To most of our clients, we’re a CFO. Stepping in off the back of steady growth, to deliver rapid expansion by shoring up all aspects of finance. Budgeting. Forecasting. Reporting. Internal controls. People and systems. It all goes through a transformation during this critical era.
But that’s not the whole story. Because we’ll also support you before and after expansion, in a capacity that suits you at the time.
From simple support through the early days, with planning and accounts, to mentoring through the growth years. Then on the other side, where you bring in a CFO to scale the business, we’re your flexible resource for all of corporate finance:
M&A planning…financial modelling…raising equity…handling venture debt…extending lines of credit…moving to IPO…and more.
We’ll know your business, so who better to step in on demand?
We love working with new enterprises – paving the way for growth by putting in the right foundations early.
So we’ve devised this package of learning and support, exclusively for start-ups with big ideas – and bold ambitions.
As you race towards your first $1 Million, finance kicks into a new gear. And for you, as CEO, decisions are getting harder.
So our Accelerator program gives you extra support – pairing you with a finance mentor, who’ll work with you one-on-one.
You can only grow so much without a finance expert on the team. So somewhere beyond the $1 Million mark, you’ll need a CFO.
We’re on it – whether you need us once a month, or a few days every week.
At around $10 Million, as you start to maximise potential, you’ll probably replace us with a full-time CFO.
But we’re still there for you. Ready to fill in or run new projects when you need us. This is how…
Your CFO is there to oversee finance – freeing you to focus on running the business.
You can expect them to:
Other members of your finance team won’t be suited to this type of work. For example, a bookkeeper or financial controller will know how to look back through the business and manage the present day. A VP Finance will take it further, creating projections, but stays in their own lane – seeing the numbers, but not the big picture of the business. It takes the strategic mind of a CFO to work across departments and functions, and act as a thinking partner to the CEO.
You should think about bringing someone in when your revenues reach $2M – $5M, and you start to feel the stress of micro-managing the numbers.
Chances are you’ll only need them part-time at first – they can always scale their hours as the business grows. Then, when revenues hit $10M, you ought to consider the next step: bringing in a full-time hire to take over the reins.
If you’re just starting out, you need a bookkeeper or accountant to keep your ledgers and tax affairs in order – plus a working knowledge of finance, so you can plan effectively and make sense of the numbers.
Our start-ups package gives you all that learning and support. Details here.
Later, when you start to grow, it’s a different set-up. Once you have a dozen staff or more, you might add a part-time Controller or VP Finance – someone who’ll vet the books, set financial controls and lay the foundations that will let you scale in the future.
But remember, they’re not financial strategists – the planning is still on you. So you’d do well here to join forces with a finance mentor: someone who’ll develop you one-on-one, and coach you through the tough decisions.
If your revenues are below $10M, you’ll struggle to fill the post. For three reasons:
First, a CFO is a premium hire. So you could be in a tight spot: needing the skills of a CFO before you have the budget to attract the right candidate.
Second, you won’t need a full-time hire yet. At the start of the process, 2–10 days per month should be all you need. But it’s nigh on impossible to fill that role as a staff position, as very few quality candidates will settle for part-time hours.
Then third, there’s a talent shortage right now – especially in the Bay Area. Competition is fierce, salaries are rising…it’s a bidding war out there.
That’s why companies turn to us. We supply the expertise you need, for the hours you need – without any kind of long-term commitment on your part.
It’s not about “control”. As your CFO, our job is to deliver YOUR vision, not ours. So you’re still the builder – we’re just the architect, looking after the finer details.
That means we’ll work towards your goals in a safe, sustainable way. By building your finance team, and giving you the tools to make smart, informed decisions. Just as we’ve done for multi-million dollar clients like REDD Intelligence.
There’s no denying it, trust is an issue in our industry. We regularly speak to clients who were underwhelmed by consultants who simply “went through the motions” – never really making a connection.
It happens a lot, because of the way the industry operates. Agencies hire in consultants on freelance contracts, then place them with clients, bank their checks and give it no further thought.
It’s a sheep-dip operation, where no-one makes a deep-seated commitment to the client.
We work differently. Our whole finance team is on staff, and everyone works to a standard consulting model. So we know the right questions are asked, and problems are owned through to resolution. Plus, we use peer review, so you have a full panel of experts, all focused on your goals.
Then there’s the final piece of the jigsaw: integration.
Our consultants will get to know your people, your culture, your company values. We’ll hear concerns, learn from the past, and become a part of your team – because no-one should ever feel a sense of “them and us”.
Possibly! We’ve worked in retail and financial services, as well as the hardware and software ends of the tech industry.
Of course, there are sectors we haven’t worked in. But in our experience, it’s more important to find someone you can trust, who knows how to deliver your goals.
After all, the underlying challenge is the same for any business that’s moving rapidly through the gears:
Raising finance…increasing revenues… controlling spend…reducing debt…all to extend cash reserves, so the business can grow sustainably.
Yes. You can call us in for any one-time challenge around corporate finance. For example, you might want us to:
This type of contract work is ideal for larger companies, where a CFO is in post but needs some flexible support. More details here.
There’s no commitment on your part. We work with you month to month, doing whatever is needed. So we might scale down one month, then pick up the slack a month later – for example, if you lose a team member or need to ramp up your fundraising efforts.
We like to spend time at your office, especially in the beginning, so we can start to build that trusting relationship. But that doesn’t mean we’ll live in each other’s pockets. For many clients, we do most of our work remotely and check in now and then – especially when distance is an issue, because it’s all about maximising the hours.
No, it’s quite the opposite!
Any work we do with you is about setting you free – not making you reliant on an external team.
So we’ll grow your finance outfit, by bringing in the right people and systems. We’ll pick up the slack when you lose a team member, so there’s no disruption. And if needed, we’ll head up the team as your CFO – until the day we step aside, to make way for a full-time replacement who’ll take you to the next level.
It starts with a phone call, where we’ll talk a little about your goals and how we can help. Then at the end, we’ll send you a “scorecard” to fill in. This is designed to highlight the gaps, so we can work out how to get you from A to B.
Next, we’ll cost up a project of delivery and give you a fixed quotation, based on standard fees for each item of work.
Then, whatever the cost, you can set a timescale to suit your monthly budget. So if the work is urgent, we can fast-track it over 90 days – or if you’d rather pay in smaller stages, we can stagger it over a longer period like 12 months. The overall cost won’t change.
Then, when it comes to implementation, we’ll follow the plan as agreed. But remember, there’s no long-term commitment. You can call time at any point, and only pay for the work we’ve delivered.
From training to one-on-one mentoring. From attracting investors to preparing for IPO. You’ll find all the support you need here – just click the button and GO.
