In this episode of The Growth-Minded CFO, we sit down with Jeff Fidelman—Founder and Managing Partner at Fidelman & Co.—to talk about how startup fundraising has shifted, what VCs actually want to hear, and why today’s CFOs need more than spreadsheets to lead.
Chapters:
02:00 - Why Fidelman & Co. Was Born from a Market Gap
06:00 - Broken Incentives in Startup Fundraising
09:00 - How the Fundraising Game Changed Since 2021
13:00 - Why Founders Must Talk Like Operators
16:00 - The Role of Financial Models (and How to Build Them Right)
21:00 - Why Top-Down Models Alone Don’t Cut It
25:00 - AI: Useful Tool, Not Magic Bullet
29:00 - AI Use Case: Building an Internal CRM for $300
34:30 - Fundraising Tips for Finance Leaders
37:00 - CFOs as Process Owners During a Raise
38:00 - The Two Types of CFOs (and Why It Matters)
41:00 - Final Reflections on Strategic Thinking and Belief📌 Key takeaways:
Connect with Jeff ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyfidelman/
Connect with Alex ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexlouisy/
Connect with Lauren ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenepearl/
Also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/q-J8Ot3ecjQ?si=Pmfbug0McFB4AEmV
Subscribe for more episodes with founders, CFOs, and finance leaders.
The Growth-Minded CFO podcast aims to challenge the status-quo and explore how the best CFOs approach their work and lives. Hosts Lauren Pearl (Fractional CFO, 3-time Founder and Startup Finance Instructor at NYU) and Alex Louisy (FinTech CEO and Y Combinator graduate) speak with inspiring finance and business leaders who’ll share what great CFOs are doing to support high-performing organizations.
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