Intro 

Jana Ludwig-Martyushev, ex-VP Finance at Omni:us, which specializes in AI products for the insurance market. Currently, Jana is on her mission to help startups survive. At Start Finance Now, she invented a toolbox for start-ups, freelancers and small businesses. She also helps women become financially independent. 

Key Takeaways

• Advice to Founders: If you know what is booked, have a look at your profit and loss statement and understand what’s behind, you will feel more confident when you talk to investors, tax authorities etc. Does not matter if you do a loss, but know why you are doing a loss.
• Advice for female employees: Don't hesitate to negotiate and get what you think you deserve. 
• If you don't have good accounting hygiene, you could ruin your company
• A good financial knowledge can help a founder and his/her startup survive better 
• Make your sales team understand how important their valid opinion (sales forecast) is. 
• Advice to Finance Execs: Get your processes right before getting a tool in place.

Managing Working Capital Management & Cashflow

Importance for startups to manage Working Capital Management & Cashflow:

• Knowing your runway and when your last cent used are essential 
• Everything starts from having a good financial plan 
• Applies to startup of all sizes and stages

Maintaining a good Accounting hygiene 

• Must have in order to make right decisions, create reports and do calculations
• Set-up a good Account plan 
• Think about the cost center plan 
• Have clear guidelines for accounting and pre-accounting (even if outsourced)  
• Set up an approval process for incoming invoices 

Have good Financial plan (in other words, Budget or a Business Plan) 

• Know what sales are coming in and expenses (basically cash inflow and outflow) 
• Track the above on a monthly basis
• Know your burn rate and track it every month 
• Compare your financial plan with the actuals 
• This is where your accounting hygiene and financial plan go together 

What you need to do from Day One

• Make sure your team members and other departments are knowing what’s exactly happening in your company 
• Conduct weekly sales meeting to know what’s there in the sales pipeline, when are sales coming in 
• Have a sales forecast every week 
• Make you sales team clear about the payment terms 

How can you go about setting up your AR process?

• Do a weekly or bi-weekly checkup 
• Are your customers paying in time? If the customers are not clear with the due dates, something is wrong with your accounting hygiene 
• It’s not always the customers fault. Make sure everything is right on your side, before following up with the customer for payment due 
• Ask yourself how you help your customers pay you on time. For example: Does the customer  have a longer approval process? Should I have to send the invoices much prior?

How can you go about setting up your AP process?

• Do you have a good approval process? 
• Are you only paying invoices for the services you use? 
• Do you really pay the invoice just once? (Bad accounting hygiene could leave you paying the invoice 2 or more times) 
• Are the payment terms you have with your suppliers in line with that of your customers? (For example: If your customers pay you after 60 days, but you pay your suppliers after 30 days, there is an issue here) 

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Rapid Fire with Jana

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When do you start and end your workday?‍

Start at 9 am. Pause at 4 pm. And continue later at night.

How much sleep do you get?‍

7 hours ‍

Podcast/Book suggestion for people joining fast-growing startups

“CFO Yeah!” podcast for finance folks

“Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg McKeown (teaches how you can do more with less)

Apart from core finance skills, what is the additional skill that a Finance Member can learn which will help them during the early fast-growing startup phase?

Meditate and have a calm mind

Something that you would do differently or take a different call during your personal or professional life if given a magical wish?

‍Would focus more on my inner growth. Would not work 15 hrs a day like I used to.

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