I had the chance to talk with New Haven Biz for a recent article titled, Flush with cash: Record venture capital funding driving local startups’ demand for CFO talent. “For much of the U.S. economy, 2020 was a year best forgotten,” the article begins. “But for venture capital, 2020 was a banner year.”
“The complexity and size of today’s venture deals have created a growing demand for startup companies to hire a chief financial officer earlier in their life cycle, experts say.”
Here’s the section of the article where I’m quoted:
More money, more responsibility
Frank Milone, who runs the emerging companies and venture capital audit practice for Glastonbury-based accounting and consulting firm FML, says investors’ expectations about progress at certain funding rounds has also accelerated and driven the trends toward CFOs.
Because startups, he says, have more access to early-seed money and larger Series A investment, the expectation from some investors is that scaling the company may be possible in the first funding round.
Growth and scale can create several challenges that a CFO is best equipped to solve, he said.
“If an [early-stage] company needs to pivot to support accelerated growth or change because growth stalls, how do they reallocate funding or conserve cash flow to get further down the development path,” Milone said. “Investors want to know a company has the right individual to address those [situations].”
