Our Conversation With Yeshwanth

Journey of Yeshwanth: From Finance to Fintech to SAAS

Finance has always been an integral part of any business. Yet, it's often considered a backhand driver where people do stuff but get little recognition for what they did. However, for Yeshwanth, finance has been his career and passion for over a decade.Yeshwanth started his career with Financial Software and Systems (FSS), a company in the Fintech space, where he worked in core financing, managing international taxation, transfer pricing, and revenue recognition. He was working with Karthik Srinivasan, his direct manager, and together they worked for four years.

The Move to Chargebee

When Karthik moved to Chargebee, Yeshwanth followed him. It was a typical startup, and Yeshwanth was skeptical about it initially. However, he took the bet and joined the company, where he spent four years. It was a good kick start for Yeshwanth in the SaaS space. He learned a lot of basic SaaS Metrics here, especially about the subscription model, payback ratio, LTV, and other SAAS-related terms.

Experience in Recko and Stripe

After Chargebee, Yeshwanth joined Recko as a Senior Manager, heading the whole finance function. The company was acquired by Stripe, the M&A aspect was a good learning curve for Yeshwanth. It gave him a comprehensive understanding of a company's financial strategy from M&A perspective. He played the main role behind the M&A between Recko and Stripe.

The Hubilo Experience

Yeshwanth then moved to Hubilo, where he got an excellent opportunity. But it was Facilio that gave him a chance to handle the entire finance and accounts function, including FP&A, treasury, controllership, and taxes. Today, he is the Director of Finance at Facilio, responsible for the company's global financial strategies and accounting operations.

How Being a Director at Facilio is Different from Other Positions?

Joining a SAAS startup can be a thrilling experience. As you move up the ranks, your responsibilities and role within the company can change drastically. Yeshwanth notes that in SAAS startups, the designation is just a name. Everyone is expected to roll up their sleeves and take on whatever tasks are necessary for the company's growth. This is different from larger organizations where job roles are more rigidly defined.

As a Director at Facilio, Yeshwanth is responsible for the entire function and how the business grows and evolves. This includes deciding when to pursue the next round of funding, how to expand the company's operations, and what the next venture should be. The company's success mainly depends on financial performance. Hence, as a Director, Yeshwanth needs to closely monitor how the GTM (Go-To-Market) function is performing, how product-wise and Geo-wise P&L is performing. In addition to day-to-day operations, Yeshwanth notes that directors must know the company's growth trajectory.

When to Prioritize Financial Planning and Compliance?

According to Yeshwanth, having a consultant is necessary from day one, regardless of the growth stage. He believes that founders should not handle finances independently but outsource them to a small budding firm so that the founders can run the business. This creates a win-win situation for the SAAS business and the accounting firm.

An in-house finance team is needed as the company scales up, especially once serious investors come into the picture. In-house teams are better suited to handle monthly reports for investors. At Facilio, Yeshwanth shares that they still have finance consultants, but only for the operational side. The metrics, the go-to-market (GTM) strategy, and any reporting for investors are handled in-house. This is because consultants may need help understanding the business and the internal team.

Finance Support System of Yeshwanth

Yeshwanth shared that Facilio had started building its finance team quite late in the game after its Series B funding round. He also shared that while he outsources the operational side of his work, he prefers to keep the strategy side in-house.

Facilio has a team of around 200 employees, and Yeshwanth manages the finance department with two people reporting to him. He has one team member who helps him with all the operational tasks like AR, AP, treasury and book closure till MIS preparation. Additionally, another person works on the strategy side of finance, preparing analytical reports, SaaS metrics, Budgeting and forecasting, GTM reports, etc.

A Day in the Life of Yeshwanth

At Facilio, Yeshwanth spends most of his time streamlining processes and putting systems in place to ensure the company's financial records and accounting practices are accurate and up-to-date. As an early-stage startup, book-keeping is critical to maintaining financial health and making informed decisions for the future. Thus, Yeshwanth is focused on putting processes in place to ensure the books are always in order.

For day-to-day operations, Yeshwanth outsources work, but he keeps the MIS (Management Information System) in-house. This includes preparing investor reports and projections for the financials, which he believes is crucial for the team to know where they will be in the future. Yeshwanth's current focus is ensuring that the team knows where they will be by end of 2023 and what the cash flow will look like. He believes this is crucial information that external consultants cannot expect.

What are the key parameters to consider when hiring a consultant?

According to Yeshwanth, references are crucial in the consultant hiring process. He says, "90% of the time, it goes on the references, and then the remaining 10% goes on what value addition you bring to the table?" Trust is a critical factor in the startup space, and references can help establish that trust.

Another crucial parameter to consider when hiring a consultant is their experience and knowledge of the industry. Yeshwanth emphasizes the importance of hiring a consultant with experience and expertise in the SaaS industry. It can make a significant difference in the quality of service provided.

Apart from experience and references, Yeshwanth suggests considering the value addition that the consultant brings to the table. He advises that it's crucial to understand how the consultant can help the startup grow and scale.

Lastly, Yeshwanth cautions that there will be a lot of trial and error involved in the consultant hiring process, especially in the startup space.

What are the challenges with consultants?

One of the biggest challenges Yeshwanth has faced is finding tech-savvy consultants. In the SaaS industry, technology plays a significant role in every aspect of the business, including finance. As such, consultants must have a good understanding of the company's technology and recommend new software and tools that can help improve the finance function.

Yeshwanth believes that consultants should proactively research and identify the best technology solutions for his business. For example, when Quickbooks gets blocked, he expects his consultants to recommend the next best software solution, such as Zoho, Tally, or Xero. Being proactive and staying up-to-date with technology trends is critical for consultants to add value to a SaaS business.

In addition to being tech-savvy, Yeshwanth also expects his consultants to be proactive in automating processes and making recommendations that can help improve the business. While getting the work done is essential, he believes consultants should bring additional value by providing insights and advice to assist the company in growing and succeeding. For example, when Yeshwanth asked his consultant for a recommendation on the next software solution, he expected them to return with a detailed and informed proposal rather than asking him what he thought.

Conclusion

Yeshwanth's journey in the finance world has been nothing short of inspiring. From Fintech to SaaS, he has worked in different areas of finance, gaining knowledge and experience every step of the way. Finance may be considered a backhand driver, but Yeshwanth proves that it can be a rewarding and exciting career.

His journey teaches us the importance of having a solid finance team from day one, irrespective of the growth stage. The finance function plays a crucial role in a company's growth. Having a knowledgeable and experienced finance director like Yeshwanth can make all the difference.

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