Source: David Frankel, Venture Partner, Blueprint Ventures I’ve been fortunate to have been part of half a dozen exits this year, and have seen the process work smoothly, and, other times, like a roller coaster, with only the most tenuous connection to the track. Here are 10 bits of advice I’ve distilled from these experiences […]
10 Pieces of Advice When Someone Wants to Buy Your Company Read More »
Source: Dain Dulaney, Bishop, Dulaney, Joyner & Abner “Do I Have to Pay Back the Convertible Note?!?!?!” This final installment in my series, Critical Issues in Convertible Note Financing, is one that I believe to be the most important issue founders should consider when negotiating the terms of their convertible note: What happens if the convertible
Convertible Note Financing – Payback Time Read More »
Source: Jack Ciesielski, Analyst’s Accounting Observer In 2011, Hewlett-Packard paid $11.1 billion for UK software firm Autonomy – a 64% premium for a company with nearly $1 billion of 2010 revenues, and possessing “a consistent track record of double-digit revenue growth, with 87 percent gross margins and 43 percent operating margins.” So they thought. Little
Due Diligence Fiasco – A Look Back at HP-Autonomy Read More »
5 Important Questions Business Owners Need to Ask Before a Hard Credit Check & How it Could Impact Business Loans Source: Dana Rivera Debt can be an essential part of financial strategy for many business owners, as it can be used in investment purposes or in scaling up profits. However, getting business loans approved can
Applying for Business Loans – Hard Credit Checks Read More »
Launching a successful business is every entrepreneur’s dream, but it’s not an uncommon one. In 2022, there were approximately 333 million small-medium enterprises (SMEs) across the globe. Moreover, over 417 thousand new business applications were filed in the US during the last quarter of the year. It goes without saying of course that you’ll need
7 Ways a Business Name Generator Can Help Entrepreneurs Read More »
The term “Citizenship by Investment” often refers to the process of obtaining a second citizenship in exchange for a financial contribution to the country where the applicant obtains the citizenship. This investment can be used within the country’s economy and infrastructure. However, there’s a slight difference between obtaining citizenship and a passport from a second
Citizenship by Investment Overview Read More »
Source: Don Alexander, Founder, GeneCoda Many articles I’ve recently reviewed about employee turnover describe various methods to calculate the unplanned turnover costs of an organization. For example, a study from the Center for American Progress cites figures that range from 16% of annual earnings for jobs paying $30k or less up to 213% for very
Understanding the True Cost of Employee Turnover Read More »
Source: Mark Suster, Managing Partner, Upfront Ventures One of the hardest things about the fundraising process for entrepreneurs is that you’re trying to raise money from people who have “asymmetric information.” VC firms see thousands of deals and have a refined sense of how the market is valuing deals because they get price signals across
How to Think About Valuation When Raising Venture Capital Read More »
Source: McKinsey & Company, Kevin Chao, Michael Kiermaier, Paul Roche, and Nikhil Sane The benefits of moving to flexible subscription pricing are closer than they appear, but common misconceptions hold companies back. Migrating your business from an up-front to a recurring-revenue model can seem a daunting challenge that may take years to yield benefits. High-tech
What it Takes to Shift to a Recurring Revenue Model in Hardware & Software Read More »
Source: FNB blog Admittedly, SBA program names are a bit esoteric and hard to remember for everyone who doesn’t work day to day around these government-backed loan processes. Still, the SBA lending program is a widely utilized way to get financing in a reasonable period of time with competitive terms and some important benefits. One
Differences Between Major SBA Loan Programs – SBA 7(a) vs. SBA 504 Read More »
Graf Research™ unleashes innovation by developing ideas into disruptive technologies. The Graf mission aims to perform research, provide services, apply analytics, and create products that enable secure, high-performance, embedded, and adaptive computing solutions.
When the Director of Finance for Graf was leaving the company, Graf needed an experienced financial team to get them through the transition. Managing Director Gary Hayes was introduced to Graf and determined that CFO Rendy Richards and Controller John Schefke would be an ideal combination. These two were particularly important because Graf is a U.S. Government contractor, and both Richards and Schefke have strong backgrounds and deep skill sets in this industry.
The two Scale Finance professionals quickly responded to Graf’s time-sensitive need, logically split up the work, learned the DELTEK version used by Graf, introduced more efficient processes and techniques, and helped meet their financial reporting needs. Our professionals also determined that the Senior Staff Accountant was underutilized and helped her grow into a permanent, cost-effective Controller role.
FX HedgePool (FXHP)
FX HedgePool (FXHP) is a New York and London-based highly innovative fintech company. FXHP is an award-winning peer-to-peer matching platform that optimizes the FX swaps market. The Company eliminates market impact and minimizes the effects of volatility – significantly improving outcomes for all investors.
FXHP’s unique credit model separates liquidity from credit, creating a new source of safe and dependable liquidity for the swaps market. The Company exists for the community, guided by the community with a “win-win-win” commitment that helps members, underlying investors, and banks yield safer and better results.
Scale Finance began serving FXHP years ago, providing annual business valuations to support 409A compliance for the Company’s management incentive equity plan. During this period, Scale Finance Managing Director Dave Gilroy advised FXHP about potential strategic corporate transactions. In 2022, the Company decided to raise institutional venture capital. Scale Finance managed this process from end to end, resulting in a highly successful closing of an $8 million Series A equity financing led by Information Venture Partners with participation from Fidelity International Strategic Ventures and NAventures (National Bank of Canada’s corporate venture capital arm).
Scale Finance continues to provide periodic business valuation support.
Heritage Trust
As the first independent trust company in New Mexico, established in 1994, Heritage Trust (HT) uses innovation, experience, and flexibility to meet clients’ needs. HT provides a full range of trust services, e.g., acting as their client fiduciary for their Trust assets, being an executor or personal representative related to the distribution of estate assets, managing and growing financial assets, and preparing annual tax returns for trusted clients.
Co-Founder and Managing Director of Scale Finance Gary Hayes has been providing CFO and managing Controller support since February 2021. We have streamlined their monthly and year-end close process and established budget/forecast capability to support management. Their business has grown over 40% since Scale Finance has been involved with the company’s financial management. Gary has also participated in Board Meetings as and when needed.
Southland Transportation Company
Southland Transportation provides transport, supply chain, and campus management services on a local, regional, and nationwide basis. When Southland contacted Scale Finance, they had a strong accounting staff but no Controller or CFO. After an unsuccessful search for a full-time CFO, Southland engaged CFO and Partner Rendy Richards as their fractional CFO.
Over 18 months, Richards helped integrate a new acquisition, made improvements in accounting and finance processes, developed the company’s first-ever annual budget, helped with the onboarding of a new Controller, and provided business valuations in conjunction with Scale Finance’s Managing Director, Dave Gilroy.
For over six decades, Cooper Electrical has served a wide range of industrial, commercial, and municipal customers across the Southeast, providing best-in-class Electrical Design/Build, BIM, Prefabrication, Instrumentation & Controls, and Calibration services. Cooper’s expertise spans multiple major markets, including bio-pharmaceutical, chemical, water & wastewater, power generation, manufacturing, gas production & transmission, and food & beverage.
When Cooper’s CFO left the company for another opportunity, the owners engaged Rendy Richards as interim CFO while they searched for a full-time replacement. On a half-time basis over eight months, Richards kept the company’s financial organization humming, made improvements in several business processes, initiated a detailed financial forecast, and met with the owners to share his observations and recommendations on the most feasible way to staff their finance and accounting department cost-effectively.
SymmetryRX, LLC
SymmetryRX is a leading provider of eSampling services allowing Pharma Manufacturing companies to access physician practices for the ordering and distribution of drug samples across the US. The Company was acquired in November 2018 from Aptus Health, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merck. Since then, the company has expanded its robust suite of services that provides pharma manufacturing executives, brand managers, sales managers, product managers, and launch managers the ability to help more patients have greater access to samples, improving medication adherence and healthcare outcomes.
Co-Founder and Managing Director of Scale Finance Gary Hayes has been providing CFO Services to the Company since 2018 and was integral in the acquisition process, facilitated initial financing to support the company with a 7A SBA loan package of $600 thousand and an SBA-backed $300 thousand LOC. Since then, Gary has been actively providing CFO support across financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, cash planning, and strategic planning.
