The Swings
These are the moments where it shifted
Real companies. Real decisions. Real stories of what happened when the Tee Up CFO Team showed up.
“Somewhere along the way, our contractor quietly became our guy.”
CEO, Mighty Payments
From confusion to conviction.
Setup
A payments company spinning out with no finance function. The CEO — sharp, math-literate — was personally updating the financial model. Cell by cell. He knew enough to know he shouldn't be the one doing it.
The work
Built the model from scratch. First version in weeks, then iterated — 17 versions through a capital raise, each one sharper than the last. Brought in a supporting team. Onboarded an internal Director of Finance.
Turning point
The CEO stopped introducing us as a consultant. To every investor, lender, and M&A target, we were "our CFO." When a sale process launched, the investment bank used our model — they didn't rebuild it.
The result
Later, facing another major process, the CEO's reaction wasn't anxiety — it was "hopefully this is another smooth process." Calm confidence where there used to be spreadsheet anxiety.
“Somewhere along the way, our contractor quietly became our guy.”
From model to conviction
The model
17 versions
The turning point
Our CFO
The after
Conviction
Owner, Hargrove Manufacturing
The waived breach
Setup
A manufacturing company that had never forecasted — all reporting was backward-looking. By the time they discovered a covenant breach, it was too late. The bank asked "will it get better?" and nobody had an answer. Lender relations soured. The owner felt like he was losing control of a business he'd built over decades
The work
We built a mid-year budget the leadership could confidently hit — revenue, cashflow, and forecasted covenant compliance. The honest answer: one covenant would recover, the other wouldn't. We brought that to the bank with a plan, not an excuse.
Turning point
The bank offered to renegotiate. Not because the numbers were perfect, but because Hargrove showed up with professional reporting and a quarterly forecast the bank could rely on. We didn't just help the owners see six months ahead — we helped the lenders see six months ahead too.
The result
The lender relationship went from adversarial to collaborative. The owner stopped dreading bank calls and started leading them.
“Now that we can have quarterly visibility into your business, we'd be much more open to loosening our covenants.”
Quarterly visibility
Lender relationship
Collaborative
The turning point
Breach waived
The after
Confidence
Board Director, Vantage Software
From awkward board meetings to confident ones
Setup
A software company with three customer segments that behaved completely differently — but they were all mushed together in the reporting. Nobody could tell which was growing, which was shrinking, or why. Board meetings were awkward. Hard to invest when you can't see where the growth is.
The work
Our analysts segmented the customers and calculated retention, growth, and average customer value by segment — historically and projected forward. For the first time, the board could see three distinct businesses inside one company.
Turning point
The next board meeting was a different room. The conversation shifted from "what's happening?" to "where do we double down?"
The result
One board member: "I've never understood the business better than I do today." Another: "I'm much more confident investing in this business because you're managing the finance function." The business didn't change — they could finally see it.
“I'm much more confident investing in this business because you're managing the finance function.”
Three distinct businesses
Enterprise
128% NRR
The turning point
Where to double down
The after
Understanding