CFOs at the heart of strategy: lessons learned and keys to scaling and optimising investor relations

According to Atomico‘s ‘State of European Tech 2024’ report, startup investment in Europe stabilised after two years of rebalancing, reaching $45 billion in 2024. This development reflects the new focus of investors: prioritising high-growth companies with strong models and sustainable financial management.

In this context, BBVA Spark brought together CFOs of technology companies and heads of venture capital funds in Barcelona to share lessons learned, common mistakes and best practices for building trusting relationships between investors and CFOs “The CFO is no longer just responsible for the numbers. They are now a strategic partner who must understand the startup in depth and anticipate challenges,” said Roy Hefer, CFO of TravelPerk, a company that has raised more than $400 million in funding.

Confidence, strategy and adaptability

Nowadays, in addition to the CFO’s technical skills, a range of more transversal skills are needed for the CFO to take on a leadership role for both the team and investors. “The CFO now also represents the company to investors, regulators and partners,” said Markus Jennemyr, CFO of fintech company SeQura.

As the role evolves, Roy Hefer emphasises the need for CFOs to increasingly take a more strategic view of the business: “A good CFO must be strategic: they must know the product and be able to sell the company to an investor if necessary.

To complete the archetype of the new CFO, Isaac Cabezas, CFO of logistics company Paack, adds adaptability as one of the key traits. “In a high-growth company, it feels like being in a lift, you go up and down floors all day long; you hire, you talk to investors, you do reconciliations and for each floor you need a different skill set,” he said.

In search of funding

Another focus of the meeting was on the approach startups should take when seeking funding. “Raising finance is not something you do or don’t do. It’s like going to the gym: you’re always at it,” said Hefer of TravelPerk. “Telling the same story to a fund when you’re billing $5m and then coming back with $30m builds confidence,” he added.

Beyond demonstrating sustainable growth, for the head of Travelperk, credibility in messaging is essential. “You can’t tell every investor something different. If you say you are going to grow by 40%, you have to deliver. That’s how credibility is built,” he said.

To reinforce this point, Markus Jennemyr of SeQura pointed out the importance of keeping in touch with investment funds updated with the latest financial information: “I send quarterly updates to all the investors I know. Sometimes a simple email ends up in a key meeting months later“. He also stressed the importance of being prepared to get financial backing from a fund: “You can’t say you are raising capital and then take three weeks to get the financial model. The plan has to be ready from day one”.

On the road to financing, Isaac Cabezas, from Paack, pointed out the importance of not thinking of debt – through instruments such as venture debt – and equity as mutually exclusive paths to growth. “They are complementary, and it is a good problem to be able to choose between them,” he said. However, he also cautioned about when to use debt: “If you don’t have a positive cash flow, you shouldn’t use it.

As an example, he explained the case of a company that, despite generating positive cash flow, was constrained by poorly structured debt. “They used it for acquisitions, but debt can become suffocating if it is not the right instrument at the right moment.

In any case, Roy Hefer of TravelPerk encourages not to get hung up on valuation or dilution as “the CFO’s job is to ensure financial stability”.

What an investment fund expects from the CFO

For the investment ecosystem, the qualities of a good CFO are to be found in the strategic vision of the business and trust through reporting. “The first and foremost thing a CFO must do is to control the cash flow. That is their main job. And from the investor’s point of view, it is what brings the most peace of mind,” explained Jordi Vidal, partner at Kibo Ventures. “The quality of the reporting says a lot about the control that the CFO has. If there is no clear information, the investor gets nervous and starts asking for more”, he added.

“Reporting should not be for show. If you spend two nights adjusting numbers before the board, something is wrong in the day-to-day”, said Oriol Juncosa, founding partner at Plus Partners. In his opinion, the CFO should lead weekly internal meetings where sales, cash and expenses are analysed, not only because it is useful for management, but also because it generates a culture based on data.

Marc Badosa, managing partner at 4Founders Capital, endorsed the same view: “The CFO should be the eyes of the fund within the company, not to oversee, but to build a sustainable growth story together. For him, the difference between a good CFO and an extraordinary one lies in their ability to influence. “If you are not part of the founding team, you have to earn respect. You have to be able to intervene and defend your vision,” he explained.

This balance between financial rigour and global vision is precisely what makes the CFO a key figure in the evolution of any company. “They have to master the KPIs of the business. Not only to report, but also because they will be the ones to build the business plan for the next round”, explained Juncosa. For experts, the CFO is responsible for translating the CEO’s ambition into a language that convinces investors.

The meeting made one thing clear: the CFO’s impact is no longer limited to numbers. In a challenging environment, their role is to anticipate, influence and lead. Experience shows that many key decisions – from investing in processes to defining a strong narrative – need to anticipate growth, not react to it. If you’re going to grow 40% every year, you need scalable systems from the start,” said Markus Jennemyr.

The reflection connects with the relevance that the CFO assumes today: a profile that combines vision, anticipation and management capacity to sustain growth in the long term.