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.
Numeritas - Episode 26 - Paul Lines - Garwood Solutions
The Forward Thinking CFO
39 minutes 2 seconds
1 year ago
Numeritas - Episode 26 - Paul Lines - Garwood Solutions
In this episode of The Forward Thinking CFO, we were joined by the hugely knowledgeable Paul Lines, Corporate Finance Advisor and Consultant at Garwood Solutions, a firm that advises Professional Services and IT firms, as well as their investors.
Paul specialises in helping firms to grow and develop through mergers and acquisitions, and having been in the business for over 20 years, he’s practically a lifelong M&A practitioner, with a wealth of deals under his belt. In this episode Paul talks about his career to date, the many reasons why firms consider mergers and acquisitions, and the key steps involved in the process.
During their discussion, Stephen and Paul explore a number of topics, including:
- The compelling reasons for firms to consider M&A as a growth driver, even in challenging times.
- Why sellers must be prepared for negotiations - with their financial house fully in order.
- The current upswing in the M&A market, fuelled by pent-up demand and private equity activity.
- Common pitfalls to navigate, especially when contemplating international acquisitions.
- The need for buyers to be crystal-clear on their strategic objectives to identify their ideal acquisition targets.
Paul also offers valuable advice to those who may be interested in specialising in M&A. So whether you’re a business leader, just starting out in your career, or an established CFO with an interest in M&A, this fascinating conversation will give you plenty of real, actionable advice to prepare you for the road ahead.
We’re keen to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do get in touch below with any feedback you have.
If you want to find out more about Paul, check out his LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-lines/?originalSubdomain=uk
If you want to learn more about Garwood Solutions, take a look at their website – http://www.garwoodsolutions.com
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.
