Digital age is flourishing at a rapid pace changing the entire landscape of the financial services. Rise of AI and Machine Learning has greatly disrupted the financial consulting industry. The fact is that in the vast constellation of one-size-fits-all services, no one can deny the need of a consultant.
Nomad Financial is a full-service growth finance strategy and operations firm for early- to mid-stage companies, many of whom are backed by leading Venture Capital and Private Equity funds. The company provides its clients with tailored solutions including interim CFO and advisory, accounting & bookkeeping, and tax & tax advisory services, helping them grow and operate their businesses with best practices giving their size, scale, and ambitions.
The Dynamic Leader
Jonathan Gass, Founder & CEO of Nomad Financial, holds a BSBA in Finance, International Business, and Managerial Economics & Strategy from Washington University in Saint Louis. Prior to Nomad, Jonathan worked as an operating partner at Interplay Ventures; at IAC in various strategic, transactional and operational roles; and most recently serving as the head of Finance & Business Development at Vimeo.
There’s an interesting story behind Jonathan’s becoming an entrepreneur as he mentioned during the interview. Jonathan started his career as a consultant with Bain & Company. However, very quickly he came to realize that his passion was entrepreneurship and technology versus the large Fortune 100 companies that hired Bain. After helping build Vimeo from a small team and emerging product to a massive Video site as the first Head of Finance & Business Development, Jonathan returned to work with early stage entrepreneurs. Those early projects are what turned a solo practice into Nomad Financial.
Jonathan has always been outshined as a great leader with commendable innovative zeal. While many times financial services can appear and even be treated as a one-size-fits-all solution, since launching Nomad, Jonathan has always been focused on providing unique, tailored solutions to each client. “Building a business is incredibly challenging and we wanted to make it easy for entrepreneurs and executives to have access to best practices that fit their size, scale, and budget”, Jonathan asserts.
His approach to solving his client’s specific needs is also reflected in the services Nomad provides. The firm initially provided only advisory services by placing CFOs with clients. In that role, they struggled to find their clients adequate accounting and tax support that had the technical chops for these complex business models, prioritized clients in this stage of their lifecycle, and met the high level of standards expected by the Nomad team, founders, and investors.
Exclusive Services and Strategies
Remaining ahead of the curve on best practices, strategy, new technology and applications requires a commitment to both investment in the research and test for results. The company stays in touch with the fintech investors to see what early-stage companies are developing and then shares feedback. Nomad also keeps up to date on the research shared by top firms such as Bain & Company and McKinsey as well as the Harvard Business Review.
When it comes to any new application, the leadership thoroughly discusses with the research team at all levels (especially the frontline employees) and builds out a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). Sometimes a technology is too early or too specific for use, or not enough of an upgrade to offset the transition costs. And when they don’t expect most to pan out, when they do find one to go forward with, they carefully roll it out to ensure a successful launch.
Offerings for Clients
Launching and growing a company is such an impressive feat, from getting those first sales across the line to raising capital and getting first hires bought into the vision. The company is constantly in awe of its clients, seeing what they’ve built and their drive to achieve their goals.
As they start to raise capital from institutional investors and shift from startup to scaling, they suddenly have to deal with a formal Board of Directors, going through audits, domestic and international tax issues, outgrowing their financial software, working capital management, and monitoring their cash burn among a plethora of challenges.
Instead of looking to hire an expensive internal resource that has gone through this process once or even twice, Nomad helps them navigate these challenges leveraging a team that’s gone through it dozens if not hundreds of times. It is one thing to have technical knowledge, but far more impactful when it’s paired with deep experience and knowledge of best practices.
Future Insight
“It’s hard to predict where this space will go, but without question new technology such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will dramatically alter how we deliver financial services. Being prepared for those changes will not only be important for Nomad, but will dramatically improve the services our clients receive”, Jonathan offers his future insight.
Source :-The 10 Most Trusted Consultant Companies 2018
