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.
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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 the latest episode of The Forward Thinking CFO, we catch up with Daniel Quint, Chief Financial Officer at Staffline Group PLC.
Staffline Group PLC specialise in developing and deploying highly flexible, robust and skilled workforces to organisations. They are the UK’s leading provider of flexible blue-collar workers, supplying approximately 40,000 staff per day on average.
Daniel joined the company when it was in a distressed state in 2019 and has executed an award-winning turnaround, moving from a material risk to a going concern, to a stable, profitable business. Daniel applied all his experience from previous roles as Finance Director at the ICAEW and at Robert Walters PLC to restructure the company.
With decades of expertise behind him, Daniel is well-placed to provide some fantastic financial advice you won’t want to miss.
In this insightful episode, you’ll discover the following:
· How to turn an organisation around when share prices begin to drop
· The key elements you need to think about to integrate a new acquisition successfully
· Why a three-pronged approach can serve you well when embarking on a cultural transformation
If you’re a CFO or entrepreneur looking to restructure your finances, this episode will provide you with the knowledge and advice to help you do so.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so be sure to get in touch with any feedback you may have.
If you would like to learn more about Daniel’s work, check out his LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielquint/?originalSubdomain=uk
And if you want to find out more about Staffline Group PLC, you can view their website – https://www.stafflinegroupplc.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.
