from pharma partnerships. Equity-heavy comp. Life sciences companies in Torrey Pines and Sorrento Valley have financial profiles nobody else uses — and the wrong CFO hire costs you a year of runway.
Defense & Government Contracts
DCAA compliance. FAR cost principles. Indirect rate structures. Contract mix analysis. Naval Base San Diego and the surrounding defense ecosystem demand finance teams that can pass an audit and still forecast margin accurately.
Craft Beverage & DTC Brand Economics
San Diego's craft beer scene, kombucha makers, and fast-growing DTC beverage brands face the same challenge: thin margins, heavy COGS, distributor economics that shift without warning, and inventory tied up for months.
Cross-Border Supply Chain
Companies with operations spanning San Diego and Tijuana deal with transfer pricing, customs timing, dual-currency reporting, and working capital swings that a domestic-only CFO has never seen.
The RAID Operating System
Every engagement — biotech startup, defense primes subcontractor, DTC brand, or hospitality group — is built on the same four principles.
Redundant
Documented, cross-trained processes. No single points of failure. Your finance function runs whether any one person is there or not.
Agile
Automation-first. We build systems before we hire people. Technology handles the repetitive work so your team handles the thinking.
Intelligent
Your finance team operates as owner-operators, not scorekeepers. They don't just report what happened — they drive what happens next.
Data-Driven
Every team member owns 3–5 KPIs tied to real business levers. Real-time visibility into cash, margins, and the metrics that matter.
Serving Companies Across San Diego County
From Torrey Pines life sciences to South Bay cross-border operations, we understand the region's business landscape.
La Jolla, Torrey Pines & Sorrento Valley
The biotech and life sciences corridor — Illumina's neighborhood. Startups, mid-stage companies, and the contract research organizations that serve them. R&D-heavy companies with complex accounting and sophisticated investor bases.
Downtown & Mission Valley
Professional services, hospitality, and headquarters operations. Tourism-driven businesses with seasonal revenue cycles and multi-unit operators that need unified reporting across locations.
Carmel Valley & North County Tech
Scaled tech companies and the SaaS ecosystem around Qualcomm, ServiceNow, and the UCSD spinoff pipeline. Investor-ready reporting, cohort economics, burn management.
Chula Vista, South Bay & Otay Mesa
Cross-border manufacturing, import/export operations, logistics and distribution. Companies operating on both sides of the border with unique accounting and treasury needs.
Whether you're a biotech startup preparing for Series B, a craft brewery scaling to wholesale, a defense subcontractor winning your first prime contract, or a cross-border manufacturer optimizing working capital — Main Street IQ brings 20+ years of CFO experience to San Diego County businesses. Fractional, interim, or project-based engagements.