Founders generally find themselves spinning a mind-boggling number of plates.
Building growth plans, hiring new talent, securing funding, developing products - the list goes on.
It’s easy to see how founders can quickly become overwhelmed, particularly when their company is scaling rapidly. However, one key hire can help founders delegate their workloads, free up valuable time, and bring much-needed expertise into their business.
And that’s a finance hire.
Experienced finance hires (i.e., VP of Finance) can be a game-changer for founders. While many still view these experts as behind-the-scenes number crunches, this is only a fraction of the value they bring - the right finance hire can help founders secure crucial investments, drive sustainable profitability, and create data-driven plans for growth.
(In other words, they can help founders to sleep more soundly at night.)
Skilled finance hires are incredibly versatile, but how exactly can they support founders day-to-day? What key responsibilities will they cover, and where do they come into their own?
Let’s explore finance hires' invaluable role in growing businesses and explain how they can help founders drive success - while decreasing stress.
#1 - Fundraising & Managing Cash Burn
Fundraising is the lifeblood of growing businesses, and finance hires are pivotal in this process.
For example, a capable VP of Finance will understand how to build a compelling financial story to share with potential VC investors. They’ll know how to improve key metrics (i.e., EBIT multiples/valuations), pull together the right data points, and create persuasive pitch decks.
While founders will likely still be heavily involved in these VC presentations, the support of a finance hire can give them more confidence in their numbers and valuations.
Finance hires can also support during the more in-depth stages of negotiations, equipping founders with the robust numbers they need to make their case. Accurate data is crucial in these conversations, and finance professionals will ensure they know the finer details.
Finally, finance hires will advise founders on where to invest funds to maximize growth. While business leaders may succeed in securing investment, they can often struggle to decide how to use it effectively - finance experts put strategic rigor behind these decisions and identify the areas where funding will be most productive across the business.
#2 - Financial Modeling, FP&A, Establishing KPIs
Founders are under huge pressure to make the best decisions for growth and profitability, but without data-led insights, this can often feel like guesswork. A qualified finance leader will provide a data-driven perspective that leads to better outcomes and allows founders to make big decisions confidently.
An important task here will be financial modeling and FP&A.
Finance experts will lean on various data sources for planning, budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and scenario modeling. This is incredibly valuable to founders, who can use this information to understand revenue projections, expenses, and cash flow.
(Finance leads will often recommend new software for FP&A/modeling, which helps to streamline the process and simplify data management.)
A finance hire will also work with founders to establish clear KPIs and set up processes to track them. This enables businesses to focus on their most important objectives and monitor the right metrics to gauge success.
Knowledge is power, and the more information founders have (e.g. accurate forecasts, data analytics, performance reporting) the easier it will be to stay on a positive trajectory.
#3 - Board Prep & Investor Relations
Finance hires aren’t just important for day-to-day finance management and long-term planning, either. They’ll also become an essential voice in high-stakes meetings, leading discussions about financial health and growth.
For instance, finance leaders will be a critical contact for board members and investors. They’ll turn complex financial data into clear visualizations that stakeholders can easily understand and provide accurate updates that build confidence with investors.
Finance hires will also ensure the right documentation is ready for board meetings, including any necessary figures around growth rates or acquisition costs. In other words, they’ll become a trusted source of information for key stakeholders and help founders to maintain positive relationships.
For founders, finance experts aren’t just functional hires. They’re reliable business partners, strategic advisors, and a critical presence in important meetings.
#4 - Cash Management & Financial Controls
As businesses scale and become more complex, it becomes increasingly challenging to manage cash properly. Founders often need help to stay on top of financial records, expenses, and reports.
Fortunately, finance hires can help.
A VP of Finance will implement robust financial controls (i.e. systems and procedures) that accurately monitor cash/resources. These might include stringent finance checks, reporting templates, and reconciliation processes that help founders mitigate risk and better understand their business.
With effective financial controls in place, founders will feel more confident in their financial stability and can start...
#5 - Taking Ownership and Supporting the CEO
An experienced VP of Finance can transform the finance function of a growing business, bringing the experience and expertise needed to accelerate growth.
However, the impact of a finance hire isn’t restricted to the finance department.
Finance leaders can take ownership of multiple areas across a business (e.g., HR, legal, operations) to streamline processes, improve collaboration, and, most importantly, free up precious time for founders/CEOs.
For instance, a VP of Finance might step up to support marketing/sales teams with data insights that can improve performance or take the lead on operations to implement more efficient processes. Senior finance experts are hugely versatile - they understand the inner workings of a business and can add value across multiple teams and departments.
This enables founders to stop feeling overloaded with day-to-day responsibilities and start prioritizing strategic tasks that lead to long-term growth.
A finance expert is undoubtedly one of the most valuable hires that founders can make.
Modern finance leaders aren’t restricted to making calculations in a back office somewhere. They’re multi-talented experts who can take ownership of different departments, leverage complex data to drive performance, manage key stakeholder relationships, and implement robust systems that maximize efficiency.
With an experienced finance hire on board, founders can reclaim the time they need to focus on business growth.
(And maybe even feel slightly less overburdened in their day-to-day.)
Harmonic is a B Corp Recruitment & Executive Search company that partners with some of the fastest-growing start-ups, scale-ups, and entrepreneur-led organizations worldwide.
Harmonic covers finance hires (from CFOs to transactional roles and BI/ data professionals), operations hires (including Operations Directors and HR Directors), and strategic leadership hires (such as Chairs, CEOs, and MDs). They follow a unique culture-focused search process to find and recruit the best talent for their clients.
Contact Harmonic today for any of your hiring needs at hello@harmonictalent.com, or call at +1 (617) 861-2564. You can also learn more at harmonictalent.com.
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