Explore and discover the world of Sextant Finance's on-demand CFO services with Julien Lecerf, Founder of the entity. Uncover their visionary approach to empowering start-ups through flexible financial solutions. Learn about challenges and insights shaping the landscape of corporate finance.

Please introduce your company and the products/services it offers.

At Sextant Finance, we are experts in corporate finance for start-ups and for SMEs.

Our core offering is "on-demand CFO services" for entrepreneurs : we take the CFO role over the long term - many years for some of them - yet on a very flexible basis like a few days a month and a few hours the next month.

Our support first includes what I refer to as "inside looking finance": setting solid metrics and processes covering accounting, reporting, cash management and financial planning, then running those processes. Our support also covers "outside looking finance" like assisting with raising capital, investor relations and the execution of M&A transactions.

What led to the creation of your company?

From 2006 to 2017, I was the CFO of 3 scale-ups. Each time, I was the first CFO hired by the company, and I wished I had been hired sooner to implement solid financial processes and contibute to more data-based decision making. So I created Sextant Finance to enable entrepreneurs leverage advanced financial management, even at an early stage of their journey, when they don't need a full time CFO.

What is the most difficult or unexpected thing you've had to overcome on your journey?

Technology has brought a number of new entreprise software tools over the past few years. Entrepreneurs, accountants, and us, are in need of collaborative software that enable efficient and automated workflows from invoices to bookeeping and financial reporting. However, I did not find to date such a tool, designed for SMEs and easy to implement, that is connected to Luxembourg accounting software. We need a local version of what Pennylane and Regate are doing in France.

How is your offering different from your competitors and other market players?

We are complementary to other professional service providers to entrepreneurs, rather than being in competition with them. We routinely cooperate with accountants, investment and M&A boutiques, or lawyers.

Additionnaly, we also work with investors. This includes performing financial due-diligences for VCs and investing in start-ups myself as a LBAN member. It is important to me that Sextant Finance keeps bringing to the table this ability to look at KPIs, prioritise among development opportunities, prepare a business plan, or discusses the terms of a transaction with a double entrepreneur/investor mindset.

 What did you find at LHoFT / What did LHoFT bring you?

The LHoFT is a great place and a great ecosystem. Beyond the support that the LHoFT provides to its members, it provides me with an exciting and challenging environment. Finance technology is advancing so fast and it allows me to keep the pace. While I understand that the finance industry is a dominant market to adress in Luxembourg, I just wish that more fintechs were building technology designed for SMEs.

What's next?

Hiring senior officers on a part-time and flexible basis is a growing trend for start-ups, and I think a lasting one. It's a great way for entrepreneurs to lay solid foundations and accelerate growth, at an affordable and adjustable price. As contractors, we are making sure that we focus on actions that bring a ROI.