Startup CFO Solutions

03/26/2021

How to venture capital economics actually work?

03/12/2021

03/09/2021

To achieve high growth objectives and scale, align employee compensation to these strategic goals and be creative with how you structure the various components of compensation

👉🏽 equity incentive plans provide long term alignment. You’re giving away a share of future profits, so spread out giving equity over 2-4 years in small increments like 0.5 to 1%. Spread vesting over time, such as a 1 year cliff and then 4 year vesting period.

👉🏽 having short term incentives which are annual or quarterly is important in order to achieve the outcomes you need right now.

👉🏽 short term performance metrics should be data driven, objective, simple to calculate and track and align with areas within the employee’s control. Have stretch goals, meaning achievable but also challenging, as overachievement and excessive payouts will upset your investors.

👉🏽 never underestimate the value of non-cash compensation. Things like time off, flexible work hours, coaching and training opportunities are highly valued.

Check this out!

02/27/2021

M&A, Mergers and Acquisitions, meaning one company buying another. Typically a lengthy, complicated process with high stakes and associated with large corporations.

However, acquiring companies or assets for growth is something startup CEOs should keep in mind. Some potential instances this strategy could be useful:

👉🏽To speed up or enable geographical expansion
👉🏽 Product expansion to better leverage existing sales channels and customer relationships
👉🏽 Done as a cashless merger so that cash is preserved

Check this out!

02/04/2021

01/27/2021

From my work with ecommerce and DTC early stage companies in the CPG space, I’ve seen some pitfalls be repeated. Check this out for some top mistakes to avoid:

👉🏽 not leveraging touchpoints with consumers to capture customer data records and use to better serve their needs.

👉🏽Selling on Amazon without
considering the long term costs in terms of lower margins, higher CAC and inability to really know your consumer to increase LTV.

👉🏽No cohesive management of both DTC and retailer channels, leading to revenue overall not growing.

👉🏽Not tracking both CAC AND LTV or using those insights proactively to manage the business.

👉🏽Lack of operational oversight over product sourcing, inventory management and order fulfillment. This often results in erosion of profit margins and sales.

01/21/2021

Raising a seed round for your startup: what’s a SAFE and what’s a convertible note? And what are the differences between the two? Watch below to find out.

01/15/2021

After raising a seed round, here’s what to do next

01/08/2021

Five things to focus on prior to raising a seed round for your startup

👉 large market opportunity
👉 understanding of target customers and their top pain points
👉 know your competitors and why your proposed offering is superior
👉detailed description of your solution/MVP
👉you’ve gained traction which supports your conclusions

12/10/2020

Check this out to learn about special purpose acquisition companies or S**Cs and key takeaways for early stage companies thinking of going public

Using a S**C (aka blank check shell corporation) to go public has gained popularity in 2020, with 200 S**Cs raising about $64bn this year, which is more than double the number of S

12/05/2020

Should you raise venture capital funds for your business? If you’re currently boot strapped, or funded via friends and family or angel investors, check this out!

11/21/2020

For startups considering a corporate sale, watch this for some important considerations to maximise the price you command for your business.
Timing is a big driver of value and preparation is key.