REASON FOR THE SEARCH

The business has reached a point where it needs to upgrade its financial processes, systems, and accounting alongside leading and managing operations of the back office. The current CFO is leaving, and because of their decision to progress and build as a business, they are looking for someone with great expertise and skills to support their upgrade.

THE PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM

Blue Cloud Ventures has backed over 26 software companies since it was founded. The firm focuses on growth-stage investing, with cheque sizes ranging from $3M to $10M. The company has an entrepreneurial and fast-paced culture, aiming to become a major and premier fund in the market.

THE SEARCH REQUIREMENTS

• The ability to be completely hands-on
• Prior experience in the role of VP of Finance, Controller, and CFO in Venture Capital or Private Equity funds
• Expert knowledge of fund structures and accounting protocols
• Strong back office skills
• Experience in the early stages of a fund

WHY RAW SELECTION

This was the first time Blue Cloud had worked with Raw Selection, and we were able to fill their position within 1 week. We are proven in completing difficult searches across Europe and North America. The main challenge during this search for a Chief Financial Officer was the prior experience required alongside the firm being a new business.

THE PROCESS

To secure the candidate, Raw Selection followed its extensive 15-step process to ensure a great match was found for the vacancy. Upon starting the search, Raw Selection’s managing partner worked closely with the hiring manager and other key team members to build out a full picture of the company, the employees, the culture, and exactly the type of profile needed to succeed in this position. After conducting over 270 screening calls and several full interviews, Raw Selection identified a great profile who was subsequently hired for the role.

Raw Selection followed its extensive 15-step search process, identifying 65 potential profiles, which were then cut down to a shortlist of 5, all of whom were fully interviewed and measured for culture fit. The profile who was hired was an experienced CFO from a competing Venture Capital fund based in New York and was able to commence the position only two months after the previous CFO had left.

THE CANDIDATE

Marc Rappoport was a seasoned and experienced CFO/COO with extensive experience running the back office of venture capital firms in the US. His more recent experience in helping newer VC firms scale AUM quickly gave him the unique experience needed by Blue Cloud Ventures.

Marc was the ultimate professional throughout the interview process and was already communicating ways in which he could help Blue Cloud Ventures upgrade, being very aware that a lean approach would be needed, but he had the toolkit for this.

Marc hit the brief perfectly with Venture Capital, the technology industry, and a start-up VC firm to grow the AUM. He had everything we needed for the perfect back-office lead.

WHAT OUR CLIENT THOUGHT

“This was our first time working with Alex Rawlings and Raw Selection. We partnered together on a CFO search for our venture capital fund.

Alex presented us with an excellent and highly curated set of candidates, from whom we subsequently hired our CFO.

I would highly recommend Alex and Raw Selection to any venture capital firm looking to secure talent. It was a pleasure working with Alex who was able to grasp our unique needs.”

Mir Arif, Managing Partner

OUR THOUGHTS ON THE SEARCH

This search was a job to participate in. I love working with firms that are new to the market and finding their feet. Mir Arif, the Managing Partner, reached out to us to secure a CFO/COO for the firm in New York. They only had a team of four but needed a CFO/COO to contribute to the back office processes and systems to hit their growth targets over the coming years.

It is challenging at the best of times to secure profiles, but when faced with a tight compensation budget, high expectations, and the need for a profile with tons of experience and the fire to still wear lots of hats, this makes it an exciting prospect to identify.

The search went as expected, and we quickly identified Marc as a top candidate, who then subsequently secured the role.

Alex Rawlings, Founder of Raw Selection

GET IN TOUCH

If you are looking for new talent, please get in contact with Alex Rawlings at alex.rawlings@raw-selection.com