CrunchSpark | Fractional CFO for Fintech, Web3 & High-Growth Tech

The Problem

Your business is growing.
Your finance function isn't.

Most scale-up founders hit a wall where spreadsheets stop working, investors start asking hard questions, and no one in the room can give a confident answer.

Cashflow is a guess, not a model

You know roughly what's in the bank, but runway is a rough estimate, not a live model. Hiring and spend decisions are made without the financial clarity a growing business demands.

Investor meetings expose your gaps

You're fielding questions on unit economics, runway, and projections. The answers aren't sharp enough. Due diligence is coming and you know you're not ready.

Finance is your job by default

Between managing the bookkeeper, signing bank transfers, and chasing month-end close, you're spending CEO time on CFO problems. Every hour here costs you growth.

You're making big decisions without financial conviction

Pricing changes, new market entry, headcount plans — made on instinct rather than modelled outcomes. Without a strategic finance lens, the business moves fast but not always in the right direction.

Board reporting is late and operational

Your board pack tells investors what happened last month, not what it means or what's coming next. That's a governance gap and a confidence problem.

Regulatory complexity is slowing you down

EMI licences, FCA authorisation, MiCA, crypto accounting. The landscape is complex, evolving and increasingly scrutinised. One misstep costs months.

Audit season becomes a fire drill

Every year, pulling records together for auditors takes weeks of senior time. Documents are scattered, processes undocumented, and findings that should have been caught months ago surface at the worst moment.

Banking relationships are reactive, not strategic

Multiple accounts, manual payment runs, no treasury policy. In fintech especially, losing access to a banking partner can be existential — yet most founders treat banking as an afterthought until a crisis hits.

If three or more of these describe your business, you need a CFO. Not another accountant.

Let's Talk →

ACA QualifiedICAEW Chartered Accountant

20+ YearsExperience in Finance

3 ContinentsInternational Operations

About

A CFO who has built what you are building and scaled it further.

I'm not a consultant who reads reports and writes recommendations. I'm a hands-on CFO who has sat in the seat at blockchain companies, EMI-regulated payment businesses, and high-growth SaaS platforms — and built the finance function from the ground up.

As a UK Chartered Accountant with over 20 years of senior finance leadership, I've raised capital from venture and institutional investors, structured complex digital asset treasury operations, navigated FCA authorisation, and scaled finance teams across multiple jurisdictions.

I've been in the room when term sheets are negotiated. I've been the person who rewrote the financial model at midnight before an investor presentation. I know what good looks like, and I know exactly where scale-up finance functions break.

CFO of regulated blockchain and payments businesses

Built finance functions from zero to investor-ready

Led fundraising rounds and due diligence processes

Deep expertise in crypto treasury and digital asset accounting

Managed regulatory complexity across FCA, EMI, and MiCA frameworks

Work With Me →

Services

Strategic finance leadership, built around
your growth stage.

Not retainers-by-the-hour. Outcomes-focused engagements designed to make a measurable difference to how your business operates, raises capital, and scales.

Fractional CFO: Embedded Strategic Partner

Your CFO. Your team. Without the full-time cost.

Ongoing strategic finance leadership embedded in your business. I attend board meetings, lead investor conversations, own financial planning and analysis, and build the reporting infrastructure your business needs to scale with confidence.

What's included

Monthly & quarterly board-ready financial reporting
Rolling cashflow models and runway visibility
KPI frameworks and investor dashboards
Finance team management and structure
Strategic input on commercial decisions
Regular CFO-to-CEO advisory sessions

2–4 days/month · 6-month minimum

Fundraise Readiness & Investor Preparation

Walk into your next round fully prepared.

From seed to Series B, I prepare your business to survive due diligence and present financial conviction to investors.

Institutional-grade financial models
Investor-ready board deck narrative
Due diligence data room build
Cap table modelling & dilution scenarios
Investor Q&A preparation and coaching

6–12 weeks project

Regulatory Finance & Compliance Structure

Scale without the regulatory landmines.

For fintech and Web3 businesses navigating FCA, EMI licensing, MiCA, or crypto treasury management.

EMI/PSP safeguarding structures
Crypto & digital asset treasury frameworks
FCA financial reporting & capital adequacy
MiCA readiness assessment
Regulatory audit preparation

Scope varies by complexity

Finance Function Build & Transformation

From chaos to control. Fast.

Installs the infrastructure, team structure, and operating rhythm of a finance function built for scale.

Finance systems & tech stack design
Month-end close process build
Finance team hiring & structure
Management accounts framework
Internal controls & governance

8–16 weeks project

International Expansion Finance

Global ambition. Local financial rigour.

Multi-entity structures, transfer pricing, multi-currency treasury, and cross-border compliance.

International entity & holding structure
Transfer pricing policy & documentation
Multi-currency cashflow & FX management
International consolidated reporting

Project or ongoing engagement

CFO Advisory: Strategic Sounding Board

Senior financial judgment, on demand.

For founders who want access to senior financial thinking on key decisions without a full engagement.

Monthly 2-hour advisory session
Async Q&A and decision support
Key financial document review
Introductions to relevant investors

Monthly advisory retainer

Exit & M&A Finance Readiness

Prepare to sell, merge, or acquire with confidence.

Whether you're preparing for acquisition, a secondary transaction, or evaluating an M&A opportunity, I build the financial foundation that maximises your valuation and survives buyer due diligence.

Vendor due diligence preparation
Financial model normalisation & quality of earnings
Data room build & management
Deal structuring & tax efficiency review
Post-merger integration finance planning

Project engagement

Discuss This →

How It Works

Simple to start. Impactful from day one.

Discovery Call

A no-obligation 30-minute conversation about your business, finance challenges, and where you're headed. No pitch. Just a frank conversation between founders.

Finance Diagnostic

A rapid assessment of your current finance function, statements, and strategic needs. Gaps, risks, and highest-leverage opportunities, presented clearly.

Kick-Off

Once scoped and agreed, I become part of your team within days. No lengthy onboarding. Senior-level impact begins immediately with a clear 90-day plan.

Continuous Value

Ongoing strategic finance leadership delivered with the rigour of a CFO who has done it before. An expert in your corner for every financial decision that matters.

Results

What it looks like when the finance
function actually works.

Selected engagements from fintech, Web3, and payments businesses.

Cross-Border Payments Platform

Finance function built from zero. US$10m+ raised for a cross-border payments business.

Joined as the founding finance hire and built the full accounting, reconciliation, and internal control infrastructure from inception. Led fundraising exceeding US$10m and managed the EMI licence application end-to-end.

US$10m+Funds Raised

#1First Hire

EMILicence Led

Digital Identity Blockchain Ecosystem

Cash runway extended 6+ months. Finance function stabilised across multiple jurisdictions.

Led financial strategy and governance for a 50+ person digital identity blockchain business spanning multiple jurisdictions. Delivered cost discipline, statutory audit completion, management reporting, and banking and investor communications under sustained funding pressure.

6mo+Cash Runway

50+Global Team

✓Audits Closed

FCA EMI & Cryptoasset Registered Platform

Full treasury transformation for an FCA-regulated crypto and card payments platform.

Delivered safeguarding controls, liquidity management, automated reconciliations, and daily reporting across banking, trading, and staking platforms. Managed FCA s165 requests, monitoring undertakings, and capital adequacy assessments, and integrated Fireblocks custody into treasury workflows.

100%FCA Reporting

s165Requests Led

✓Custody Built

What Founders Say

The CFO your business actually needed.

★★★★★

"We'd been fundraising for six months without closing. After three months working together, we had a financial model that made investors sit up, a data room that answered questions before they were asked, and a term sheet on the table. The difference wasn't the business. It was the financial story we were telling."

CEO, Blockchain Infrastructure PlatformSeries A · London

★★★★★

"I was spending two days a week on finance. Now I spend two hours a month reviewing a board pack I'm actually proud to send. That alone was worth the engagement."

Founder & CEO, Payments PlatformEMI-Licensed · £12m ARR

★★★★★

"The combination of deep crypto knowledge and institutional finance rigour is genuinely rare. Our treasury framework went from 'working but risky' to something we can confidently show to regulators and institutional investors."

Co-Founder, DeFi PlatformSeries B · Regulated Structure

★★★★★

"Raymond brings a rare combination: deep institutional finance rigour and genuine hands-on expertise in regulated fintech and digital assets. His ability to cut through complex FCA and treasury issues and deliver clear, actionable insight made him immediately credible to our clients. Exactly the kind of senior financial expertise GLG's network depends on."

Greg AustinSenior Finance Executive · GLG Expert Network

Free Resource

The Scale-Up CFO
Readiness Checklist

24 questions every Web3, fintech, or tech founder should be able to answer before their next investor conversation, board meeting, or regulatory review.

Financial Reporting

Are your management accounts produced within 5 days of month-end?

Do you have a three-statement financial model?

Can you explain unit economics to an investor in 60 seconds?

Cashflow & Runway

Do you have a rolling 12-month cashflow model?

Can you model three runway scenarios in under 10 minutes?

+ 19 more questions →

Instant download. No spam.
Includes scoring guide & action plan
Used by 200+ scale-up founders

FAQ

Questions founders typically ask.

We already have an accountant. Do we still need this?

Almost certainly yes. An accountant handles historical record-keeping and compliance. A CFO provides forward-looking financial strategy, investor relationships, and the financial architecture that enables growth. Most businesses at scale need both, but they're not the same thing.

How much time does this take from our team?

Minimal. I work independently and proactively. You'll typically spend 2–3 hours per month in structured CFO-CEO sessions, plus ad hoc availability for specific decisions. The entire point is to give you time back, not take more of it.

We're pre-revenue / early-stage. Is this relevant?

The sweet spot is businesses that have raised a seed round or are approaching Series A and face real financial complexity. If you're pre-revenue and considering raising, a fundraise readiness engagement can still make a material difference to your outcome.

Do you work with businesses outside the UK?

Yes. Many of the businesses I've worked with operate across multiple jurisdictions. I work remotely with founders across Europe and beyond, with direct experience of EU regulatory frameworks including MiCA. International scope is rarely a barrier.

What if we need a full-time CFO later?

That's often the natural progression, and a good outcome. Part of the value of a fractional engagement is building the finance function to a level where a full-time hire makes sense. I can help with that transition, including advising on the profile and handover process.

How quickly can you start?

Following a discovery call and brief diagnostic, most engagements begin within two to three weeks. For urgent situations such as a live fundraise, regulatory deadline, or board crisis, I can typically accommodate a faster start. The first conversation is the right place to discuss timing.

The CFO Your Investors Expect You to Have.

Your business is growing.Your finance function isn't.

Cashflow is a guess, not a model

Investor meetings expose your gaps

Finance is your job by default

You're making big decisions without financial conviction

Board reporting is late and operational

Regulatory complexity is slowing you down

Audit season becomes a fire drill

Banking relationships are reactive, not strategic

A CFO who has built what you are building and scaled it further.

Strategic finance leadership, built aroundyour growth stage.

Fractional CFO: Embedded Strategic Partner

Fundraise Readiness & Investor Preparation

Regulatory Finance & Compliance Structure

Finance Function Build & Transformation

International Expansion Finance

CFO Advisory: Strategic Sounding Board

Exit & M&A Finance Readiness

Simple to start. Impactful from day one.

Discovery Call

Finance Diagnostic

Kick-Off

Continuous Value

What it looks like when the financefunction actually works.

Finance function built from zero. US$10m+ raised for a cross-border payments business.

Cash runway extended 6+ months. Finance function stabilised across multiple jurisdictions.

Full treasury transformation for an FCA-regulated crypto and card payments platform.

The CFO your business actually needed.

Senior CFO leadership.Without the £250k–£350k price tag.

Full-Time CFO Hire