Fractional CFO and Finance Operations
The Challenge
An early-stage blockchain platform with smart contract functionality needed a finance function built to support capital raises and a distributed team spanning North America, Europe, and the Middle East. The mandate was clear: establish the controls, compliance, and reporting infrastructure to position the company for growth, without pulling focus from the technology.
The Strategy
Helmsman was engaged as the finance function from day one. The distributed team structure shaped every decision. To support rapid geographic expansion, Helmsman implemented a reliable cross-border payment workflow, coordinated employee onboarding across multiple jurisdictions through employer-of-record arrangements, and built the compliance and reporting frameworks to keep it running efficiently. The company achieved broad international presence without the overhead that typically accompanies it.
Investor readiness was built into the same foundation. Financial models, forecasting frameworks, and management reporting were developed to a standard that founders could speak to with confidence and that would hold up under rigorous diligence.
The Outcome
Sauber closed its institutional seed round supported by a finance function that performed under scrutiny. Diligence was met with organized, defensible financial information, and the leadership team engaged with investors from a position of preparedness. The closed round validated both the technology and the organizational platform built to support it.
