The finance team behind venture-backed startups

Your full finance function. Without the full-time headcount.

Bookkeeping, controller services, tax, FP&A, and fractional CFO leadership — delivered by operators who work exclusively with funded startups. You build the company; we keep the numbers investor-grade.

No retainers to start · Scoped to your stage · Cancel anytime

Books closed — Day 8
Runway +4.2 months
Founder Dashboard · May 2026
Cash on hand
$4.82M
2.1% vs. plan
Net burn
$212K
8.4% MoM
Runway
22.7 mo
+4.2 mo vs. Q1
ARR
$3.1M
11% MoM
Cash forecast · next 12 months
ActualsPlanUpdated weekly
Seed → IPO
Every stage of the journey
U.S. GAAP
Compliant from day one
≤10 days
Target monthly close
CPA-level
Institutional expertise
We work natively in your stack
QuickBooksXeroNetSuiteGustoRipplingRampBrexStripeBill.comCartaPulleyExpensify QuickBooksXeroNetSuiteGustoRipplingRampBrexStripeBill.comCartaPulleyExpensify
Why Launchpad

Startups are exciting. Accounting & finance are... not.

That's exactly why we exist — so founders can stay focused on building. Here's what makes us different from a traditional firm or a bookkeeping app.

01

Startup-only, by design

We work exclusively with venture-backed startups, so we've already seen your next twelve months — the bridge round, the first audit, the surprise sales-tax nexus. Generalist firms react. We anticipate.

02

Operators, not order-takers

Your team has sat in the operating seat — closing books before board meetings, building models that raised real rounds, and managing diligence under deadline. You get judgment, not just journal entries.

03

A fraction of the cost

A full in-house finance team can run $500K+ a year before your Series B justifies it. We give you the same coverage — bookkeeper to CFO — scoped to what your stage actually requires, and nothing more.

What We Do

One partner, your entire finance function

Six integrated service lines that work as one team — start with what you need today, switch on the rest as you grow.

Bookkeeping & Accounting

Accurate, U.S. GAAP-compliant books closed on a predictable schedule — the foundation every other decision sits on.

  • Monthly close & reconciliations
  • AR / AP & invoicing
  • Accrual-basis financials
  • Revenue recognition

Controller Services

Senior oversight of your accounting operations — internal controls, policies, and audit readiness as complexity grows.

  • Close management & review
  • Internal controls & policy
  • Audit & diligence prep
  • Systems implementation

Tax & Compliance

Institutional CPA-level expertise to keep your startup compliant in every jurisdiction you touch — and capture every credit you've earned.

  • Federal & state income tax
  • R&D tax credits
  • Delaware franchise tax
  • Sales tax & nexus studies

FP&A & Financial Modeling

Forward-looking finance: operating models, scenario planning, and the metrics investors expect — kept live, not built once and shelved.

  • Operating & fundraising models
  • Budget vs. actuals
  • Runway & burn analysis
  • Scenario planning

Fractional CFO

Executive-level financial leadership when it matters most — fundraising, board management, pricing, and strategic decisions.

  • Fundraise strategy & support
  • Board reporting & prep
  • Pricing & unit economics
  • Investor relations

Equity & Back Office

The operational layer founders forget until it hurts — handled cleanly from the start so diligence is a non-event.

  • Cap table hygiene & 409A coordination
  • Payroll & contractor compliance
  • Stock option administration
  • Entity & registration management
What You Get

Every month, without asking

No chasing, no "we'll circle back." A complete reporting package lands on schedule — built for founders first, investors second, auditors third.

GAAP financial statements

P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow — closed, reconciled, and reviewed before they reach you.

Burn, runway & KPI dashboard

The numbers you actually steer by, updated and annotated — not buried in a 40-tab workbook.

Variance commentary

Where you beat plan, where you missed, and what we'd do about it. The "why" behind every number.

Tax & compliance calendar

Every filing, every jurisdiction, every deadline — tracked so nothing surprises you in the mail.

A named team in your Slack

Questions answered in hours, not at next month's check-in. Real people who know your business.

May 2026 · Close PackageDelivered Day 8
Income statementReviewed ✓
Balance sheetReviewed ✓
Statement of cash flowsReviewed ✓
KPI & runway dashboardUpdated ✓
Budget vs. actuals + commentaryAttached ✓
R&D credit documentationIn progress
Q2 board deck — first draftDue Jun 20
How It Works

Up and running in weeks, not quarters

A structured onboarding gets your books clean and your reporting cadence live fast — then we run it like clockwork.

Discovery call

We learn your stage, stack, runway, and pain points, then scope exactly what you need — no more, no less.

30 minutes

Financial diagnostic

We review your books, filings, and systems, and deliver a prioritized punch list of what's solid and what's at risk.

Week 1

Cleanup & setup

We fix historicals, implement GAAP policies, connect your tools, and stand up your reporting templates.

Weeks 2–4

Steady state

Monthly close, live dashboards, tax calendar, and a named team in your Slack. You always know your numbers.

Ongoing
The Honest Math

Three ways to staff a finance function

We'll be the first to tell you when it's time to hire in-house — that's part of the job. Until then, here's how the options stack up.

In-house teamBookkeeper + controller + CFO Traditional firmGeneralist CPA practice LaunchpadFractional, startup-only
Annual cost$350K–$600K+ fully loadedHourly — meters running on every emailOne flat monthly fee, scoped to stage
Startup fluencyDepends entirely on who you hireYou're one client among dentists and dry cleanersVenture-backed startups are all we do
CoverageOnly the seats you've filledCompliance-focused; strategy costs extraBookkeeper through CFO, one team
Scales with youRe-hire at every stageOutgrown by Series ADial up or down as the round demands
Time to value3–6 months to recruit and rampBusy season permittingOnboarded in weeks
From Seed to Exit

As your business grows, we scale with you

One finance partner across the whole journey — no rebuilding your back office at every round.

Pre-seed / Seed

Foundations

Set up right the first time, so nothing has to be unwound later.

  • Clean GAAP books & payroll
  • Tax registrations & calendar
  • Burn & runway tracking
Series A–B

Momentum

Reporting that keeps pace with a board and a growing team.

  • Operating model & budget
  • Board reporting cadence
  • R&D credits & tax strategy
Growth

Scale

Controller-level rigor as headcount, revenue, and states multiply.

  • Audit readiness
  • Multi-state compliance
  • Systems & controls upgrades
Exit

Acquisition / IPO

Diligence-ready financials and steady hands through the process.

  • Data room preparation
  • Diligence management
  • Transaction support
Who We Serve

Fluent in your business model

Every vertical has its own financial physics — the rev rec rules, the metrics investors fixate on, the compliance traps. We've already learned yours.

SaaS & AI

ASC 606 revenue recognition, ARR waterfalls, net revenue retention, and the usage-based billing questions your investors will ask first.

Fintech

Money transmission nuances, partner-bank reconciliations, and books clean enough for the regulators who will eventually come knocking.

Healthcare & Biotech

Grant accounting, clinical-stage burn planning, and milestone-based forecasting for long, capital-intensive roads to revenue.

Consumer & E-commerce

Inventory and COGS discipline, multi-channel sales tax nexus, and contribution-margin truth-telling by SKU.

Marketplaces

Gross vs. net revenue treatment, take-rate analytics, and two-sided unit economics that hold up in diligence.

Deep Tech & Hardware

R&D capitalization, supply-chain cash cycles, and milestone budgeting where the product is years ahead of the P&L.

What Founders Say

Trusted in the moments that matter

★★★★★

"Our Series A diligence took four days instead of four weeks. The data room was ready before the term sheet was signed — investors noticed."

SK
Founder & CEO
B2B SaaS · Series A
★★★★★

"They caught a sales-tax exposure we didn't know we had and fixed it before it became a six-figure problem. That alone paid for years of service."

MR
Co-founder & COO
E-commerce · Seed
★★★★★

"I finally walk into board meetings knowing my numbers cold. The model is live, the variance story is clear, and I'm never surprised."

JL
Founder & CEO
Fintech · Series B
Placeholder testimonials — replace with client quotes before publishing.
FAQ

Questions founders ask us

How are you different from a bookkeeping app or an outsourced firm?+
Apps automate data entry; big firms staff juniors and bill seniors. We're a small team of startup finance operators who own the outcome — clean GAAP books, on-time filings, and a live model — with a named team you can Slack, not a ticket queue.
What does an engagement cost?+
Pricing is scoped to your stage and complexity — a pre-seed startup needs very different coverage than a 60-person Series B company. Most clients land on a flat monthly fee, which we'll quote after a short diagnostic. No long-term lock-in.
Our books are a mess. Is that a problem?+
It's the most common starting point. Historical cleanup is a standard part of onboarding — we've rebuilt books from bank statements more than once. The earlier we start, the cheaper it is.
Do we need a CFO, a controller, or just a bookkeeper?+
Usually some of each, in small doses — that's the point of the fractional model. The diagnostic call tells us the mix. Most seed-stage companies need solid bookkeeping plus a few hours of strategic finance a month; the ratio shifts as you scale.
Can you work with our existing tools and accountants?+
Yes. We work natively in QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and the modern startup stack (Ramp, Brex, Gusto, Rippling, Stripe, Carta). If you have an existing tax preparer or auditor you like, we coordinate with them directly.
What happens when we raise our next round?+
That's where we earn our keep — fundraising models, data room prep, diligence management, and post-close budget resets are core services. You scale our involvement up for the raise and back down after, without changing partners.

Know your numbers. Build your company.

Tell us where your startup is today, and we'll show you what a right-sized finance function looks like — and what it would cost. The first call is free.

Book a free consultation