Fundraising, M&A and due diligence

What PE actually is, how it differs from venture capital, and what a PE-backed business needs from its finance function that a VC-backed one does not.

How a raise actually runs for an Australian startup, and why the finance hire that matters most is the one made before the round closes, not after.

Revenue multiples, EBITDA multiples and discounted cash flow, and what actually moves the number once the method is picked.

How a deal runs from teaser to completion, and the specific finance skills that separate a genuine deal hire from a generalist.

Non-binding on price, rarely renegotiated on governance. The five terms worth reading twice before you sign.

What a diligence process actually tests, why it is closer to constant than occasional at a fast-growing business, and what stalls it.

Why a clean, agreed cap table is one of the clearest signals of exit readiness, and who should actually own keeping it that way.

What investors read off the org chart before they read the numbers, and what genuinely reduces the risk beyond an insurance policy.

Cost-out, financial restructure or formal insolvency: what each actually involves, and what it does to the senior finance hiring market.

What each option actually costs beyond the headline number, and why the call belongs in the finance seat, not on gut feel.

A loan facility built for VC-backed startups, layered alongside an equity round. When it extends runway cleanly, and when it just adds risk.

How a SAFE differs from the convertible note most Australian rounds actually use, and why the combined stack matters more than the instrument.

Who actually evaluates a vendor pitch at an early-stage startup, and what the finance seat is really testing for.

Pre-seed through Series C, plus the R&D Tax Incentive and grants, and where the first finance hire lands in that sequence.

Why a bank balance check is not cash flow management, and how a rolling forecast should sit behind every hiring and spend decision.