Strategic finance · Fractional CFO
Most finance reports what already happened. We build the instruments that read what's next.
Strategy partnership and CFO-level finance for venture-backed companies — anchored on leading indicators, not lagging ones. Bring the seat you need, or the whole bench.
A launch is flown off the gauges — telemetry read seconds ahead of the vehicle. By the time it shows in the smoke, it's history. Same with a company.
Scope
What we take on
Strategy and the numbers from the same table. CFO-level judgment, analyst-level production, and a full accounting bench behind it — no handoff between the thinking and the work.
Strategy & operating partnership
A thinking partner to the CEO and the go-to-market bench. Short- and long-term strategy, and the operating cadence to run it. We help CROs and CMOs reach their full potential — not by grading them, but by giving them the numbers to steer with.
Metrics that lead, not lag
Establish, build, report, and actually use the metrics that matter. We instrument the business so leading indicators surface early — pipeline quality before bookings, net retention signals before churn, efficiency before the burn shows up in the bank.
Fractional & interim CFO
Own the function outright or backfill a departure — as a strategic partner to the CEO, not a caretaker. Cash and runway, forecasting, close, vendors, and compensation, plus the strategic and capital planning, scenario work, and board relationship the seat carries.
Fundraising & board readiness
The model, the deck, the data room, the diligence responses. Cap table and waterfall mechanics that hold up to a lawyer's read and an investor's.
Transactions & diligence
Buy side or sell side. Diligence workstreams, data room build and management, purchase price mechanics, 280G analysis, retention and carve-out plans, escrow and holdback terms.
Close, controls & multi-entity operations
A month-end close that lands on a calendar, reconciliations that tie, and audit readiness. For a US parent with a foreign subsidiary: intercompany flows, transfer pricing, multi-currency banking, and local filings.
The bench
Who does the work
A small, senior team you can draw on by the seat. Most engagements start with one and pull in the others as the work demands.
Principal
Twenty years across venture-backed startups — Seed through late stage — and public companies. As comfortable standing up finance for the first time as stepping into a scaled org. Strategy, CFO judgment, fundraising, M&A, and the board, picked up at whatever stage you're at.
CPA & controller
The hard accounting done right — revenue recognition, technical close, tax coordination, and audit support that stands up to scrutiny.
Senior accountant
Clean, reliable execution. Reconciliations, AP and AR, payroll, and the monthly rhythm that keeps the books current instead of catching up.
FP&A director
Operating models, dashboards, and the tooling that makes metrics real — someone who's fluent in the systems so the leading indicators actually get reported.
One relationship, the range of a firm. Take the whole bench for an interim CFO engagement, or just the seat that's missing — a modeler for the raise, a controller for the audit, a strategist for the board.
Engagement
Three ways to work together
Three commercial shapes — any seat on the bench plugs into any of them, from strategy guidance to a controller to a full finance team. Pick the one that matches what's in front of you; engagements convert as the situation changes.
Interim & fractional
A standing seat on your team on a set weekly commitment — full CFO ownership, or just the seat you're missing: controller, senior accountant, or FP&A. Through a gap in the org, a raise, a scale-up, or a sale — and open to converting to a permanent hire when the fit is right.
Project
One hard thing with an end date. A modeler for the raise, a controller for the audit, a metrics and leading-indicator build, a diligence process, a close cleanup, an operating model.
Strategy & board retainer
A standing strategy partner to the CEO and go-to-market bench, plus the board rhythm around it — the numbers, the leading indicators, the pre-read, and the pack, delivered on the board calendar.
Track record
Where this has been done
Two decades across healthtech, AI, SaaS, and media — four acquisitions and more than $200M raised. Named references shared privately once we're a fit; the shape of the work below.
Metric-driven ROI models and growth-KPI board reporting that helped carry companies through to acquisition. NetSuite and Adaptive Planning stood up; pipeline conversion and CAC efficiency moved shoulder-to-shoulder with the CMO.
A Series B raised and runway extended by more than three years — COGS cut in half and CAC down a third through pricing and SKU strategy, with four consecutive clean audits behind it.
Post-IPO finance systems streamlined across six business units for a 70% efficiency gain, and an ROI forecasting matrix the C-suite adopted to allocate resources.
Cross-border finance stood up from scratch — multi-currency banking, investor reporting, and M&A across US and European entities.
Fit
Whether this is a match
A short list is more useful than a long one. If you're on the right side of this, the call will be quick.
Good fit
- Anywhere from pre-revenue and pre-seed through late stage — standing finance up for the first time, or leveling it up.
- You want a strategy partner who also owns the numbers — not two separate hires.
- You're pre-funding and want the financial story and the metrics right before you raise.
- Something specific is coming: a raise, a sale, a first audit, or a metrics function that doesn't exist yet.
- You're replacing a departing finance lead and can't afford a gap.
Probably not
- You only need bookkeeping and a monthly P&L. That's a real need and a cheaper one — we'll point you to someone good.
- Public company reporting, SEC filings, or fund accounting.
- You want the title on the deck without anyone touching the numbers.