point

March - 2015 - issue > Cover Story

myStartUpCFO: The Financial Department You Can't Afford Not to Have

Anamika Sahu
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Anamika Sahu
Today's uncertain economy and unsteady job-market has inspired many to walk toward their dream of having their own business. But failed start-ups remain a fact of life. Unfortunately, countless entrepreneurs learn the hard way that it takes more than just a great idea and a strong spirit to succeed. Poor financial management tops the chart as reasons most new businesses are at risk for failing in their first year.

Entrepreneurs are a special breed and an admirable one; it takes a lot of moxie to believe so strongly in an idea that you risk everything to see it through. Most business-builders are innovators and big-picture strategists - not financial gurus. Often focusing primarily on a product, service or other offering, business owners frequently forget about a financial strategy and the ever-important bottom line. People have many different ideas about what makes a start-up a success story, but everyone can agree that without profit and financial stability, an organization is at risk for failure.

Sudhir Pai and Sandeep Shroff, Co-Founders of myStartUpCFO, say, "Keeping the clean financial books from the get go is half the battle won. Money is the oxygen on which companies survive". Most startup entrepreneurs fervently focus on technology, product, services and employee engagement, leaving a huge gap on the financial side of the business. This often plays a major role in the demise of many a dream-project.

Entrepreneurs often say, they wish they were more proactive and had the luxury of strategic financial guidance but simply don't have the budget to hire a CFO (Chief Financial Officer). They try their best to respond to financial matters but most reactions are not backed by seasoned expertise. Sandeep and Sudhir saw this significant gap in expertise while working with hundreds of small businesses in their tax preparation and filing business called MyTaxFiler, a registered trademark owned by a 2008 incorporated Texas corporation named Global Value Add, Inc. The duo conceived the idea of myStartUpCFO in 2012, to fill this expertise gap. myStartUpCFO is a technology-driven, services organization offering a full complement of CFO office capabilities to small and mid size business on demand (0-50 employees or $0-10M revenue). Working with smaller companies that can't afford a high-priced, full-time CFO, myStartUpCFO offers services that range from tactical, every-day bookkeeping to strategic financial advice, including help with fundraising efforts and M&A guidance.

In today's tech-savvy, mobile and cloud driven world, even a two-person startup can become global from day one from both an employee and customer base perspective. This introduces a whole new level of multi-currency, multi-national complexity for young companies to navigate. This often drives the need for a full service CFO office to take care of all aspects of finance and compliance. By offering the full stack CFO office as a service on demand, myStartUpCFO helps free up entrepreneurs' time and energy to focus on their passion.


Share on Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Share on facebook