FinStart
FinStart operates a two-sided online marketplace connecting independent finance, accounting, risk, and compliance consultants with French enterprises and consulting firms, monetizing through commissions on matched service contracts and offering dedicated dashboards for both sides.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What FinStart does
FinStart (legal entity FINSTART SAS, RCS Paris 887 878 486) operates a two-sided online marketplace headquartered at 336 rue de Vaugirard, 75015 Paris, that connects independent consultants specializing in finance, accounting, risk management, and compliance with French enterprises seeking specialized expertise, plus with consulting firms managing bench capacity. Founded in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown by Grégoire Corcos (CEO, formerly of BNP Paribas Inspection Générale, Mazars audit, and GCF Consulting) and Pierre Lévy (COO, formerly at IBM, iMediation, and Gartner), the platform addresses the fragmented sourcing of finance specialists in France across highly specific domains including Direction financière, ALM, Contrôle de Gestion, Consolidation, Audit, IFRS (including IFRS 17), Réglementaire, Bâle III, Cybersécurité, CRD IV, Compliance officer, KYC, AML/LBC-FT, RGPD, and MiFID.
The platform is a web-based SaaS marketplace served at webapp.finstart.io, comprising an Enterprise Search Engine (consultant discovery by keyword, location, experience, profession, tools, and daily rate TJM), dedicated dashboards segmented by user type (Freelance Dashboard for individual consultants to track missions and applications, Cabinet Dashboard for consulting firms to publish bench consultants and propose them to clients), a centralized Mission Dashboard for mission, candidate, invoice, and contract management, online time tracking, and platform-managed invoicing. A separate PME/Startup offering adds specialized financial services: express debt collection under white label, third-party company valuation, and financial dashboard implementation.
The business model is a commission-based take rate on each Service Contract concluded through the platform, billed pay-as-you-go (commission can be fixed or percentage-based per service type, disclosed when enterprises view freelance service costs). Go-to-market combines self-serve online registration with a sales-led enterprise motion via business developers prospecting CFOs, accounting directors, risk/compliance heads, and procurement functions, supplemented by a partner referral ecosystem. FinStart holds the Finance Innovation label (awarded November 2020) and completed a €4M seed round in January 2022.
FinStart firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- FinStart
- Legal name
- FINSTART SAS
- Website
- https://finstart.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- FinStart operates a two-sided online marketplace connecting independent finance, accounting, risk, and compliance consultants with French enterprises and consulting firms, monetizing through commissions on matched service contracts and offering dedicated dashboards for both sides.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
FinStart industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Consultant Marketplace Platform
- NAICS
- Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)
- SIC
- Loan Brokers (6163), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Net Worth & Personal Balance Sheet Tracking (FSAGADAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Debt Management & Paydown (Student Loans, Credit Cards) (FSAGADAD)
Keywords
Where FinStart is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
FinStart business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations
Revenue model
- Commission on Service Contracts: FinStart charges a commission (either fixed price or percentage) to enterprises when a Service Contract is concluded through the platform. The commission constitutes FinStart's remuneration for services. Commission pricing is displayed when an enterprise wishes to view costs of freelance services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Commission-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
FinStart product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FinStart operates a web-based two-sided marketplace platform that connects independent consultants and consulting firms specializing in finance, accounting, risk, and compliance with enterprises seeking specialized expertise for short- and mid-term missions. The platform provides consultant search, profile matching, mission management, time tracking, invoicing, and contract administration, and earns revenue through commissions on concluded service contracts.
Product overview
FinStart operates as a unified marketplace platform connecting independent consultants specialized in Finance, Accounting, Risk, and Compliance with companies seeking specialized talent. The core offering consists of the FinStart Marketplace Platform with specialized dashboards for different user segments: Freelance Dashboard for individual consultants to manage their missions and applications, Cabinet Dashboard for consulting firms to publish consultants and track missions, and Enterprise Search Engine for companies to discover and hire consultants by keywords, location, experience, and daily rate. The platform also includes specialized financial services modules for SMEs and startups, including debt collection, company valuation, and dashboard implementation services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- FinStart Marketplace Platform A web-based two-sided marketplace platform that connects independent consultants and consulting firms specializing in Finance, Accounting, Risk, and Compliance with enterprises seeking specialized talent. Enables consultant discovery via keyword and skill search, profile viewing, mission matching, and provides dashboards for managing the booking and execution of missions.
- Freelance Dashboard A personalized workspace within the FinStart platform for freelance consultants to track their missions and applications, view mission history, and access administrative documents including invoices and contracts.
- Cabinet Dashboard A management dashboard within the FinStart platform for consulting firms to publish their consultants during inter-contract periods, track consultant and mission status, search for available missions, and propose consultants to clients.
- Enterprise Search Engine A search and matching tool for enterprise clients to find finance, accounting, risk, and compliance consultants by keywords, location, experience, profession, tools, and daily rate, with access to detailed consultant profiles and centralized mission tracking.
- PME/Startup Financial Services A specialized service offering for small and medium enterprises and startups providing access to expert consultants for debt collection, company valuation, and financial dashboard implementation projects.
Quantifiable outcome
- 20+ missions facilitated per month
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use FinStart
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
FinStart technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
FinStart partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- WemindcoreWemind is a community offering freelancers and entrepreneurs benefits of large groups: Health insurance, Income maintenance (Providence), Professional liability insurance, Employee committee - with added smile. Partnership announced October 2020.
- iPaidThatcoreExclusive partnership offering FinStart freelancers 2 months free service and code IPT2FIN for iPaidThat's SaaS accounting automation and expense management solution.
- JITECminorJITEC is an accounting and audit firm. FinStart users get 50% discount on company creation (250 euros) and 20% discount on first year accounting services.
- Eval XPminorBusiness valuation firm led by Patrick Legland (HEC affiliated professor) and Benjamin Forestier (École Polytechnique affiliated professor). Partnership for company valuation services.
- BlockpulseminorStartup dedicated to management of action plans for employees and founders, based on blockchain technology. Partnership for action plan management services.
- AFGEScoreMajor training provider in banking and insurance for Finance, Accounting, Risk and Compliance. FinStart partnership offers 5% discount on training and 5% on publications through the platform.
- BLANK (Crédit Agricole subsidiary)coreExclusive partnership with BLANK, Crédit Agricole's neobank for independents. Professional account with intuitive management tools. Special conditions for FinStart freelancers.
- AGC Portage / AkuitminorPayroll services partners offering 15% discount on overall management rates for payroll services. AGC Portage for provinces and Akuit for Île-de-France region.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
FinStart competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Malt: French-headquartered marketplace connecting independent freelancers (with strong presence in tech and consulting) with enterprises. Directly comparable in business model (two-sided marketplace, take-rate on contracts) and target customers, but covers a broader set of skills rather than specializing in finance/compliance.
- Crème de la Crème: Premium French freelance marketplace curating top independent consultants for enterprise projects, with operations in France and several European markets. Closely comparable in curated, enterprise-focused freelance matching model and target customer base.
- Toptal: Global marketplace for vetted freelance talent including finance and consulting professionals. Comparable in its curated talent approach and enterprise focus, though it operates at much larger scale and across many verticals rather than specializing in French finance/compliance.
- StaffMe: French platform matching freelancers (including in consulting functions) with enterprises for short- and long-term assignments. Directly comparable marketplace business model and French enterprise customer base.
Emerging players
- Comet: European freelance marketplace focused on tech and product consultants. Comparable marketplace model and target enterprise buyer, but with a different specialization (tech rather than finance/compliance).
- Talent.io: European freelance marketplace focused on tech and digital talent. Similar marketplace mechanics, but a different specialization; useful as a comparable for how vertical-specialized freelance platforms scale.
Broad incumbents
- Upwork: Global horizontal freelance marketplace covering consulting, finance, and many other categories. Same fundamental two-sided marketplace model and commission-based revenue, but vastly broader scope and scale, with no specialization in French finance/compliance.
- LinkedIn Talent Solutions: Microsoft-owned professional network with significant talent marketplace and services functionality. Represents a much larger incumbent that overlaps with FinStart's enterprise hiring of finance/compliance freelancers, but as part of a much broader professional services offering.
- Workday: Large enterprise SaaS platform covering HCM, talent management, and contingent workforce management. Adjacent in serving enterprise buyers of finance and professional services talent, but at much broader scope and scale.
Others
- iPaidThat: French SaaS for accounting automation and expense management; an existing strategic partner of FinStart. Not a direct competitor, but a complementary ecosystem player serving FinStart's freelancer base with adjacent fintech tooling.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
FinStart social profiles
Digital presenceFinStart compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
FinStart financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
FinStart leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
FinStart funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
FinStart M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about FinStart
What does FinStart do?
FinStart operates a web-based two-sided marketplace platform that connects independent consultants and consulting firms specializing in finance, accounting, risk, and compliance with enterprises seeking specialized expertise for short- and mid-term missions. The platform provides consultant search, profile matching, mission management, time tracking, invoicing, and contract administration, and earns revenue through commissions on concluded service contracts.
Is FinStart a public or private company?
FinStart is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was FinStart founded?
FinStart was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is FinStart based?
FinStart is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does FinStart make money?
One revenue line is on record: commission on Service Contracts.
Who are FinStart's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Malt, Crème de la Crème, Toptal and StaffMe. Emerging players are Comet and Talent.io. Broad incumbents are Upwork, LinkedIn Talent Solutions and Workday. iPaidThat is listed as an others.
Does FinStart have an API?
No public API is recorded for FinStart.
What industry is FinStart in?
FinStart's product category is Consultant Marketplace Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGADAF, Net Worth & Personal Balance Sheet Tracking, with a secondary code of FSAGADAD, Debt Management & Paydown (Student Loans, Credit Cards). Its NAICS code is 54169 and its SIC code is 6163.