The Startup CFO
The Startup CFO is a Spain-based financial services firm founded in 2018 that provides fractional CFO, accounting, legal, and funding advisory services to early-stage startups, VC funds, and corporate innovation programs across 25+ countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersMadrid, Spain
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Startup CFO does
The Startup CFO (TSCFO) is a Spain-based financial services firm founded in 2018 that delivers fractional CFO, accounting (Gestoría), legal advisory, and funding-related services to technology startups, venture capital funds, and corporate innovation programs. Its core offering — "CFO Externo" — bundles three functional pillars: CFO-level strategic leadership (investor relations, cap table management, cash control), Financial Planning & Analysis (financial modeling, P&L and cash flow dashboards, SaaS/ecommerce/marketplace KPI models), and Controlling (process optimization, billing/collections, due diligence support). Adjacent service lines include Gestoría for daily accounting, tax, and payroll; Financiación Pública covering ENISA loans, CDTI grants, and R&D tax incentives (Tax Lease); private funding round preparation (business plans, pitch decks, valuation, data rooms); legal services for funding rounds, stock options/phantom shares, IP, and GDPR; and Investor Services and Corporate Innovation Services for VC funds and corporates.
The practice runs on a Holded ERP partnership for accounting, fiscal, and labor workflows and operates remotely across 25+ countries, with physical offices in Madrid (HQ), Barcelona, Sevilla, and Berlin. The team is led by Managing Partner Jaime Medina alongside Partners Juvenal Cubiles, Rafael Canales, Álvaro Hita, Maialen Eciolaza (Partner Legal), and Daniel Tovar (Partner Sales & Marketing). Distribution is primarily direct sales via the company website (HubSpot scheduling) augmented by channel partnerships with VC funds (Seaya, Serena Capital, Seven Seas Capital, Faraday Ventures), accelerators (Plug&Play, Innsomnia), and corporates (Santander, CaixaBank, CEPSA). Revenue mechanics combine recurring monthly retainers for ongoing CFO/accounting/legal work with project-based fees for funding rounds, due diligence, and tax-incentive engagements; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed.
The Startup CFO firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Startup CFO
- Legal name
- The Startup CFO
- Website
- https://tscfo.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Startup CFO is a Spain-based financial services firm founded in 2018 that provides fractional CFO, accounting, legal, and funding advisory services to early-stage startups, VC funds, and corporate innovation programs across 25+ countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Startup CFO industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Startup Financial Advisory Services
- NAICS
- Management Consulting Services (54161)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Outsourced Finance & CFO Services (BPAHABAE)
Keywords
Where The Startup CFO is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Madrid
- HQ country
- Spain
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
The Startup CFO business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Fractional CFO Services: Recurring retainer-based external CFO services covering financial leadership, strategy, investor relations, cap table management, and financial control for startups.
- Accounting/Gestoría Services: Accounting, tax, and labor management services for startups, covering bookkeeping, tax filing, payroll, and regulatory compliance.
- Public Funding Advisory: Advisory services for obtaining public financing including ENISA loans, CDTI grants, and tax incentives (I+D+i deductions, Tax Lease).
- Legal Services: Legal advisory for startups covering commercial law, tax law, intellectual property, data privacy, funding rounds, and incentive plans (Stock Options, Phantom Shares).
- Private Funding Preparation: Business plan creation, investor deck design, and funding round strategy services for startups seeking private investment.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Custom enterprise pricing based on startup stage and service scope |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Startup CFO product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Startup CFO provides fractional CFO services, accounting/tax/payroll management, legal advisory, and funding preparation (public and private) for technology startups, primarily at pre-seed through Series A stages. Services are sold as recurring monthly retainers or project-based fees and delivered virtually across 25+ countries with physical presence in Spain and Germany. The firm combines CFO leadership, financial planning & analysis, controlling, and specialized advisory into an integrated suite.
Product overview
The Startup CFO offers a comprehensive suite of financial management services for startups, organized around three core pillars: (1) CFO Externo (Fractional CFO), which covers CFO leadership, Financial Planning & Analysis, and Controlling; (2) Gestoría (Accounting), providing daily accounting, tax, and payroll management; and (3) Financiación, encompassing public funding (ENISA, CDTI, tax incentives), banking/alternative financing, and private funding round preparation. Supplementary services include Legal Advisory, Investor Services (due diligence, training, unified reporting for funds), Corporate Innovation Services (mentorships and acceleration program design), and a Resources portal with templates, webinars, and articles. The service portfolio is built on an ERP partnership with Holded and is delivered remotely across 25+ countries with offices in Madrid and Barcelona.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CFO Externo (Fractional CFO) A fractional CFO service for startups covering three core areas: Chief Financial Officer (financial and strategic leadership, investor and bank relations, cap table management, cash control), Financial Planning & Analysis (financial modeling, P&L and cash flow management, dashboards, reporting), and Controlling (internal financial process optimization, billing and collections, due diligence support).
- Gestoría (Accounting) Specialized accounting, tax, and payroll management service for startups, handling bookkeeping, tax filings, labor management, and compliance obligations on a daily basis.
- Financiación Pública (Public Funding) Advisory and management service to secure public financing for startups, covering identification of funding opportunities, application process, and approval, including ENISA loans, CDTI subsidies, tax incentives (Tax Lease), and other local/regional grants.
- Banking & Alternative Financing Identification and negotiation of banking and alternative financing products for startups, including credit lines, factoring, confirming, loans, Revenue-Based Financing (RBF), leasing, and renting.
- Private Funding Preparation and guidance for private capital rounds, covering business plan development, investor pitch deck design, funding round strategy definition, valuation analysis (DCF and comparable multiples), investor listing, data room management, and negotiation support.
- Legal Advisory Legal services for startups covering commercial law (funding rounds, board secretariat, incentive plans such as Stock Options and Phantom Shares, commercial contracting), tax law, and intellectual property/data privacy (brand registration, technology contracts, NDAs, e-commerce compliance, GDPR).
- Investor Services Services for VC funds and accelerators including specialized training (financial strategy, business plans, reporting and forecasting), financial and legal due diligence, and unified portfolio reporting with monthly consolidation, financial analysis, and quality improvement recommendations.
- Corporate Innovation Services Mentorships and training programs for corporate innovation teams and their portfolio startups, including one-on-one financial mentorship, group workshops on valuations, fundraising, KPIs and reporting, and design of acceleration programs for corporate partners such as Santander, Caixa, and Plug&Play.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over €200M raised in financing rounds for clients
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The Startup CFO
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Startup CFO technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature2 records
The Startup CFO partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- HoldedcoreHolded is an ERP system provider for business management. The Startup CFO is a Holded Partner, using their platform to optimize accounting, tax, and labor processes for startup clients. The partnership enables efficient and modern financial management through digital tools.
- SantandercoreSantander (through Santander X) collaborates with TSCFO on acceleration programs, providing financial mentorship and training for portfolio startups. TSCFO serves as financial experts in these programs.
- CaixaBankcoreCaixaBank collaborates with TSCFO for innovation programs, with TSCFO providing training to CaixaBank teams on startup finance, venture debt, and venture capital topics.
- Plug&PlaycorePlug&Play (acceleration platform) partners with TSCFO for mentorship and financial expertise in their startup acceleration programs.
- CEPSAminorCEPSA collaborates with TSCFO on corporate innovation and startup mentorship programs.
- InnsomniaminorInnsomnia accelerator partners with TSCFO for financial mentorship and training in their innovation programs for startups.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Startup CFO competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Founders CPA: US firm providing accounting, CFO advisory, and tax services specifically to startups and founders. Closely comparable in focus area, recurring engagement model, and target audience, but with a US geographic footprint.
- Decimal: US-based fractional CFO and accounting firm for venture-backed companies. Provides outsourced CFO, bookkeeping, and tax services to startups with comparable positioning in the startup financial management niche.
- Pilot: US-based startup-focused bookkeeping, CFO, and tax services firm. Offers recurring outsourced finance services to venture-backed startups—the same core offering TSCFO provides, but at greater scale and with VC funding.
- Bench: Cloud-based bookkeeping and financial reporting platform serving SMBs and small startups. Operates a similar outsourced accounting model with proprietary software, competing for the same startup client base, albeit more SMB-focused.
- Kruze Consulting: US-based outsourced CFO, accounting, and tax services firm for venture-backed startups. Direct competitor operating the same fractional CFO + bookkeeping + R&D tax credit model that TSCFO delivers in Spain/Europe.
- Acme Financial Services: Fractional CFO and outsourced accounting firm serving startups; comparable operating model of recurring finance leadership retainers for early-stage tech companies.
Others
- Holded: Spanish ERP and business management software provider; TSCFO is an official partner using Holded for client accounting, fiscal, and labor management. While not a direct competitor, Holded's embedded accounting/automation capabilities represent a long-term substitute risk for traditional outsourced bookkeeping.
Regional players
- Candle Lakes Partners / Finpath: German-based outsourced finance and CFO services for startups in DACH region. Comparable by service model (fractional CFO, accounting) but operating in a different European geography where TSCFO has a Berlin office presence.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Startup CFO social profiles
Digital presenceThe Startup CFO financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Startup CFO leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
The Startup CFO funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Startup CFO 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 The Startup CFO
What does The Startup CFO do?
The Startup CFO provides fractional CFO services, accounting/tax/payroll management, legal advisory, and funding preparation (public and private) for technology startups, primarily at pre-seed through Series A stages. Services are sold as recurring monthly retainers or project-based fees and delivered virtually across 25+ countries with physical presence in Spain and Germany. The firm combines CFO leadership, financial planning & analysis, controlling, and specialized advisory into an integrated suite.
Is The Startup CFO a public or private company?
The Startup CFO is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Startup CFO founded?
The Startup CFO was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Startup CFO based?
The Startup CFO is headquartered in Madrid, Spain, in the Europe region.
How does The Startup CFO make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Fractional CFO Services are the primary driver. The others are accounting/Gestoría Services, public Funding Advisory, legal Services and private Funding Preparation.
Who are The Startup CFO's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Founders CPA, Decimal, Pilot, Bench, Kruze Consulting and Acme Financial Services. Holded is listed as an others. Candle Lakes Partners / Finpath is listed as a regional player.
Does The Startup CFO have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Startup CFO.
What industry is The Startup CFO in?
The Startup CFO's product category is Startup Financial Advisory Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHABAE, Outsourced Finance & CFO Services. Its NAICS code is 54161 and its SIC code is 6199.