Financial model review | Perfect Pitch Deck

INANCIA

F

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REVIEW

DON'T BE SCARED ANYMORE

MODEL

Review your financial model

What: I review your financial model. Let you know if investors will laugh or cry at your logic and forecasts.

Get a 1-on-1 to logically walk through my thinking of your KPIs, milestones, and even the methodology you used.

Pricing: $400 an hour to $2,000 for a day

100% money back guarantee

I give value. If I don't give help, I'll refund you (inc fees).

Caveat: Not for piss takers and time wasters

Summary of a "Financial Model Review" call

What you need

How I help

Is my model a joke?
Will I be able to defend it to any questions?
Are my projections reasonable and fundable?
Does my logic actually make sense?
Am I focused on the right KPIs?
I don't have a clue and need you to teach me!

Look, I'm the largest seller of models on the internet
Zoom call with myself (not an intern)
Conceptual or granular feedback
I can refactor your model live if needed
100% confidential and a little judgemental, lol 😉
I charge $300ph. Calls are on Zoom

Video overview

Yes, I'm a real person. I make these videos so you know that, and frankly to build trust.

If you hate reading then watch this and make a call. I have FAQs at the bottom for every question, though.

Your financial model have you totally lost?

Let's face it, if you didn't work in investment banking or management consulting, you very likely suck at financial models. That's like 99.99% of everyone! Even if you know how to model, then you have the whole how to model a startup thing...

Problem is, you are going to be asked for a financial model by investors. There's no hiding from it... "You can run, but you can't hide."

Out of necessity, you've probably spent more time than you could possibly fathom trying to build a model. Only, it's witchcraft and you're scared of being burned at the stake by investors. Do the outputs even make sense!?

Why do investors want a model? There's many reasons, but they aren't obvious to startup founders because your numbers are fictional. What's actually happening when an investor looks at a model is to figure out how ambitious you are whilst at the same time figuring out how logical you are.

Ambition and logic is a function of art and science. These both require experience and a lot of effort, which is no wonder why it's the bane of your existence. Startup forecasts are the epitome of "the more you know, the harder you know they are."

Why your financial model matters

You made a great pitch deck which got you the meeting. You practiced your pitch hard and now investors are interested and the process is advancing. "Can we have a look at your model?" You hear. Huh? Why the heck do investors want a model when they know forecasts are always wrong?!

Whilst forecasts are always wrong, good models are useful. They inform a lot on your thinking. You're asking for $10m- the model explains not only the milestones you are going to deliver for your next round, but if done properly, the logic of why you are spending that money.

Investors can look at your model and tell you if there are deep flaws in your business model, if you know nothing about your industry benchmarks, or even how marketing works. Whilst you can BS your way in pitches if you are good at sales, it's really hard to pull a good model off without smart work.

It's hard for me to explain the importance of a model without writing an essay. Here's how I looked at financial models (my blog) as a VC. Take it from me, the clients that hire me to review their model are in the top quartile of founder quality. They know how hard it is to get a model right and a pair of experienced eyes can challenge a lot of assumptions.

Pricing

1 hour call

2 hour call

1 day call

This is your option if you really want to level up and nail financials so you aren't scared of them anymore. It's a long term investment in you.

You have a lot of options. We have time for me to teach you a host of topics (such as metrics) so you can become a mini-expert your friends ask questions of. You can have me spend a few hours remodeling to build in something you weren't aware of or didn't know how to do. I can talk about how to build a more metric focused startup.

$400

$800

$2,000

What we do on a call

Get to know another and build trust

We do chit chat so you get to know me and can open up. Honesty is critical for me to help you!

Unless you have specific questions (You're already experienced) I need to understand your business and industry before we get into details. My role is to see the trees, so I need to understand which wood you are in.

Next I need to understand your raise and your objectives so I know what your model should look like.

Finally, we get clear about what your objective of the call is. so I can manage expectations and/or focus our conversation so you get results.

Calibrate to your level

I will spend a few minutes going through your model to get an initial impression. This is typically fast as I know models (The Excel kind).

By looking at your model and from what you have told me, I can quite quickly tell you what the focus should actually be to get the main wins. If I am not sure, I'll ask some probing questions to see what the invisible issue is.

You'll tell me if you can model or have someone on the team. That way I know how changes will actually happen! I can also do them for you.

Teach the fundamentals

I'm expert level and am not interested in doing dumb work. I will actually teach you things so you only come to me for the hard stuff and you 'learn to fish'.

In any call with me I will always teach you to be better. What I teach you depends on your level.

With financial models for fundraising, the logic behind the numbers is what matters. and it always depends. I teach you to understand the depends.

Teach you what you need to learn

Frequently my consulting calls go into a very different direction as clients learn they are focused on the wrong things. I do know you need to get the model done though and to understand it!

We will then get into specifics so you can improve your model till the end of the call.

I will always provide you with homework on a call. If you want me to make the changes to your model for you, then just book more time.

Get one of my models...

I am not a spammy sales guy... I'm not interested in making more money at the expense of helping founders.

If your model sucks, or if you are reading this and thinking you don't have one and need help, then let me help you out here.

I've blown a year or two of my life making the best models for startups on the internet. They may not appear cheap, but they fricking are compared to the value. You will save so much time to look like a total pro.

It would make way more sense to get one of my models and then have me teach you to use it (and customise as needed) and learn from my very detailed logic. You can see a SaaS model here as an example.

Get a recording and book a follow up call

Why I can actually help you?

Before you hand over money to someone, especially one that claims to be an “expert”, you should question if they actually are full of BS, or not?

Let’s face it, “On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.”

I make six figures selling models asleep

On a beach in Bali I decided I wanted to make money in my sleep and so Excel was the natural place for me to start. Coding time!

I've been making paid models for a few years now and smart people buy them every day. I sell more models on my site and marketplaces than anyone else.

Technically, there are things that I don't know (VBA), but I know I don't need to know them. There's not much I can't logic out.

I hate bragging. There's like 30 free (crazy quality) models on my site for free. You can download and decide if I'm good. Check my free tools here.

Why do I have a clue?

I started out in financial (FIG) M&A selling insurance, banks and asset companies. As a minion you do a lot of Excel and Powerpoint. FIG is as technical as it gets. I mean other minions feel sorry for you.

Short version- I started blogging as a VC as I wanted to give value at scale. One day I thought I would just post models I made for fun sitting on my drive in case they helped people.

People downloaded them. So I made a lot more and charged for a couple of them I blew months on. The couple I did do $ six figures now.

I've gone on to check Excel nerd boxes by making my own Excel plugin, I've made a free Excel training course etc. I'm a fricking nerd...

Along side, I’ve been teaching founders and investors for years. I only started doing financial model consulting as founders asked me to do it.

I was on my live chat the other day with a V highly paid consultant in the USA looking at my ecom model. She said she just checked my linkedin to see if I was real. Yes, you can Google me. I'm not full of BS like Tai Lopez where there are no details on me.

What’s my background?

I started out at doing M&A. I worked in financial services M&A at Lazard selling multi-billion insurance companies and other equally dull companies.

I’ve been in startup and investing since 2005. During that time, I’ve founded or scaled 3 unicorns (Delivery Hero, Lazard, and Groupon), bootstrapped numerous startups, done venture building, mentored at multiple accelerators etc.

I’ve been a partner at a VC firm and I’m a Director of a VC and Fund of VC backed by seriously influential people.

And yes, I’ve also done a TEDx talk.

Why I am different

I model a lot... I want to do as little boring stuff as possible so I've hired people to try get them to ship updates. I've paid $100 an hour on Upwork (That's a lot!) to an Israeli who normally does VC DD for a living. Garbage...

I'm radically honest. I can't find anyone that can do what I can do. I wouldn't do this consulting if I could!

I know what investors care about. I have perspective about what to focus on and what to ignore
I can live model. I'm not just a big picture guy who will give you advice and not know how to do it. I can literally open your model and recode your model and have you watch me on screen share. I have nothing to hide. When I give you advice I have already thought through how to do it technically
I'm not an Excel monkey. I'm F******g good at Excel, but there's a tonne of people that are better. I however know how to model. That's super different
I’m direct and zero BS. I’ll tell you the things no one else will tell you. If your numbers are not fundable I will tell you, and why.
I actually care about you succeeding. I do consulting because I want to help founders
I know so much that I can explain things simply and in multiple ways. There’s no fluff with me as I don’t need to pad the call to fill it
I never pretend to know something. I’ll tell you if I don’t actually know so I won’t give you bad advice

Let's sort out your financial model (Book now)

Questions and Answers

Can you do G Sheets (Not Excel)

For feedback it is fine.

To be really clear though, I only model in Excel because Google Sheets sucks to nerds like me for many reasons (i.e. shortcuts, formula limitations etc).

If you have to use Sheets, I can 'look' at it. Like your KPIs and stuff for feedback. Fine.

I will not do any modeling in Sheets! It's like Silver to a Ware-wolf.

In general that is fine as I can export and import through Google.

What is this call?

We get on a call and I sort out your financial model. Let's be honest, everyone is going to need something very different. That's not an issue for me.

I give you unfiltered feedback on what you've been doing and then teach you how to do better both to have a better shot with investors, but really to help you improve your actual startup.

Whilst I typically teach on calls, I can actually edit your model if you want me to.

Quite often there is an issue with your business model. I understand numbers, so if you aren't fundable, I'll share my informed opinion as to why and tell you what needs to be changed before you go raising. Trust me, this is really important!

There is very little I can't talk about. If you know what you need to learn, that's fine. Normally I figure out what you actually need to learn and teach you that. In reality, most founders just don't know what they don't know! That's why you have me.

You leave the call with insight into your business, model and pragmatic steps to go forward.

Are you the only clueless one?

LOL. In my experience, totally not! There are very few people who understand financial models.

I've taught a few people at public companies, which is frankly insane when you think about it.

That's the ironic thing, it's when you stop learning, you start failing. Successful people get that.

Financial models are just really hard, in particular understanding the implications of everything. Yes, the mechanics are one thing, but I add value in understanding what's actually going on.

I'm not focused on just inputs - it's the outputs that matter.

Are calls recorded and can you have a copy?

Do I do prep time before a call?

Do you need to prepare anything before a call

Not really. I recommend sending me your model in advance over email as I'm going to ask unless you are clueless.

I will be tabbing through sheets whilst you talk...

Best is to just pull together a list of big questions you have to make sure I cover what you want. What you say are issues are normally just the start. I'll likely find bigger ones fast you didn't notice.

Don’t worry about having to do this though. I know what I’m doing and I will tell you what you need to know depending on your situation.

Can you reschedule / cancel the call?

What is the booking process?

What do you have to do?

What do you get?

Who is this for?

Who is this not for?

Is this confidential?

Do you sign NDAs

NDAs are BS as no one ever gets sued on them. Never ask an investor for one.

I've written a long blog on this topic. Read: Non disclosure agreements (NDA) for startup fundraising don’t matter

Trust me, nothing you have is actually confidential, let alone interesting.

The only time I've signed one for a good reason was that I was advising on an acquisition for a large exit.

It's normally n00bs that ask this question.

If you are adamant on this and have good reason, then sure. Send me it after you have booked a call via Docusign etc and I will execute.