Unlike typical sell-side services, FIFTK stands out by incorporating the buy-side perspective, focusing on truth and impartial governance, thereby ensuring a more balanced and honest approach to company management.
The buy-side viewpoint is a business perspective that's holistic and analytic, usually coming from financial risk-takers like investors. In contrast, those who invest time, like founders, often have a more sell-side perspective, marked by a strong optimistic bias as they try to attract financiers.
The buy-side viewpoint is crucial for all stakeholders, including founders as it offers a realistic business understanding and is the best way to engage financiers. This viewpoint also means a strong commitment to transparency and the management of the agency risk between founders and investors.
Operations are crucial for managing a growing company, but not sufficient for creating superior value, satisfying buy-side stakeholders, or building an enduring company. This requires strategic focus, which is precisely what FIFTK offers for the benefit of all stakeholders.
Critical - Communication with key (external) stakeholders necessitates compelling and informative narratives.
Minor - Communication primarily directed towards internal management, leading to less emphasis on narratives.
Short-Term - Involves tasks like accounting supervision, budgeting, controlling, cash management, working capital, and credit.
Advanced - Engages in sophisticated business analytics (future analysis), using data processing technologies and modern notebooks.
Valuation - Growing and monetizing the equity value of the company.
Productivity - Supporting internal operational efficiency and productivity within the organization.
Sell-Side - Advisors defend management positions and is subject to internal optimistic biases.
Basic - Primarily involves Excel modeling for budgeting and controlling, possibly incorporating business intelligence tools (past analysis).
External - Ideally positioned outside the company, detached from day-to-day management. This detachment enables critical and strategic thinking.
C-Suite - Catering to the CEO and other CxOs (CMO, CTO, etc.).
Long-Term - Encompasses Financial Planning & Analysis, equity management, fundraising, M&A, strategic governance, and investor relations.
Internal - Demands a physical presence (e.g. the CFO) within the office for managing routine tasks, overseeing workflows, and coordinating teams.
Buy-Side - Advisors report to shareholders adopting a fact-based and ideally unbiased approach.
Shareholders - Engaging shareholders and long-term financial partners.
Late Stage - Gains significance as the company matures, typically becoming more relevant around the 20 Full-Time Equivalent.
Any Stage - Becomes crucial as soon as the company aims to attract, engage, or satisfy shareholders and long-term financial partners.
Pat has a decade of experience in strategic finance and private equity, having worked with renowned institutions like Rothschild & Cie, Close Brothers, and SFF Financial Services in both France and Switzerland. Over the next ten years, he supported over 300 SMEs, including startups, growing businesses, and industrial companies. Pat holds economics degrees from Sorbonne and Dauphine universities, along with a master's in finance from HEC Paris.
