How are Toptal Start-up CFOs different?

At Toptal, we thoroughly screen our Start-up CFOs to ensure we only match you with talent of the highest caliber. Of the more than 200,000 people who apply to join the Toptal network each year, fewer than 3% make the cut. You’ll work with finance experts (never generalized recruiters or HR reps) to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics. The end result: expert vetted talent from our network, custom matched to fit your business needs.

Can I hire Start-up CFOs in less than 48 hours through Toptal?

Depending on availability and how fast you can progress, you could start working with a Start-up CFO within 48 hours of signing up.

What is the no-risk trial period for Toptal Start-up CFOs?

We make sure that each engagement between you and your Start-up CFO begins with a trial period of up to two weeks. This means that you have time to confirm the engagement will be successful. If you’re completely satisfied with the results, we’ll bill you for the time and continue the engagement for as long as you’d like. If you’re not completely satisfied, you won’t be billed. From there, we can either part ways, or we can provide you with another expert who may be a better fit and with whom we will begin a second, no-risk trial.

Hire the Top 3% of Freelance Start-up CFOs

Toptal is a marketplace for top Start-up CFOs. Top companies and startups hire Start-up CFOs freelancers from Toptal for their mission-critical projects.

Hire a Top Start-up CFO Now

No-Risk Trial, Pay Only If Satisfied.

Trusted by leading brands and startups

Watch the case study

Hire Freelance Start-up CFOs

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View Aleksey

Aleksey N. Krylov, CFA

Freelance Start-up CFO

United StatesToptal Member Since November 15, 2016

Aleksey served in CFO roles of public and VC-backed private companies. As an investor, he contributed to 25+ private equity deals that have deployed $500 million. He has advised 50+ clients on raising $1.6 billion in equity in the healthcare, consumer, media, software, energy, and industrial sectors. Aleksey enjoys working with officers of early-stage and mature small-cap firms, and he freelances because it exposes him to a wide range of companies.

Start-up CFOs Interim CFO Revenue & Expense Projections Part-time CFO Fractional CFO Virtual CFO CFO Financial Modeling Financial Forecasting Project Finance Financial Reporting Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Corporate Finance + more

Previously at

Ftera Advisors

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View Ralph

Ralph Bohmer

Freelance Start-up CFO

AustraliaToptal Member Since June 2, 2021

A fellow of the ACCA, Ralph is a natural leader and strategic thinker, having helped grow businesses in the services, investment, and property sector from the ground up. He has excelled in executing complex equity, debt, and property deals to suit individual projects and entities. An expert in the automation of processes, he enjoys consulting with clients worldwide to help develop their accounting function so it provides clear, concise data for efficient decision-making.

Start-up CFOs Accounting Financial Reporting Financial Management Xero Construction Financial Modeling CFO Virtual CFO + more

Previously at

buuda Business Management

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View William

William H. White

Freelance Start-up CFO

United StatesToptal Member Since April 30, 2020

Will is an executive consultant with a wealth of experience supporting startups and mid-sized business growth. He has successfully led M&A transactions for $350 million, developed pricing and GTM strategies for emerging-technology startups, and supported clients through VC pitches. Will has a genuine passion for helping businesses navigate volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) to fundraise, refine their strategy, and ultimately accelerate growth.

Start-up CFOs Budgeting Revenue & Expense Projections Startup Funding Venture Capital Fundraising Consultant Pitch Deck Consultant Investment Banking Due Diligence Startup Consulting Growth Strategy Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)Financial Modeling + more

Previously at

VUCA Strategies

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View Gary

Gary Traynor

Freelance Start-up CFO

United StatesToptal Member Since July 12, 2022

Gary is an experienced finance expert specializing in cash forecasting and capital raising with over 18 years of experience working with dozens of startups, managing investor relations, startup operations, and all core finance functions such as FP&A. His financial background in technology investment banking includes raising over $9 billion in public offerings. Gary leverages his financial expertise by working with early-stage technology startups, for which he has raised over $140 million.

Start-up CFOs Accounting CFO Startup Funding Startup Consulting Private Equity Fundraising Financial Modeling Due Diligence Valuation Venture Capital Financial Forecasting Virtual CFO + more

Previously at

Zags

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View Ed

Ed Carse

Freelance Start-up CFO

United StatesToptal Member Since December 10, 2019

Ed is an experienced entrepreneur, growth-company CFO, and investment banker with a background in many industries, including technology, media, finance, and business services. He has launched several companies, raised over $70 million in growth capital, and helped a company expand internationally and scale 5x in three years. Ed enjoys helping fix businesses and operating and financial challenges that prevent clients from reaching their potential.

Start-up CFOs Fundraising Venture Capital CFO Financial Modeling Valuation Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)Private Equity Budgeting Business Plan Consulting Revenue & Expense Projections Virtual CFO Interim CFO + more

Previously at

EMC Consulting

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View Thomas

Thomas Ruland

Freelance Start-up CFO

GermanyToptal Member Since January 6, 2021

Thomas is an experienced finance professional with over 15 years of in-depth knowledge in M&A, finance, and business operations. He has executed multiple M&A processes, capital raising deals, and acted as (interim) CFO/COO in startup environments. Thomas has expertise both on the advisory side as well as in operational roles. His work-style follows an analytical management approach in combination with a hands-on mentality.

Start-up CFOs Corporate Finance Accounting Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Financial Management Fundraising Interim CFO CFO Virtual CFO Financial Modeling Due Diligence Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)Financial Reporting + more

Previously at

Freelance

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View Carole

Carole Crawford, CFA

Freelance Start-up CFO

United StatesToptal Member Since August 14, 2017

At Morgan Stanley, Carole advised eight founders through exits totaling over $750 million and then founded her own practice to manage venture investments for family offices. A former tech CFO, she freelances to leverage her experience with capital raises, strategic pivots, and turnarounds. She enjoys helping innovators and entrepreneurs achieve financial success across many verticals, and has recently focused her efforts on fintech.

Start-up CFOs CFO Fundraising Fintech Venture Capital Startup Funding Interim CFO Fractional CFO Finance Director Virtual CFO Corporate Finance Cash Flow Consultant Fintech Consultant + more

Previously at

fincap360, LLC

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View Pedro

Pedro I Bustillo

Freelance Start-up CFO

SpainToptal Member Since March 18, 2021

Pedro is a senior manager with 20+ years of international business and finance experience. He has led finance operations for Fortune 500 companies (Gillette, P&G, and Ideal Standard) and private enterprises in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Latin America, and he has executed numerous business valuations, strategic plans, and end-to-end product pricing analyses. Pedro enjoys consulting and freelancing as a way to help each client take their business to a sustainable path of value creation.

Start-up CFOs Financial Modeling Valuation Corporate Finance Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)Fundraising Revenue & Expense Projections Budgeting CFO Interim CFO Growth Strategy Private Equity Business Plan Consulting + more

Previously at

Roon Labs LLC

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View Neil

Neil Portus | CFA, CMA

Freelance Start-up CFO

United StatesToptal Member Since March 17, 2017

Neil is a CFO for growth companies and a former equity analyst at Goldman Sachs in NY where he helped lead numerous transactions including Zipcar's $1.1 billion IPO. He was also an equity analyst at Barclays Capital & Lehman Brothers and began his career at a boutique investment bank (M&A, restructuring, debt financings). He's built his operational skills both as a startup founder and as the CFO of an East Africa-focused impact investment firm.

Start-up CFOs Due Diligence Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)Equity Research Fundraising Private Equity Valuation Comparable Company Analysis Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Financial Systems CFO Project Finance Capital Markets + more

Previously at

Unity Development Group

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THE TOPTAL ADVANTAGE

98% of Toptal clients choose to hire our talent after a risk-free trial.

Toptal's screening and matching process ensures exceptional talent are matched to your precise needs.

Start Hiring

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THE TOPTAL ADVANTAGE

98% of Toptal clients choose to hire our talent after a risk-free trial.

Toptal's screening and matching process ensures exceptional talent are matched to your precise needs.

Start Hiring

Toptal in the press

... allows corporations to quickly assemble teams that have the right skills for specific projects.

Despite accelerating demand for coders, Toptal prides itself on almost Ivy League-level vetting.

Our clients

Creating an app for the game

Leading a digital transformation

Building a cross-platform app to be used worldwide

Drilling into real-time data creates an industry game changer

Testimonials

Martin so far is a complete Rockstar. His first bit of work produced a tool for us to model and forecast our financials and is far and away worth every penny we paid and more. Just thought I’d share that with you.
Pete Pellizzari, CEO
Budder, Inc.

Erik has been an extremely valuable member of our team who has tremendous breath of experience with start ups in our lifecycle phase. What makes his contribution unique and highly effective is not only his excellent financial modeling skills and knowledge, but also the emotional intelligence with which he manages each relationship at Vault, understands our team dynamics, and helps us tackle start up challenges effectively. It is rare to find a part-time consultant who makes you feel like he/she is genuinely invested in the success of your company.
Romy Parzick, COO
Student Loan Benefits, Inc. dba Vault

Toptal has been an incredible key partner for Sidekick. As an early-stage start-up, we’ve leveraged both design and financial talent. The experience has been incredible, with those professionals bringing creativity, expertise, and advice to ensure Sidekick succeeds. My Toptal financial expert helped steer Sidekick’s business model, which resulted in an initial ROI of 650x! My experience with Toptal has given me great confidence in the future.
Doug MacKay, Founder / CEO
SideKick

Chris was great to work with and was always available on my schedule. His communication skills and personality were a 10/10. His outputs on the project were top notch and allowed us to develop more efficient forecasting and initiative prioritization frameworks. I would definitely use Chris again.
Chris Pozek, CEO
Veterans Rideshare

What really sets Toptal apart is the caliber of finance talent available in their network. I had a very specific and pressing need, and Toptal quickly matched me with the perfect person for the job. The expert produced a thoughtful and robust financial analysis that has ultimately allowed us to forecast and prioritize initiatives much more efficiently.
Chris Pozek, CEO
Veterans Rideshare

Scott had a lot of finance experience which he used to ask the right questions and help us do things more quickly than we would have done without him. The commission model is crucial to us being able to scale, he integrated seamlessly with our finance team and efficiently got us the outputs we needed.
Naushad Parpia, Founder and CEO
GSD

I was very impressed with the quality of finance talent in Toptal’s network. Our expert's experience was immediately evident through his insightful questions and the speed at which we could move. Toptal stayed on top of the process from making the match through to the successful completion of the project. I've already recommended Toptal Finance to my network.
Naushad Parpia, Founder and CEO
GSD

How to Hire Start-up CFOs through Toptal

Talk to One of Our Industry Experts

A Toptal director of finance will work with you to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics.

Work With Hand-Selected Talent

Within days, we'll introduce you to the right Start-up CFO for your project. Average time to match is under 24 hours.

The Right Fit, Guaranteed

Work with your new Start-up CFO for a trial period (pay only if satisfied), ensuring they're the right fit before starting the engagement.

Find Experts With Related Skills

Access a vast pool of skilled finance experts in our talent network and hire the top 3% within just 48 hours.

Outsourced CFOs Part-time CFOs CFO Consultants CFO Advisors Virtual CFOs Fractional CFOs Interim CFOs Financial Managers

FAQs

How are Toptal Start-up CFOs different?
At Toptal, we thoroughly screen our Start-up CFOs to ensure we only match you with talent of the highest caliber. Of the more than 200,000 people who apply to join the Toptal network each year, fewer than 3% make the cut. You’ll work with finance experts (never generalized recruiters or HR reps) to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics. The end result: expert vetted talent from our network, custom matched to fit your business needs.
Can I hire Start-up CFOs in less than 48 hours through Toptal?
Depending on availability and how fast you can progress, you could start working with a Start-up CFO within 48 hours of signing up.
What is the no-risk trial period for Toptal Start-up CFOs?
We make sure that each engagement between you and your Start-up CFO begins with a trial period of up to two weeks. This means that you have time to confirm the engagement will be successful. If you’re completely satisfied with the results, we’ll bill you for the time and continue the engagement for as long as you’d like. If you’re not completely satisfied, you won’t be billed. From there, we can either part ways, or we can provide you with another expert who may be a better fit and with whom we will begin a second, no-risk trial.

Tap Into World-Class Talent

Trusted Experts Only
All of our talent are seasoned experts who ramp up quickly, readily contribute as core team members, and work with you to minimize onboarding time.
The Right Fit
We have a knack for matching you with the right fit. Start working with your new hire on a no-risk trial period, paying only if satisfied.
Scale as Needed
Hire talent within 48 hours and scale your team up or down as needed, no strings attached.
Seamless Hiring
We handle all aspects of billing, payments, and NDA’s. Let us take care of the overhead while you focus on building great products.
Flexible Engagements
Choose the engagement type that suits your needs — hourly, part-time, or full-time — with the ability to change anytime.
Expert Talent Matching
Focus on your project and enjoy support from your dedicated account executive and expert talent matcher.