Sergei M.

💼 🇨🇦 Canadian CFA Charterholder | AI-Native Fractional CFO for Startups | Runway, Fundraising, FP&A & AI Business Models | $1B+ Supported Capital Raises | Top Rated Plus AI startups move faster than traditional finance teams can handle. Revenue models change. Token costs fluctuate. Gross margins compress. Usage scales unpredictably. Investors ask sharper questions. Founders need more than bookkeeping, historical reporting, or another spreadsheet. They need a CFO who understands both startup finance and the emerging economics of AI-native companies. I’m a Canadian CFA Charterholder, Top Rated Plus Upwork fractional CFO, with Masters in AI and ML training. I help founder-led startups build finance functions that are faster, more automated, more investor-ready, and more useful for strategic decision-making. Across my career, I’ve supported startups, growth companies, and investor-backed businesses through fundraising, liquidity pressure, board reporting, restructuring, financial modeling, and high-stakes strategic decisions. My models and finance systems have supported over $1B in capital raised across North America and Europe. What I Help Clients Do ✅ Extend runway and control burn 13-week cash models, runway analysis, burn multiple tracking, hiring plans, downside scenarios, and survival planning. ✅ Understand AI-native economics Token costs, compute expense, usage-based pricing, AI credits, gross margin pressure, customer profitability, cohort economics, and scalable monetization models. ✅ Build investor-grade financial models Three-statement models, SaaS models, marketplace models, usage-based revenue models, scenario cases, board models, and fundraising forecasts. ✅ Create an AI-powered finance function Automated reporting, KPI dashboards, variance analysis, forecasting workflows, anomaly detection, and AI-assisted CFO memos. ✅ Prepare for fundraising Seed through Series B models, bridge rounds, down-round planning, investor decks, data rooms, board materials, diligence support, and financial narratives that withstand scrutiny. ✅ Turn finance into a decision system Real-time dashboards, unit economics, pricing strategy, margin analysis, KPI discipline, and operating leverage planning. Core Services • AI-native Fractional CFO services • Startup FP&A, budgeting, forecasting, and scenario planning • Cash flow, liquidity, and runway management • 13-week cash flow models and crisis finance • SaaS, marketplace, subscription, and usage-based financial models • Token economics, compute cost, AI credit, and gross margin analysis • Fundraising support: Seed, Series A, Series B, bridge rounds, and investor defense • Board reporting, investor updates, and CFO memos • KPI dashboards in Power BI, Excel, and SQL • Finance automation using AI-assisted workflows • Pricing strategy, unit economics, LTV/CAC, cohort analysis, and profitability planning • Due diligence, data rooms, valuation, 409A, M&A, and special situations Why Founders Work With Me Most finance professionals understand accounting. Some understand startup fundraising. Very few understand how AI is changing the financial architecture of startups. I combine: • CFA-level financial rigor • 19+ years of financial modeling and strategic finance experience • Top Rated Plus Upwork execution across hundreds of client engagements • AI/ML graduate training • Hands-on CFO experience inside an AI startup • Practical operator judgment under pressure The result is a finance function that gives founders more clarity, more control, and better decisions — without slowing the company down. Let’s Talk In AI startups, finance cannot be slow, backward-looking, or disconnected from the product. Your finance function needs to understand cash, growth, pricing, compute costs, investor expectations, and strategic risk — all at the same time. Send me a brief, and I’ll help you build a finance function that is investor-ready, AI-aware, automated, and designed for the next stage of growth.