Finance for Entrepreneurs
Most founders are fundable.
Their financial story
isn’t.
I’m a former investment banker — Silicon Valley M&A, healthcare IB in New York — who now works exclusively with early-stage founders raising their first $1M–$10M. I build the financial infrastructure that makes investors say yes.
How I Work
What raising capital actually costs
3–5% + $25K retainer
$5K–$20K / month
$15K–$30K flat
$5K / month
Monthly retainer. CFO infrastructure + financial narrative + warm investor introductions — all three, not just one.
Mentor, advisor & contributor
UC Berkeley
500 Startups
Loyal VC
Wall Street Journal
Entrepreneur
Who I work with
Three types of founders
come to me.
They’re at different stages — but they all have the same problem: the financial story isn’t matching the quality of the opportunity.
The founder who has exhausted their network
You’ve talked to everyone you know. Some said no, some said maybe, none have written a check. You don’t need more warm intros — you need a different approach. I’ve spent the past year identifying 20+ newly raised funds actively deploying into your space right now. That list is not publicly available.
The founder raising in an unfamiliar market
You have traction in your home market — but US investors ask harder questions. They want to see unit economics benchmarked against comps they recognize, a GTM story that makes sense for the US, and a data room that speaks their language. I’ve been in these rooms for 30 years.
The founder who sees the CFO as a strategic partner
You don’t just need capital. You’re making decisions about growth, pricing, hiring, and structure — and you want a financial partner who has seen these decisions play out across dozens of companies. I work with a small number of founders at a deep level for exactly this reason.
The honest context
I left investment banking because I prefer this work. Not because I couldn’t do the other kind.
The standard fee structure for raising capital — what a placement agent or boutique bank charges — runs 3% to 5% of capital raised, plus a $25,000+ upfront retainer. For a $3M raise, that’s $90,000–$150,000 in fees before you close a single check.
My model is a monthly retainer because I want to be your CFO partner, not a fundraising intermediary. That changes what I’m incentivized to do and what you get from the relationship.
| Placement agent on a $650K raise | $19,500 – $32,500 |
| Placement agent on a $1.5M raise | $45,000 – $75,000 |
| Placement agent on a $3.2M raise | $96,000 – $160,000 |
| Finance for Entrepreneurs (90 days) | $15,000 |
Based on standard Lehman formula (3–5%) applied to raises across current client portfolio.
How it works
Three things happen
in 90 days.
Financial infrastructure
I build the investor-ready financial model, KPI dashboard, and data room. The kind of materials that make a sophisticated investor feel like they already know the business before the first meeting. Unit economics benchmarked against public comps. Use of funds tied to specific milestones. No adjectives — only numbers.
Financial narrative
I translate your traction into the language investors use. Revenue trajectory, path to profitability, why now, why you. The financial story has to match the quality of your product story — and in most early-stage decks, it doesn’t. I close that gap before you walk into the room.
Warm introductions
I track newly raised funds on a weekly basis. I know which funds raised in the last 90 days and are actively deploying right now. I make targeted, prepared introductions — not names on a list. My name goes on every introduction I make. That accountability is what makes them convert.
What founders say
The work speaks
for itself.
“Finance for Entrepreneurs finetuned our company’s financial projections and edited our model. They also gave great fundraising advice and commentary on our model and deck. Overall very knowledgeable, energetic, and timely.”
“The topics are well communicated with real world references and examples. There were several points that provided catalyst for review of aspects of my business and helped push me past a few sticking points.”
“Awesome primer on financials for entrepreneurs. I loved the straightforward nature and keeping the metrics simple for investors. Great starting point for any entrepreneur looking to fundraise. Loved the format and the learnings.”
Ready to get started
Is your raise six months away
or six months overdue?
Either way, the financial infrastructure needs to be built before the first investor conversation — not during it.
Schedule a Discovery Call
Fractional CFO
Your financial story is the reason investors say yes — or don’t.
Most early-stage founders are fundable. Their pitch is compelling, their market is real, their traction is growing. What’s missing is the financial infrastructure that translates all of that into investor confidence. That’s what I build.
The gap most founders don’t see
Investors don’t just fund
your idea.
They fund their confidence in your ability to execute. And that confidence is built — or broken — in the second half of your investor meeting. After they’ve heard the pitch and loved the vision, they start asking questions. About your unit economics. About your path to profitability. About your assumptions.
I’ve been in those rooms — on both sides. I know exactly which questions are coming and what the right answers look like. My job is to make sure you never get caught flat-footed by a financial question again.
If you’ve been running your raise on relationships alone, you already know what’s missing.
What’s included
Everything the round needs.
Nothing it doesn’t.
Investor-Ready Financial Infrastructure
The financial model, KPI dashboard, and data room built to institutional standards. Benchmarked against public comps. Built to withstand due diligence from a fund that has seen thousands of decks.
- Three-statement financial model
- Unit economics analysis
- KPI dashboard tied to investor benchmarks
- Use of funds mapped to milestones
- Cap table review and cleanup
Financial Narrative Development
The story that connects your traction to an investor’s return. Not the product story — the financial story. The one that answers: why this company, why now, and how does an investor make money?
- Revenue model articulation
- Path to profitability narrative
- Competitive financial positioning
- Investor deck financial section review
- Valuation defense preparation
Active Raise Support
Warm introductions to the right funds — not names on a list. I track newly raised funds weekly and know who is actively deploying right now. My introductions are prepared, targeted, and positioned. My name goes on every one.
- Curated investor targeting strategy
- Warm introductions to active funds
- Investor meeting preparation
- Due diligence Q&A support
- Term sheet review and guidance
Ongoing Strategic CFO Advisory
For founders who want more than a fundraising partner. Growth decisions, pricing strategy, hiring sequencing, operational finance — the full CFO function without the full-time cost.
- Monthly financial reporting
- Board meeting preparation
- Growth strategy financial modeling
- Fundraising round planning
- Series A preparation
The engagement
Structured to move
fast.
The 90-day engagement is designed to match the pace of a real fundraising process. Month one, the infrastructure is built. Month two, the narrative is sharpened and investor targeting begins. Month three, we’re in active conversations and supporting the close.
I work with a small number of founders at any one time. That’s intentional — because the work requires full attention, not a fraction of it.
- Financial model + KPI dashboard
- Investor-ready data room
- Financial narrative development
- Investor targeting strategy
- Warm introductions to active funds
- Diligence preparation + Q&A support
- Term sheet review and guidance
- Weekly strategy sessions
Schedule a Discovery Call
For context: a placement agent charges 3–5% of capital raised — $45,000–$160,000 for raises in the $1.5M–$3.2M range. The 90-day retainer is $15,000 total.
Background
30 years. Two coasts.
One focus.
I started my career in technology M&A in Silicon Valley, where I advised on acquisitions for some of the most consequential deals in the early internet era. I then moved to New York, where I spent years in healthcare investment banking, working on capital raises and strategic transactions for growth-stage companies.
I left that world because I found the work more interesting and the impact more direct at the early stage. The companies I work with now are raising $1M–$10M — the rounds that determine whether a company gets to the next chapter or doesn’t.
That background means I walk into every engagement knowing what a serious investor looks for — because I’ve been on that side of the table. I know what questions are coming. I know what answers close rounds and which ones stall them.
I’ve served as a mentor and advisor at Plug and Play, UC Berkeley, 500 Startups, and Loyal VC, and have contributed to Entrepreneur and the Wall Street Journal on topics of entrepreneurial finance.
Next step
Let’s talk about
your raise.
A 30-minute discovery call. I’ll tell you where I think your financial story has gaps and what it would take to close them. No obligation.
Schedule a Call
Reading List
The books that shaped
how I think about building companies.
Not a comprehensive list. The ones I actually return to — and recommend to founders at the moments when they need them most.
Fundraising
Venture Deals
The definitive guide to term sheets, cap tables, and the mechanics of venture financing. Read it before you talk to a single investor. Understand every line of the term sheet — because the investors you’re meeting with certainly will.
Company Building
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
The most honest book ever written about what it actually feels like to run a company. Not a framework — a series of real decisions made under real pressure. Essential reading for any founder who thinks building is supposed to feel clean.
Financial Strategy
Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs
The best primer on reading financial statements for people who didn’t grow up with them. Clear, practical, and genuinely useful for founders who need to hold their own in investor conversations about their own numbers.
Growth & Strategy
Zero to One
Contrarian, sharp, and worth arguing with. Thiel’s framework for what makes a company actually defensible — secrets, monopoly, and the power law — is the most useful lens I know for evaluating whether a startup’s financial story will hold up at scale.
Investor Psychology
The Innovator’s Dilemma
Understanding why large incumbents fail to respond to disruption is directly relevant to why early-stage investors fund certain companies over others. If you can articulate your disruption thesis in Christensen’s terms, your investor narrative immediately becomes more credible.
Operations & Execution
Measure What Matters
OKRs are only as useful as your ability to translate them into financial outcomes. This book bridges the gap between operational goals and financial metrics — exactly the connection that makes investor presentations compelling instead of aspirational.
Negotiation
Never Split the Difference
Every founder negotiates — with investors, with customers, with co-founders, with themselves. Voss’s FBI hostage negotiation framework translates directly to term sheet conversations and investor objections. The tactical empathy chapter alone is worth the read.
Mindset
Thinking in Bets
Decision-making under uncertainty — which is what every financial projection really is. Duke’s framework for separating the quality of a decision from the quality of its outcome is essential for founders who need to make good calls with incomplete information.
Market Dynamics
Crossing the Chasm
The technology adoption lifecycle is still the best framework for answering the investor question: “Why now?” If you can show exactly where you are in the chasm and why the timing is right to cross it, your go-to-market story becomes dramatically more fundable.
Why this list
I read to stay
useful.
The founders I work with are building companies in markets I haven’t worked in before. The only way to be genuinely useful across industries — construction tech, HR tech, social sports, consumer health — is to maintain a rigorous reading practice that keeps the mental models sharp.
Most of what I read doesn’t end up on this list. These are the books I find myself recommending in client conversations, often at a specific moment: the founder who’s about to sign a term sheet they don’t fully understand, the one who’s building a financial model without knowing what investors actually benchmark against, the one who’s negotiating their first enterprise deal and treating it like a price conversation.
I update this list as I find things worth keeping. If you have a recommendation, I’d genuinely like to hear it.
More than books
The best way to learn
is in a live raise.
If you’re preparing for a fundraising round and want a partner who has been through this process dozens of times, let’s talk.
Schedule a Call
Let’s talk
A 30-minute call.
No obligation.
Straight talk.
Tell me where you are in your raise and I’ll tell you where I think the gaps are. If we’re a fit, we’ll talk about what working together looks like. If we’re not, I’ll point you toward who is.
What to expect
A direct conversation about your raise — where you are, what’s working, and what the financial story is missing. I’ll have reviewed your materials beforehand if you share them.
Response time
Within 24 hours, usually sooner.
Who this is for
Pre-revenue to early-revenue founders raising $1M–$10M who are serious about getting the financial story right.
Discovery call request
Tell me about
your raise.
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