I’ve been around startups for a long time — and that’s no coincidence.
When my peers in college were vying for investment banking internships in college, I was reading up on entrepreneurship, fully convinced I’d one day work at a startup. When I graduated, I continued down that path, working at a consulting firm specializing in finance and accounting for startups in and around Silicon Valley.
That job was the dream.
I worked on projects for over 25 startups, all at varying stages of their journey. I discovered that founders are some of the most interesting people you’ll ever meet. They vary widely in their skills, strengths, weaknesses, and leadership styles. There’s so much to learn from them, and I met all of them in person. Safe to say, I was captivated by their fascinating personalities and stories.
Beyond that, though, I came to appreciate how tough it is to succeed. Founders worked day in and day out on their company. They thought about it constantly, especially the ones trying to bridge the gap from Series A to Series B. To me, that seemed like the hardest milestone but the most exciting challenge.
That’s what’s led me to Kard today — and this is how I got here.
Cutting my teeth in M&A
After four years at KongBasileConsulting, I decided it was time to get more experience elsewhere. But I wanted to keep working with founders, so I pivoted into investing.
At Heroic Ventures, I supported roughly 20 to 25 sell-side deals, a rude awakening to how hard big deals are and how long they take. They involve tons of people, both internal and external folks. Getting everyone to work together and solve problems efficiently is difficult and demanding. But I loved it.
So from there, I applied my newfound M&A skills to media, at Group Nine. And I got even more valuable experience with their major sale to Vox.
By 2023, I’d moved on to lead a strategic finance team at Reddit. Working there was an incredible experience, yet I found myself itching to go back to early-stage startups.
I didn’t want to work at just any startup, though. I wanted to be the first finance hire, laying the foundation for an exit down the road. And the idea had to be solid enough, the leaders strong enough, and the problems interesting enough for me to make the jump.
A unique market opportunity
In my search, I came across Kard, and instantly knew it was a great fit.
The company was in an amazing position, not only in terms of its growth but also in terms of the fintech market. Unlike other fintech companies, Kard uniquely caters to both issuers and merchants. Plus, my journey there seemed like it would involve helping the company raise money and prepare for an exit — precisely the challenge I wanted to help see a startup through.
When I spoke with the CEO, Ben Mackinnon, I was immediately impressed by his knowledge of the space and what he was able to do with such a lean team in such a short period of time. That showed me a staggering amount of growth was coming really, really soon. He just needed more experienced folks to help him lead the company as it continued to expand.
Keeping small startups financially healthy as they move toward an exit was my specialty.
Taking Kard to the next level
When I got to Kard, it was clear we had product market fit. Achieving this is huge — but it’s not the only thing investors are looking for, particularly when funding a Series B. Only 20 to 30% of seeded companies get to Series A, and there’s roughly a 50% half-life after that.
VCs want to see that startups are holding their own against bigger competition. That they’re driving revenue. That they have a thoughtful GTM motion with productive salespeople. That their leaders are thinking carefully about recruiting, weighing every new hire against investment in R&D.
It’s a load of work to get to that point, and the stakes are really high.
To get our ducks in order, I had to create systems that set our teams up for thoughtful decision-making, building our finance and accounting function from the ground up. My team and I spent a lot of time creating different models to ensure we were forecasting the business in a way that encouraged thoughtful decision-making.
In addition, Shanta Moore, Kard’s Director of People, and I built out a new internal leveling structure and performance management process. Our team became highly involved in hiring, setting new goals for the level of talent we wanted to bring on while sticking with our compensation bands. We also helped streamline backend customer-related processes, ensuring clear, timely communication.
I’m thrilled to say that all this hard work is paying off:
- We’ve up-leveled everything about how we operate as a finance and accounting org in preparation for a new round of funding.
- We ruthlessly prioritize analyzing our performance — now on a weekly basis.
- Our biggest customer is rolling out this year, and I’m excited to see that go well.
- I’m starting to see everyone we hired get their footing. They’re collaborating, getting deeply ingrained in the business, and bringing their special skills to the table.
Want to make your mark on Kard as we scale? Check out our list of our open positions here.
Bonus round: Rituals and obsessions
A Kard ritual I enjoy
It’s not a ritual, per se, but more of a company cultural value: openness. At Kard, we operate with an immense amount of transparency compared to other places I’ve worked. Trust in and caring deeply about others is in our DNA, and it’s palpable in our everyday work and when we get together in person.
Many startup leaders don’t practice transparency because there’s so much unknown. But in my opinion, it’s a prerequisite to success — I’ve seen firsthand how much it excites people and motivates them to bring their best selves to work.
What I’m obsessed with
Mechanical keyboards. A bit ago, I decided I wanted a better keyboard, so I started with some basic YouTube and Reddit searches to find one.
Next thing I know, I’m falling deeper and deeper down the mechanical keyboard rabbit hole, learning about what makes a keyboard great, how to trick it out with customizations, how it sounds when you type, which sizes are best fits for me, etc. I love this hobby, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it — it’s addicting and expensive.