About the Client

Felix and Fingers provides entertainment for various events with dueling-piano shows throughout the United States, and more.

The Challenge

Making investments is about taking smart risks. When the client came to Paro, they were looking for a third party to assist them with buy-side due diligence for a potential investment. They needed someone to sit down to evaluate the internal finance staff at the company they wanted to invest in so they could better understand the company’s ability to scale with the client’s potential investment. They also wanted someone skilled at reviewing the accounting policies and controls that guided the department month to month, as well as to understand revenue recognition policies, accrual policies, and audit readiness.

The Story

The founders of Felix and Fingers were passionate about their talents and business, and identified a goal of expanding to ten cities in five to eight years. But because they did not have financial backgrounds, they lacked the strategy or financial infrastructure to put a plan in motion. They knew they had a good product, but they did not know how much money they would need, when, or how to get it. They were also concerned that the financial information that had been prepared for them was inconsistent and probably inaccurate.

The Results

Paro began by standardizing the company’s data and using that to build a pro forma financial model, which helped the founders visualize how much money was flowing in and out of the business. This helped them see not only what their business looked like now, but what it could look like down the road, and how much money they would need to open each new office. They were then able to look at scenarios, what cities to go into, how much money they would need to make in each city, etc.

After the help of a Paro expert, they now have a map going forward.

  • Standardized and streamlined Felix and Fingers’ financial data
  • Created a robust financial model that allowed them to track performance and plan for growth
  • The model demonstrated how much money they were making, and which revenue streams were most lucrative
  • The Paro expert who created the model stayed on as part-time CFO to guide the company through growth
  • Designed a new compensation approach that provided larger margins
  • Established more upward mobility for team members
  • Used the new model to plan new offices across the US