Structuring of an international startup

The brief was the to structure the Group’s finance function to support its development, ahead of the arrival of the new CF0

• Start-up, increase in workforce from 150 to 300 staff, increase in new orders from $15m to $30m
• Leading open source software publisher in its sector
• Presence in Europe, United States and China
• Shareholder base: Chairman and joint-founder of the company, supported by venture capital funds

Having focused all its energy on the development of the best product and establishment of its community of users, the Group was entering the product marketing phase and needed to rapidly structure its support functions. A head-hunt was launched to recruit a Group CFO based in the United States to take over from the part-time Financial Director who had been with the company since its creation.

The globalise Director, who was very familiar with the software sector, started his assignment a week after analysis of the situation by the globalise partner and the Group’s director. This assignment involved:

• Structuring reporting, budgetary control and consolidation processes across the whole Group
• Establishing Order to Cash and Purchase to Pay procedures, along with associated IT systems
• Defining the target organisation of finance teams and participating actively in the recruitment of the EMEA Financial Controller and the Group Accounting Director
• Formalising and harmonising compensation systems and preparing the establishment of a 35-hour agreement for France
• Supporting the creation of the Japanese subsidiary

Two months after the start of the mission, the Management team and the Board of Directors had a reporting procedure for monitoring and coordinating extremely rapid growth on three continents.

The American CFO was recruited six months later. The company then decided to carry out a $34m fund-raising in the United States and asked the globalise manager to support the due diligence phase. The transaction was completed within three months under excellent conditions.

• Thanks to the establishment of a structured financial organisation, the Group’s management were able to effectively manage its rapid growth.
• Having good visibility over the business and its financing needs, the Group could achieve a major fund-raising in the United States to accelerate its development.