Start operating before you incorporate

I have been the first or only finance hire at three venture-backed companies — a Volkswagen Group venture, a Bertelsmann-backed HR-tech group and a Berlin e-commerce platform — and built each finance function from scratch: model, reporting, controls, banking and multi-country tax. I have negotiated an angel round and a bank credit facility as finance lead, owned investor reporting and due-diligence Q&A, and supported DD on multiple >€50M acquisitions and post-acquisition integration. Most recently I have been automating the work founders hate — multi-country VAT and compliance filings, product master data — with Python and LLMs, turning a week-long monthly cycle into one click.

Bring me: the model you are about to show investors; a cross-border entity structure you are unsure how to finance or report; DD prep; or the question of what to automate before you make your first finance hire.

One bias I will admit to: most early-stage companies hire finance too early and automate it too late. The first finance person should be senior enough to build the whole function and then script most of it away — which is why it rarely needs to be a full-time seat.

Based in Limassol, working remotely across the EU. Ukrainian · Russian · German · English · Portuguese.

An independent marketing and business-development strategist who works directly with owners and CEOs, turning founder-dependent, ad-hoc growth into structured, measurable systems. CEO of HAPPIX and a board member at IRMC.

A practitioner, not a theorist: his track record spans launching and scaling ventures across hospitality, entertainment, events and consumer brands — including go-to-market and positioning. He steps in where the current growth model has run out.

A finance executive and startup mentor with 10+ years helping technology companies build scalable financial operations and sustainable growth — across investment, FinTech, iGaming, payments and high-growth tech, where finance is a strategic driver of product expansion, profitability and long-term value.

Built and scaled finance, billing and managerial-accounting functions from the ground up, overseeing high-volume payment operations with portfolios above $100M and millions of transactions. Covers revenue optimization, unit economics, liquidity management, financial modeling and operational frameworks that let businesses scale while balancing growth, profitability and risk.

Advises founders on financial strategy, investor readiness, monetization and scalable business models — validating unit economics, building credible projections and preparing for fundraising and international expansion, so they're ready not just to raise capital but to build financially resilient companies that scale globally.