Nauseating. Boring. Painful. If these words come to mind when you think about startups finances -- balance sheets, projections, expense reports and taxes -- you are not alone.
Often startup founders find these sort of tasks either super complicated or super dull but managing finances is probably the single most important responsibility for a business. Not only do they provide a glimpse into the health of a business but managing a startup's finances can help spot weak spots and get a founder's mind churning about future revenue channels. Still it doesn't exactly scream excitement, which often results in entrepreneurs getting behind on managing the startup's finances – resulting in major (and costly) headaches down the road. Fortunately, this month we have Alex Katz, the CFO of ff Venture Capital and JD CPA, who is looking forward to helping founders navigate the financial terrain.
Alex Katz is the CFO and partner at ff Venture Capital Image credit: ff Venture Capital
"In my role at ff Venture Capital, I help founders with accounting and finance. These are categories that are essential for the proper functioning of a business, yet also topics about which entrepreneurs often lack essential knowledge," said Katz. "I look forward to answering your questions."
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And Katz has quite the record. Working with early-stage growth companies since 1983, he has service as CEO and CFO, along with being a board member at private companies in the manufacturing, retail and distribution, among others.
Since joining ff VC in 2008 Katz has served as a director/advisor of more than 30 companies, including Clearpath, Local Response, Mulu, Phone.com, Patents.com and Alerts.com. He also manages ff VC's Finance Acceleration program, where he, along with others, assist portfolio companies with various questions pertaining to accounts payable and expenses, general ledger, payroll tax, management reporting and other financial tasks.
Related: What a CFO Taught My Startup About Projections
For the month of August, we are thrilled to have Katz as our expert. He is eager to tackle your burning questions each week. Feel free to ask questions relating to bookkeeping, payroll, projections, financial statement preparation, tax issues or any other startup financial question.
Submit your questions in the comments section below or tweet us, using the hashtag #ENTexpert. One topic will be selected by the editors of Entrepreneur and addressed by Katz in a weekly write up here.
Related: It's Tax-Crunch Time: How to Keep Your Accounting in Check