Vice President of Finance

JOB DESCRIPTION: POSITION OVERVIEW The Vice President of Finance will be one of the Maxinsight's key early executives and will work closely with the CEO and leadership team across financial strategy, fundraising, budgeting, forecasting, accounting, and business operations.   Because MaxInsights is still a growing corporation, this is a highly hands-on role. We are looking for an experienced finance leader who can operate independently, build systems from scratch, and personally execute critical financial work rather than relying on a large existing finance organization.   The ideal candidate brings the financial rigor and institutional experience of a large company, combined with the speed, ownership, and entrepreneurial mindset of a startup.   Most importantly, we are looking for someone who has helped a company scale from an early-stage startup toward institutional maturity and ultimately toward an IPO or public-company environment. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES BUILD THE FINANCE FUNCTION - Establish and own the company's finance function from the ground up. - Develop the financial processes, systems, controls, and reporting infrastructure needed to support rapid growth. - Determine which finance functions should be built internally versus supported by external accounting, tax, legal, and financial advisors. - Implement appropriate accounting, budgeting, forecasting, expense management, and financial reporting systems. - Create scalable processes that can evolve as the company grows from a 20–25 person startup into a much larger organization. - Establish financial policies and controls without creating unnecessary bureaucracy. FINANCIAL STRATEGY & BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP - Serve as the primary financial advisor to the CEO and executive team. - Build financial models to support company strategy, hiring plans, pricing, expansion, and capital allocation. - Develop clear financial and operating KPIs for leadership and the Board. - Provide analysis and recommendations for major business decisions. - Help leadership understand the financial implications of growth initiatives and strategic investments. - Balance growth objectives with cash management and long-term financial sustainability. BUDGETING, FORECASTING & CASH MANAGEMENT - Own the company's annual budget and rolling financial forecasts. - Develop and maintain short- and long-term financial models. - Monitor cash flow, burn rate, runway, revenue, expenses, and headcount. - Establish monthly financial reporting and management review processes. - Identify financial risks and opportunities early and provide actionable recommendations. - Build scenarios around fundraising, hiring, expansion, and changing business conditions. FUNDRAISING & INVESTOR RELATIONS - Partner directly with the CEO and Board on fundraising strategy and execution. - Prepare financial models, forecasts, investor materials, and due diligence materials. - Manage financial aspects of fundraising rounds, including investor diligence and data rooms. - Develop relationships with investors, banks, auditors, accounting firms, and other financial partners. - Ensure the company maintains accurate and credible financial information for current and prospective investors. - Help establish the financial reporting standards and processes expected by institutional investors. ACCOUNTING, COMPLIANCE & CONTROLS - Oversee the company's accounting and financial reporting, whether handled internally or through external partners. - Manage relationships with external accountants, auditors, tax advisors, and legal professionals. - Establish appropriate internal controls and financial approval processes. - Oversee tax planning, compliance, treasury, and corporate financial administration. - Ensure the company's financial records and reporting remain accurate, timely, and audit-ready. - Establish the foundation for increasingly sophisticated financial controls as the company scales. LONG-TERM IPO READINESS - Develop a long-term roadmap for the company's transition from early-stage startup to institutional and public-company readiness. - Establish financial reporting, controls, governance, and documentation practices that can scale toward an eventual IPO. - Work with external accounting, legal, and financial advisors to understand and prepare for future public-company requirements. - Ensure that financial systems and processes are designed with future scale and regulatory requirements in mind. - Help leadership understand the financial milestones and organizational changes required to become IPO-ready. BUILD THE TEAM OVER TIME - Initially operate as a highly hands-on individual contributor and finance leader. - Determine when additional finance, accounting, FP&A, and operations hires are needed. - Build and manage the finance organization as the company grows. - Establish hiring plans, organizational structure, and responsibilities for the future finance team. - Develop a high-performing finance organization without unnecessarily adding overhead during the company's early stages.   QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED - 8+ years of progressive finance experience, with 3+ years in senior finance leadership roles. - Experience as a VP Finance, CFO, SVP Finance, or comparable senior finance leader. - Experience working at a large, established company with sophisticated financial processes and systems. - Experience working at a startup or high-growth company, preferably at an early stage. - Demonstrated experience helping a company scale from an early-stage startup toward significant growth, institutional investment, and/or IPO. - Strong expertise in FP&A, financial modeling, budgeting, forecasting, cash management, and corporate finance. - Experience supporting fundraising and working directly with investors. - Experience building financial processes and infrastructure from the ground up. - Strong understanding of accounting, financial controls, audit, tax, and corporate governance. - Ability to operate independently in an environment with limited existing infrastructure. - Excellent communication and business judgment. - Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or a related field. STRONGLY PREFERRED - Experience at an AI, robotics, SaaS, technology, or other high-growth startup. - Experience at a company that successfully completed an IPO. - Experience directly supporting IPO preparation or public-company transition. - Experience at a company that grew from early-stage startup to significant scale. - Experience working with venture capital and institutional investors. - Experience building a finance function when the company had a small initial team. - CPA, MBA, or equivalent advanced qualification. - Experience with financial systems, ERP implementation, and financial planning tools.   IDEAL CANDIDATE We are looking for someone who can be the first true finance leader of the organization, not simply someone who has managed an established finance department. The ideal candidate: - Has experience at both large companies and startups. - Has worked in an environment where they had to build rather than inherit financial processes. - Is comfortable being both a strategic executive and a hands-on operator. - Can personally build a financial model, review accounting, analyze cash flow, prepare investor materials, and present financial recommendations to the CEO. - Knows when to use external accounting, tax, legal, and financial resources rather than immediately building a large internal team. - Has successfully navigated the transition from startup → growth company → institutional organization → IPO/public company. - Understands what investors, Boards, auditors, and future public markets will expect from the finance organization. - Is comfortable working with incomplete information and creating structure where none exists. - Moves quickly and is willing to get into the details when necessary. - Can build a finance organization gradually as the company scales.   WHAT THIS ROLE IS NOT This role is not intended for someone whose primary experience has been managing a large finance department with extensive support staff. We are specifically looking for an executive who is comfortable rolling up their sleeves, building the finance function themselves in the early stages, and then scaling the organization as the company grows. DEFAULT BENEFITS: - Health insurance - Vision care - Dental coverage - 401(k) - Paid holidays - PTO (Paid Time Off) - Sick leave