Startup Fundraising

Merushka Chetty

Phil Trowler – The $1M Surprise Invoice Crisis

In this episode, James Kennedy sits down with Phil Trowler, financial strategist and early finance leader at Olipop, to unpack the realities of scaling a high-growth CPG brand and why storytelling, cash-flow foresight, and purchase-order discipline can make or break a business. From Phil’s unconventional journey through EY, government finance, and Silicon Valley startups, to hard-earned lessons from hypergrowth, inventory risk, and sales forecasting, this episode is a masterclass in strategic finance for founders navigating rapid expansion.

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Merushka Chetty

Elliott Gaspar – UK’s Secret Weapon Against Silicon Valley

In this episode, James Kennedy sits down with Elliott Gaspar, UK-based Fractional CFO and founder of a fast-growing finance practice, to unpack how the UK’s unique tax-advantaged investment schemes (SEIS/EIS) can accelerate early-stage growth – and how easily founders can lose their eligibility without realizing it.

Drawing on a career that started in Oxford University finance, scaled through private-equity-backed energy infrastructure, and evolved into advising high-growth, asset-heavy startups, Elliott explains why CFOs must be storytellers, how to build investor-ready financial models, and why UK entrepreneurs still underestimate the power of compliance-driven incentives.

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Merushka Chetty

Milán Golovics – Hungarian VC: Government Funding Ruined Startups

In this episode, James sits down with Milán Golovics, founder of BAO Contracting and a former VC associate turned startup operator/CFO, to unpack the realities of building and funding hardware in Central & Eastern Europe. From Hungary’s unique venture landscape to rethinking a “hardware-only” sale into a subscription model, Milán shares crisp, tactical lessons for seed-stage founders – and the CFOs who support them.

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