Describe you or your firms history working with startups? The team at KPI Sense has collectively worked with over seventy SaaS, software and tech-enabled businesses. We have helped those companies raise over $200M from an impressive list of venture capital, growth equity and private equity firms globally.

What is it about startups that you feel is unique, or makes their needs different from other potential client organizations? SaaS and software businesses require financial services that are tailored to their market. Revenue recognition is tricky, the metrics and KPIs are very different than most other businesses and the delivery model is also quite unique. Add all those things up and you are likely to find most CFO service providers struggling to provide you the flexibility you need from your finance partner.

How do you cater your services to support the startup market? We approach financial services differently. Big firms and consultants bill hourly and ramping up a full-time hire can be very time-consuming. We blend automation, expertise, speed and cost-efficiency to provide an unparalleled solution for SaaS companies looking to get a better handle on their financial data.

Competitive advantage / what makes you / your organization awesome? Our vertical market expertise within software combined with our low-price point and fast execution is largely unrivaled in the market. Building our clients best-in-class financial models and KPI dashboards is only half the battle. We want our customers to actually utilize these reports to drive better decision making and generate better outcomes.

3 key things your potential clients should know about working with you / your organization?

1. We live and breath SaaS.
2. Whether you have a full-finance team or none at all, we are extremely agile and flexible and can find a way to support your business.
3. No problem is too unstructured for our team to handle. We enjoy a good challenge.

Why are you a part of the Säfik Advsrs Syndicate? We believe in what founders do, they’re innovative, want to build technology that solves real problems, and they need a village to make it happen. We are well-aligned with Safik’s vision to provide this comprehensive, cross-functional support.

Best piece of advice for startups? One of the biggest issues we see with early and growth-stage businesses is the tendency to extrapolate or exaggerate forward-looking data. While pitching a rosy story to investors or stakeholders is critical, don’t lie to yourself when creating projection. Stay in the here and now and ensure your optimistic forecasting is rooted in realism. Many businesses ultimately fail because they assume they will hit product-market fit sooner than they actually do (if at all).

Describe your firm’s history working with startups?

Have helped startups secure meetings with numerous F500 companies, raise over $2M, and secure key business partnerships.

What is it about startups that you feel is unique, or makes their needs different from other potential client organizations?

Compared to large organizations, startups have limited resources to achieve their initiatives. FlowEngine helps startups leverage one of their most valuable assets in order to compete against large organization — their network.

How do you cater your services to support the startup market?

We’ve designed our solution to help startups with their core problems (fundraising, finding key employees, securing strategic partnership and sales meetings).

Competitive advantage / what makes your organization awesome?

We’re a combination of tech & managed services so we work hand-and-hand with our clients to ensure they are able to get the most of their networks and campaigns.

3 key things your potential clients should know about working with you / your organization?

We keep our commitments, we deliver high quality work, we take a partnership mentality with all of our clients.

Why are you a part of the Säfik Advsrs Syndicate?

We love working with startups!

Best piece of advice for startups?

Build your network!

Describe your firm’s history working with startups?

The common thread running through my entire (nearly 30 year – eek!) career has been my passion for working with new ventures. I started my career launching small businesses (retail & food service), was lucky to be brought in to help start up a software company during the first dotcom boom, and then moved into healthcare technology related new ventures. About eight years ago I decided to take this experience and launch Blue Heeler Arts, which focuses exclusively on providing marketing, print & digital design, and go-to-market strategy services to new technology & professional services ventures.

What is it about startups that you feel is unique, or makes their needs different from other potential client organizations?

Number one: lean budget
Number two: they’re still figuring out the story (or as I call it “core narrative”) they want to convey to their target markets, figuring out who they are and want to be as a company. And with new ventures, that narrative often evolves over time. So they often need help to crystalize that narrative, which requires more coaching and hands on work than with more “established” companies.

How do you cater your services to support the startup market?

Cost above all: my vision for my company has always been about making “big agency” quality services accessible to a new venture budget. And second is the flexibility in the range of things we can do for new ventures and our willingness to tailor them to each client’s specific needs.

Competitive advantage / what makes your organization awesome?

First of all, we’re just darn fun to work with – I know that launching and running a new venture is incredibly stressful, so I want to make my clients feel at ease and get in a laugh or two during each meeting (while also doing great work). Second, expertise: I’ve launched over 20 new ventures in my career, so I know the ins and outs (and pain points).

The majority of our clients are ventures with products or services they are selling to the healthcare market (including biotechs) as this is an industry I know inside and out. My clients don’t need to waste their time educating me and providing me with the content for marketing & sales deliverables. That saves a lot of money and accelerates how quickly we can get their web site designed, collateral developed, etc.

3 key things your potential clients should know about working with you / your organization?

1. We’re more than “just” a marketing & design firm – you’ll get coaching, strategic guidance (if you want it), and likely a friend for life. I don’t believe in taking a transactional approach to our work – we’re in this work to develop longterm relationships and invest our heart & soul into our client’s “babies.”
2. We’ll make you think, reflect, and laugh. If you don’t want to do any of these things, we’re likely not a good fit.
3. You’ll have to tolerate an occasional comment from my Chief Canine Officer, Niko (the Blue Heeler behind the firm’s name) during conference calls.

Why are you a part of the Säfik Advsrs Syndicate?

We’re passionate about helping new ventures successfully launch and grow. On a personal level, nothing makes me happier (and motivates me) than helping the founder of a new venture see their vision become reality.

Best piece of advice for startups?

Never, ever use stock photos of what I call “generic shiny, happy, people.”  Ever.

Don’t be afraid to be disruptive. It’s excruciatingly difficult to get noticed as a new company. Clever disruptive marketing can cut through the noise and making a lasting impression.