James Kennedy sits down with Alina Rivera, founder of Advising Puerto Rico and fractional CFO, to explore how purpose-driven operators can build commercially strong companies and meaningful community impact. From documenting procurement processes in construction to guiding hospitality entrepreneurs through cash flow, budgets, and people-first policies, Alina shares the playbook she uses to turn scrappy growth into sustainable scale – without losing the mission.
About Alina Rivera
A former partner at BDO Puerto Rico and ex-CEO of a boutique advisory firm, Alina brings big-firm rigor to growth-stage businesses across the Caribbean, LATAM, and the U.S. Her background spans forensic accounting, valuations, litigation support, and CFO advisory. Today she focuses on 1-5M revenue companies that need structure, cash visibility, and scalable processes – especially founders balancing profit with purpose and team well-being.
What You’ll Learn
- Profit + Purpose, Practically: How to pick clients and services that align with mission and margins – and set boundaries so generosity doesn’t bankrupt the firm.
- 90-Day CFO Sprints: Using quick wins (procurement pipelines, quoting cadence, budget hygiene) to fund longer-term transformations.
- Process Before Pressure: Why documenting procurement and pre-bid routines can double win rates – and revenues – without burning out the founder.
- Cash First Scaling: Matching backlog and headcount to collections so growth doesn’t kill cash.
- People Systems that Stick: Moving early “family” teams into policy-driven ops without losing culture.
Episode Highlights
- “Purpose versus profit isn’t a choice – it’s a design problem. Start with goals, then build the plan that funds them.”
- “Don’t wait for perfection. Ship a simple procurement process, run it daily, then refine.”
- “Fast growth needs cash discipline. Pipeline, schedule, and costs must talk to each other – weekly.”
- “Clear scopes protect generosity. Engagement letters set boundaries so ‘extra’ stays exceptional, not expected.”
More About Alina’s Role
At Advising Puerto Rico, Alina delivers fractional CFO services, finance assessments, and implementation roadmaps. Typical engagements include: documenting procurement and bidding processes, building 13-week cash flow and project P&Ls, establishing budget controls, and coaching founders through org design as they scale from hustle to system. Her hallmark: a 90-day plan that creates immediate ROI (e.g., increased bid throughput) while setting up durable finance ops for the next stage.
