In this episode of The Forward Thinking CFO, host Stephen Aldridge is joined by Daniya Stewart - a former banker turned startup founder and now fractional CFO and advisor to early-stage businesses.
Daniya shares her fascinating journey from a 17-year career in renewable energy project finance to launching and scaling Phomo - a Vietnamese meal kit startup born in lockdown. She takes us behind the scenes of her founder experience: the initial idea sparked by missing her favourite lunch, raising over £300,000 in funding, securing retail interest from the likes of Selfridges and Whole Foods, and ultimately winding down the business after a tough fundraising environment in 2023.
Now running Valor Advisory, Daniya works with early-stage companies to help them build financially resilient business models - applying hard-earned lessons from her time as a founder and startup operator.
In this episode, Daniya and Stephen explore:
- What project finance taught her about startups
- Why she bootstrapped Phomo before seeking investment
- How she navigated capital raises through angel investors and crowdfunding
- The hard truths about D2C economics and retail pivots
- Her reflections on failure, survivorship bias and the power of sharing the full founder story
- The value she brings now as a fractional CFO to other founders on a mission
Daniya’s honesty, humour and insight make this a must-listen for anyone navigating the realities of growing an early-stage business.
All content for The Forward Thinking CFO is the property of Numeritas and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
In this episode of The Forward Thinking CFO, host Stephen Aldridge is joined by Daniya Stewart - a former banker turned startup founder and now fractional CFO and advisor to early-stage businesses.
Daniya shares her fascinating journey from a 17-year career in renewable energy project finance to launching and scaling Phomo - a Vietnamese meal kit startup born in lockdown. She takes us behind the scenes of her founder experience: the initial idea sparked by missing her favourite lunch, raising over £300,000 in funding, securing retail interest from the likes of Selfridges and Whole Foods, and ultimately winding down the business after a tough fundraising environment in 2023.
Now running Valor Advisory, Daniya works with early-stage companies to help them build financially resilient business models - applying hard-earned lessons from her time as a founder and startup operator.
In this episode, Daniya and Stephen explore:
- What project finance taught her about startups
- Why she bootstrapped Phomo before seeking investment
- How she navigated capital raises through angel investors and crowdfunding
- The hard truths about D2C economics and retail pivots
- Her reflections on failure, survivorship bias and the power of sharing the full founder story
- The value she brings now as a fractional CFO to other founders on a mission
Daniya’s honesty, humour and insight make this a must-listen for anyone navigating the realities of growing an early-stage business.
In this episode of The Forward Thinking CFO, we speak with Ryan Whitworth, Regional Sales Director at Leumi ABL.
Leumi ABL is a specialised, award-winning asset-based lending company that helps both small and large businesses achieve their goals. The company adopts a flexible and personal approach to structuring effective asset-based lending solutions that supports refinancing, restructuring, growth, and acquisition.
Whilst Ryan hasn’t come from a banking background, he’s utilised his time in retail to learn more about how behaviours and activities can impact financial performance. He joined the senior management team at Leumi ABL after moving out of retail and succeeding at Santander and ABN AMRO.
With a wealth of experience and knowledge behind him, Ryan provides fantastic insider tips and insights that you won’t want to miss.
You’ll discover:
- What sets Leumi ABL apart from bank overdraft facilities
- Why flexible asset-based lending can serve as a viable option for your business
- How this process works, and what you will need to do to prepare for your partnership with an asset-based lender
If you’re a CFO or entrepreneur looking to raise capital for your business, this episode will provide you with expert advice on asset-based lending facilities and invoice discounting.
We’re keen to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please get in touch with any feedback you have.
If you would like to learn more about Ryan’s work, check out his LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitworth-ryan/
And if you want to find out more about Leumi ABL, you can view their website – https://www.leumiabl.co.uk/
The Forward Thinking CFO
In this episode of The Forward Thinking CFO, host Stephen Aldridge is joined by Daniya Stewart - a former banker turned startup founder and now fractional CFO and advisor to early-stage businesses.
Daniya shares her fascinating journey from a 17-year career in renewable energy project finance to launching and scaling Phomo - a Vietnamese meal kit startup born in lockdown. She takes us behind the scenes of her founder experience: the initial idea sparked by missing her favourite lunch, raising over £300,000 in funding, securing retail interest from the likes of Selfridges and Whole Foods, and ultimately winding down the business after a tough fundraising environment in 2023.
Now running Valor Advisory, Daniya works with early-stage companies to help them build financially resilient business models - applying hard-earned lessons from her time as a founder and startup operator.
In this episode, Daniya and Stephen explore:
- What project finance taught her about startups
- Why she bootstrapped Phomo before seeking investment
- How she navigated capital raises through angel investors and crowdfunding
- The hard truths about D2C economics and retail pivots
- Her reflections on failure, survivorship bias and the power of sharing the full founder story
- The value she brings now as a fractional CFO to other founders on a mission
Daniya’s honesty, humour and insight make this a must-listen for anyone navigating the realities of growing an early-stage business.
