THE OPPORTUNITY (NOT A ROLE)
You are not filling a finance job. You are BUILDING A FINANCE FUNCTION FROM ZERO for a company operating at the edge of what is possible with AI and human expertise.
Right now: We are profitable, bootstrapped, moving fast, and about to get much bigger. Finance is the thing that makes speed possible.
We need someone with FOUNDER DNA who can:
- Build the entire finance infrastructure (nothing exists yet)
- Own unit economics - understand our real costs, real margins, real growth rate
- Challenge leadership on numbers (Marianne, James, the whole team)
- Make decisions in hours, not weeks
- Use AI as a default (not a nice-to-have)
- Operate 800+ contractors across 15+ countries and make it look simple
THIS IS FOR BUILDERS, NOT MAINTAINERS.
WHAT YOU WILL ACTUALLY OWN
- BUILD FINANCE FROM SCRATCH - There is no finance team. You are it. You build what we need, when we need it.
- UNIT ECONOMICS - Revenue per channel, CAC/LTV, contribution margins, which parts of the business actually make money.
- REAL-TIME MIS - P&L, cash flow, variance analysis - updated when leadership needs it, not quarterly.
- 800+ CONTRACTOR NETWORK - Build a system that moves payments, tracks hours, manages tax compliance across India and 14 other countries. Thousands of payments per month.
- PAYROLL - India + international. Handle it. Get it right. Automate it.
- MULTI-ENTITY COMPLIANCE - GST, TDS, statutory filings. Get expert advisors on speed dial. You run it.
- INVESTOR-GRADE REPORTING - When we need it, we need it fast and correct.
- DIRECT FOUNDER PARTNERSHIP - You build, he validates. You push back when numbers do not feel right.
YOU SHOULD HAVE (NON-NEGOTIABLE)
- BUILT FINANCE FROM SCRATCH - At a startup, not inherited or outsourced
- REPORTED TO A FOUNDER/CEO - You know what it means to be alone in a function
- STARTUP DNA - VC-backed, Series A/B, SaaS, D2C, tech, or similar
- HANDS-ON, NO SAP MENTALITY - You build tools, automate workflows, think in unit economics
- AI-NATIVE - You use Claude, ChatGPT, Make.com, n8n, Zapier as actual work tools
- CONFIDENCE TO PUSH BACK - You are not here to say yes to every request
- CAN ONBOARD YOURSELF - You hit the ground running, figure things out, move forward
GREEN FLAGS
- India-based or remote-capable
- Experience managing contractors/vendors at scale
- Familiarity with global compliance (GST, TDS, multi-entity)
- Some exposure to financial modeling
- Comfort with founder-level transparency and ambiguity
HARD DISQUALIFIERS
- BPO/GCC/shared services background
- Big 4 audit career with no startup experience after
- 10+ years at the same large company
- Pure compliance specialist only
- Currently on 1yr+ career break with no explanation
- Treasury/FX specialist only
- CA not cleared + no relevant track record
HOW WE WORK
- Remote-first, APAC-focused - You will work async most of the time
- We move fast - decisions in hours, not weeks
- We work some weekends during build phases. No apologies.
- AI is embedded in everything - If this excites you, you are in the right place
- You will be measured on output, not activity
WHAT WE OFFER
- Direct partnership with Marianne and James from day one
- Real ownership of a core function
- Profitable, bootstrapped business with strong tailwind
- Competitive compensation - base, bonus, equity
- Career trajectory tied to company scale
- Front-row seat as AI reshapes how companies operate
HOW TO APPLY
- Please complete application on the link provided
- We review every response and reach out to promising candidates within 48 hours.
