Financial clarity for the modern business
essence, noun. - the basic, real, and invariable nature of a thing or its significant individual feature or features
In the context of business— essence means to me—a distillation, truth, stripping away the noise, and getting to the absolute core of what matters to find the true drivers of growth.
essence CFO delivers fractional CFO leadership for early-stage startups and SMEs scaling across US and Australian markets, and provides high-impact strategies to optimize cash flow, build compelling financial narratives for capital raising, and scale your business with confidence.
All alongside a seasoned executive—fractionalized for your current stage.
The essence of partnership
The Vision
Your growth metrics should tell a story that builds immediate investor trust. I have personally turned down investment opportunities because I didn’t believe in the numbers.
Most founders have great vision, they just need an executive partner to translate that vision into a model that investors find compelling. I partner with you to achieve capital readiness in 3 distinct ways:
Metrics dashboard that tells your story, backed by robust financial forecasts built on tested assumptions.
Data room readiness & support: how your data room looks reflects on how well your business is managed. The due diligence process should further reinforce your story.
Cross border expansion: coordinate visa/legal requirements in the US, entity set up, pitching to VCs, and term sheet review.
The Operations
Cash vs Profit, which is more important? Revenue growth signals market traction, profit is the destination, and cash is the fuel. The metric you should obsess over depends entirely on your current stage of growth. I partner with your business and optimize your day-to-day operations in 3 structural ways:
Three-statement forecasting: Forward looking P&L, balance sheet and cash flow forecast models with insights on how to improve your financial performance.
Runway management: Establish financial discipline early on, renegotiate vendor contracts, and eliminate waste to create a pathway to profitability.
Accounting infrastructure: Reviewing and streamlining your existing bookkeeping processes, or designing an end-to-end accounting process, automated leveraging AI. Month end done on day 1? This should be the norm.
The Strategy
Translating complex financial data into executive narrative. Regardless of where you sit in the growth cycle, clear financial storytelling is your most powerful asset when communicating with stakeholders. I partner with you in 3 key ways:
Board & Investor meetings: Reporting packages for board meetings, investor updates, and critical corporate banking partners—numbers that tells the essence of your story with clear and effective messaging.
M&A Advisory & Valuation: Conducting buy-side due diligence, assessing target companies for fit & alignment, and building robust valuation models so you expand through acquisition with confidence.
Cap Table management: Seemingly minor adjustments to a capitalization table can trigger material, unintended accounting treatments that directly impact your P&L. I can help you get ahead so your cap table doesn’t become a distraction to building your business.
Who will you be working with?
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I’m Lisa Baden, and I built essence CFO to give high-growth founders a level of financial leadership that is typically reserved for large enterprises, at a fraction of the cost. Having sat in every seat on a finance team—across multiple industries, life cycles, and global geographies—I’ve developed a deep pattern recognition for what works and what derails a business. At my core (and essence), I am a strategic problem solver. Whatever financial complexity you are facing, we will navigate it together.
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My career was forged in high-stakes environments across the US and Australian markets. I began my career at PwC Sydney, before moving to global software giant DXC (previously CSC) during an intense SEC investigation, where I led the transformation of their financial compliance infrastructure. I then stepped into finance leadership roles at Jacobs Engineering and Hilti Australia.
Moving to New York, I oversaw financial operations for cosmetics start up brand Becca immediately following its acquisition by the Estée Lauder Companies. In the thick of COVID-19, I joined tech unicorn H1 (h1.co) as their foundational finance hire, architecting the systems that scaled the business from Series A to Series C.
Upon returning to Australia, my experience with transforming businesses led to my appointment as CFO for ASX-listed company Ignite Limited (ASX: IGN).
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I’m not a consultant, I’m a partner for your business. I don’t sit on the sidelines speaking in jargon and I’m not a firm where your work gets passed down to junior staff.
I operate differently. essence CFO is built entirely around the fluid, fast-paced reality of early-stage scaling:
Zero Minimum Commitments: There are no arbitrary hourly minimums or rigid, long-term retainers. Use my expertise as often or as selectively as your milestones dictate. I can scale up my involvement during a fundraising round or deep M&A due diligence, and scale back down when you are in execution mode.
The essence of your business: I don't force your company into a rigid template or engineer unnecessary billable work. I get to know your business from the ground up and design a financial strategy and plan built for your current stage.
Our Shared Goal: scale your business to a point where you eventually outgrow me. When you are ready to transition to a full function internal finance team and officially "graduate" from essence CFO, I look forward to celebrating that milestone with you.
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