Business Finance Basics

I’ve taken in over $1.2M in funding for my company, but I avoided one funding source for 2+ years before finally considering it, and it’s been a game changer: Every founder should consider loans when raising money for their company. I know how scary it sounds since, unlike venture capital, loans need to be repaid. But sometimes, taking out a loan may be the best financial move for your business. Take it from me. At Chezie, we’ve taken out about $25k in loans (with another $100k coming in the next few weeks). While the investor money we’ve raised has been super valuable and allowed us to take in a large amount of money at once, loans have helped us continue to grow to north of $500k ARR. Here are three reasons to consider loans if you haven’t already: 1. You’re already generating revenue. If your business is already making money, you can use future earnings to repay the loan instead of giving away equity. This way, you can maintain control of your company and continue growing without investor interference. There are probably some local offices that offer revenue-based financing loans in your area; don't be afraid to check those out! 2. You need money fast. A loan can be applied for and approved within days, whereas VC funding involves extensive pitching and due diligence that can take months. If you need cash quickly, a loan might make the most sense. Depending on your business, I recommend platforms like Bags or Capchase to source flexible loans with low(ish) interest rates. 3. You want to remain in control. I can’t stress this enough. VC funding is significant, but it might require more compromise than you’re willing to make. Loans allow you to keep your equity intact. This is especially important if you believe in your business's long-term potential and want to retain ownership. Loans don’t have to be scary. They provide a faster and sometimes more flexible way to fund your growth without diluting your ownership. What other loan platforms have folks tried? Meet me in the comments!

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗕𝗠 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆? Everyone talks about FinOps when it comes to cloud cost control. But TBM? It’s the only framework that provides a structured way to align IT spending - both digital and non-digital - with business value. Today most IT cost-cutting efforts focus on cloud costs. But what about on-prem data centers, networking, end-user computing, software licensing, IT service management, and physical infrastructure? That’s where TBM shines. Unlike FinOps, which primarily focuses on cloud cost management, TBM covers all IT spend - digital and non-digital. That means: ✓ On-prem data centers (server costs, cooling, power, maintenance) ✓ SaaS and enterprise software (license costs, renewals, shadow IT) ✓ Network infrastructure (bandwidth costs, MPLS, SD-WAN optimizations) ✓ End-user computing (desktops, mobile devices, IT support costs) ✓ IT services & outsourcing (managed services, BPOs, contract negotiations) This is what makes TBM different - it breaks IT costs into layers: ✓ Cost Pools – The raw IT expenses (hardware, software, labor, facilities, etc.). ✓ IT Towers – Logical groupings like compute, storage, network, and applications. ✓ Products & Services – The services IT delivers (e.g., CRM platforms, cloud storage, collaboration tools). ✓ Business Units – The actual consumers of IT resources (sales, marketing, HR, etc.). This multi-layer mapping gives granular visibility into IT spending. This enables CIOs and CFOs optimize across hybrid IT environments. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗕𝗠? Most organizations optimize reactively - shutting down workloads, cutting headcount, or delaying upgrades. TBM forces a proactive, data-driven approach by integrating: ✓ Cost transparency – Mapping IT costs to business units, services, and outcomes ✓ Showback/chargeback – Assigning costs directly to business teams for accountability ✓ Unit economics – Measuring IT efficiency per unit of business value (cost per transaction, cost per API call, etc.) ✓ Benchmarking – Comparing internal IT costs with industry standards to identify waste The result? ✓ IT isn’t just seen as a cost center - it becomes a strategic partner. ✓ Cost-cutting doesn’t compromise performance or innovation. ✓ Businesses make smarter investment decisions, balancing cost, quality, and value. Why TBM is still underappreciated? TBM doesn’t promise quick fixes. It requires a mature cost culture, strong leadership, and deep integration into financial planning. And the truth is - many companies don’t want to do the hard work. They’d rather cut budgets blindly than ask the harder question: "Is this IT spend actually driving business value?" The companies that do embrace TBM gain full control over IT costs - cloud, data center, software, infrastructure, services, everything. TBM is about spending right, not spending less. #TBM Technology Business Management (TBM) Council

I Studied 50+ Indian Startups and Found the Shocking Truth: Margins Beat Scale Every Time The data tells an uncomfortable story. While India's startup ecosystem chases growth at all costs, the real winners are building margin-first businesses in traditional categories. Here's what nobody's talking about: One: The Value-Add Premium Take Vahdam Teas. They export the same tea leaves as bulk traders, but by controlling packaging, branding, and direct distribution, they command 60-70% gross margins versus 8-10% in bulk trade. Their revenue per kilo is 15x higher than traditional exporters. Two: The Brand Advantage Look at Mamaearth. They didn't invent new ingredients - they just packaged ancient wisdom into modern formats. Their EBITDA margins touched 40% while competitors struggled at 15-20%. Why? They owned the story, not just the supply chain. Three: The Scale Trap I've watched countless startups burn cash chasing scale before margins. The pattern is clear: - Year 1: Growth at any cost - Year 2: More funding needed - Year 3: Painful restructuring - Year 4: Focus finally shifts to unit economics Meanwhile, brands like Yoga Bar built sustainable businesses by maintaining 45%+ gross margins from day one. They grew slower but never needed a down round. The Hard Truth India doesn't need more unicorns. We need profitable businesses that can: - Convert commodities into brands - Build IP around traditional knowledge - Control their destiny through margins The next wave of successful Indian startups won't be defined by valuation but by value creation. The metrics that matter aren't GMV or MAU, but gross margin per unit and customer lifetime value. I've seen this firsthand at Convanto, advising founders across categories. The ones who win aren't playing the funding game they're playing the margin game. The opportunity is clear: Build businesses that generate cash, not just headlines. Because in the end, margins beat scale every single time. #StartupIndia #Entrepreneurship #BusinessStrategy #ConsumerBrands #ValueCreation

Most leaders fear crises, but crises unlock growth. My 5-step framework shows how. I’ve spent over 20 years guiding founders through tough times - turnarounds, pivots, and moments when the future felt uncertain. I've learnt that chaos is not the end. It’s often the start of something better, if you have a system you trust. A client story stands out. They faced economic challenges that threatened their business. By using my 5-step framework, they went from survival mode to a turnaround in 6 to 12 months. No magic, just discipline, hard work and a repeatable system. Here’s the framework that made the difference: 1. Assessment ⇀ Take a clear look at what’s really happening.  ⇀ What are the facts? Where are the issues?  ⇀ Be honest about strengths and blind spots. 2. Alignment ⇀ Make sure everyone is on the same page.  ⇀ Get buy-in from your team and partners.  ⇀ Set the vision and share it often. 3. Action ⇀ Move quickly on what matters most.  ⇀ Build a plan and break it into steps.  ⇀ Start with the hardest task first. 4. Acceleration ⇀ Once you see progress, increase the pace.  ⇀ Remove slow parts, double down on what works. ⇀ Keep the team focused. 5. Assurance ⇀ Check results, and adjust your plan.  ⇀ Celebrate wins and learn from setbacks.  ⇀ Support your team. Reflect on these steps for your next business pivot: ➞ What is your real starting point? ➞ Who needs to be aligned for success? ➞ What action can you take today? ➞ Where can you speed up? ➞ How will you get assurance? Growth often hides behind a crisis and the right framework could turn your fear into clarity and momentum. I know economic times are tough for many business owners, but please keep going. Your next breakthrough could be closer than you think.

Stop ignoring your Balance Sheet! 🧮 If you're forecasting without ALL THREE financial statements, you're making a HUGE mistake. I see it all the time... Finance professionals create forecasts with just a Profit & Loss, and maybe a manually calculated cash flow statement... But they leave out the Balance Sheet. This is like trying to drive a car with just the speedometer but no gas gauge or GPS. You might know how fast you're going, but you have no idea how much fuel you have left or where you're headed! 🚗 Let’s break it down 👇 ➡️ Why you NEED all 3 statements in your forecast Forecasting ALL THREE financial statements gives you context that a standalone P&L simply cannot provide. You review a P&L and see $1M in net income last month. Impressive, right? But what if $100B was invested in that business? Suddenly that $1M return doesn't look so great anymore! Only the Balance Sheet gives you this crucial context through metrics like Return on Equity. ➡️ Connecting your financial statements is POWERFUL If you remember one thing from my FP&A content, it's this: The Balance Sheet makes building a statement of cash flows EASY. Remember the accounting equation? Assets = Liabilities + Owners Equity If the net change in Assets equals the net change in Liabilities + Owners Equity over the same period... Then: -(Δ in Assets) + Δ in (Liabilities + Owners Equity) = 0 Congratulations! You now understand the fundamental concept behind building a statement of cash flows. It's simply another way of looking at your balance sheet by calculating the net change in every account except cash. ➡️ When you connect all 3 statements in your forecast... You unlock INCREDIBLE flexibility: - You can forecast the impact of amounts you invoice (Accounts Receivable) vs income you earn (Revenue) vs what you defer (Deferred Revenue) - You can dynamically see cash flow impacts from ANY changes in your P&L or Balance Sheet - You create a bulletproof financial model that impresses everyone who sees it ➡️ The power of the complete financial picture With all 3 statements connected, you gain insights that are impossible with just a P&L: - Asset utilization efficiency - Debt capacity - Working capital management - True cash conversion cycles === Don't be the finance professional who makes the critical mistake of ignoring the Balance Sheet. Be the leader who implements the discipline of connecting ALL THREE statements in your financial models. What's your experience with Balance Sheets in forecasting? Do you include all 3 statements in your financial models? Comment below and let us know👇

Big update for UAE family offices, entrepreneurs, and wealth managers. The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has just clarified how Corporate Tax applies to family wealth structures, and it’s a major step forward for clarity and confidence in the UAE’s tax landscape. Here’s what you need to know 👇 ✅ Family foundations and trusts can apply to be tax transparent — meaning no Corporate Tax at the entity level. ✅ Regulated Free Zone entities (DFSA, FSRA, or Central Bank oversight) can continue to enjoy a 0% Corporate Tax rate. ✅ Unregulated Single Family Offices are taxable on all income. ✅ Family members remain exempt on personal and real estate investment income. ✅ Income from business activities above AED 1 million per year can become taxable. The key takeaway: structure and regulation matter more than ever. The right setup can mean the difference between 0% and 9%. As family offices evolve and professionalise, this clarification brings welcome transparency, and a clear incentive to review existing structures under Article 17 of the Corporate Tax Law. How do you see this shaping the future of wealth planning in the UAE? Full link in the comments for those who are interested! #UAE #CorporateTax #FamilyOffice #WealthManagement #FTA #DIFC #ADGM #PrivateWealth #Tax #UAEbusiness #crypto

Are European leveraged borrowers rated ‘CCC’ most at risk from higher-for-longer interest rates? Under a scenario of flat interest rates in 2024-2025, Fitch Ratings estimates the median ‘CCC’ rated borrowers' interest cover would fall to 0.9x in 2024, from an already tight 1.3x in its Base Case forecasts. > The Base-Case forecasts incorporate three rate cuts totalling 75bp by both the ECB and the Bank of England (BoE) in 2024, and a further 75bp worth of cuts by the ECB and 100bp by the BoE in 2025. However, recent economic news in Europe has caused some investors to push back their expectations of rate cuts. > For issuers rated at ‘B-’, the median coverage ratio would remain 1.7x in 2024 and 2.0x in 2025. > At these levels there is still room for most businesses to navigate short-term working-capital movements and make needed investments. > As interest cover ratios approach 1.0x, companies face tougher choices regarding the use of discretionary cash flows after debt service, and below 1.0x - the ability to simply pay interest on debt obligations may be called into question. > This further reduces the likelihood of market-based refinancing solutions for these entities, increasing the risk of distressed debt exchanges or payment defaults. > The high leverage taken on by some issuers during the period of low interest rates is unworkable when borrowing costs are 8% or above. > Such companies have come under pressure in the last 2 years to cut leverage to obtain market access when they refinance debt at higher rates. > Interest rate pressure has been more immediate for leveraged-loan borrowers exposed to floating rates. Going forward: > Both floating-rate loan and fixed-rate bond borrowers will have to contend with increased base rates and margins on refinancing. > Gradual improvements in coverage ratios are driven by better operating performance and deleveraging, which is expected across the ‘B’ category. > A hurdle for ‘CCC’ issuers is their persistently high borrowing spreads on interest rates – which makes achieving a workable balance sheet structure even more difficult. > In contrast, for issuers rated in the ‘BB’ and ‘B’ categories, spreads are among the lowest since the global financial crisis. > Strong market supply and demand dynamics, and expectations that interest rates have at least peaked have addressed refinancing pressures for many 'BB' and 'B' rated issuers, and helped them make inroads into refinancing their 2024 and 2025 debt maturities. > Progress has been greater for loan refinancing than for high-yield bonds, with only 40% of loan maturities for each year still outstanding vs. May'23. > For high-yield bonds, 55% of 2024 maturities and 86% of 2025 maturities are still outstanding vs. May'23. Slower Interest-rate cuts a risk to Europe’s ‘CCC’ corporates while ‘B’ rated borrowers remain resilient. Krishank Parekh | LinkedIn | LinkedIn Guide to Creating #leveragedfinance #refinancing #FitchRatings

Welcome to the second edition of our four-part series diving deep into early-stage business funding. Thanks for all the great feedback last week. This week, we're exploring Non-Dilutive and Debt Financing. Non-dilutive funding, especially R&D grants, government programs, and innovative debt options, can be transformative, preserving your ownership and significantly enhancing valuation. In this newsletter I look at: R&D Grants: A deep dive into opportunities like Innovate UK Smart Grants and the U.S. SBIR/STTR programs, highlighting how these grants validate your technology and increase valuations by 15-30%. Traditional Debt Financing: Discover how UK startups leverage British Business Bank guarantees and U.S. founders use SBA loans to strategically extend their runway without dilution. Invoice and Revenue-Based Financing: Flexible, scalable solutions ideal for managing working capital, maintaining equity, and aligning payments with your growth. The goal is to help you understand how to strategically combine various non-equity funding mechanisms to accelerate your startup's growth while maximising founder control. Check out the full newsletter 👇 Stay tuned for next week's instalment on Equity Financing..... #StartupFunding #NonDilutiveFunding #DebtFinancing #Grants #StartupGrowth #FounderAdvice #IdeasforaBetterWorld

Cloud costs are becoming the blind spot in digital transformation. A huge mistake is thinking cost control comes after deployment. Gartner, IDC, and regional surveys show the same thing: Cloud adoption is scaling, and so is waste. It raises hard questions for every delivery lead: How do we track value, not just spend? How do we forecast with accuracy? How do we stay cost-resilient across regions? It’s not about the cloud provider. It’s about the discipline behind it. And the reality: 94% of global organisations report cost overruns. Most common culprits? Idle compute. Unused storage. No tagging. No shutdown policies. Here’s why it keeps happening: → No unit cost ownership → No spend visibility at the service level → No roadmap alignment These aren’t random misses. They’re signs of a systemic problem: → Engineering owns infra ≫ not budgets → Finance owns totals ≫ not workloads → PMOs track milestones ≫ not consumption That’s why we use tools like: ⓘ AWS Cost Explorer to track EC2, S3, and Lambda usage ⓘ Azure Cost Management for daily anomaly alerts ⓘ GCP Billing for service-level granularity ⓘ CloudZero, Ternary, and nOps to push unit cost per job or user One UAE fintech cut idle compute by 37% in Q2 by tagging early, automating shutdowns, and publishing per-team cost scorecards. Cloud isn’t expensive. Lack of ownership is. الرؤية تسبق الوفورات. Savings follow visibility.

"Should we hire or should we cut?" is a question I'm hearing often from small business owners right now, which is fair given the mixed economic signals. Some clients are seeing their best quarters ever. Others are watching pipelines thin out. Everyone seems to be asking, "How do we plan for what we can't predict?" This is where scenario planning becomes your survival tool; not just hoping for the best, but modeling the reality of different futures. Here's what we walk our clients through: 🌳 The Growth Scenario: For example, if revenue is expected to be up, we’re looking at potential team expansion and higher overhead. Looking at what that does for cash flow given the changes to expected expense changes. 🌱 The Steady Scenario: Where flat growth is expected and we plan to maintain current team, we’ll want to optimize margins and prepare for inevitable per team member increases. There will likely be some percentage increase YOY but we expect the core costs to stay the same. 🍃 The Contraction Scenario: On the other hand, if revenue is expected to go down, we want to look at strategic cuts that allow the team to run efficiently while preserving cash. For our clients, this is usually a mix of team, professional services, and travel. We also want to ensure that the resources kept are used efficiently. Each scenario gets its own financial mode where we map out cash flow, runway, and break-even points for 3, 6, and 12 months ahead. The command center for this? Fathom. We've been using Fathom since the beginning of Little Fish Accounting and it lets us build the scenarios in real-time with clients, showing exactly how each decision ripples through their financials. No more spreadsheet gymnastics or gut-feeling guesses. Ultimately, the founders who survive uncertainty aren't the ones with crystal balls—they're the ones with clear models and decisive action plans. And we're glad to be the builders 🧱