Francis
Consolidation and Financial planning
Location:
United States, Denmark
Founded:
2022
Team Size:
4
Industry:
Finance, Information Technology (IT), SaaS (Software as a Service)
Founders:
William Pontoppidan, CEO,
Sune Gynthersen, CTO,
About:
Our mission is to enhance how companies manage and collaborate on their finances. Specifically, Francis is used for consolidation, financial planning, and reporting. Our vision is for all mid-sized and larger companies to have fully automated, integrated financial models that empower their business.We serve small finance teams that manage groups of 1-15 entities and who wants to do more.
Describe your startup. What is your startup's mission, and what problem are you solving and who are your customers?
Our mission is to enhance how companies manage and collaborate on their finances. Specifically, Francis is used for consolidation, financial planning, and reporting. Our vision is for all mid-sized and larger companies to have fully automated, integrated financial models that empower their business.We serve small finance teams that manage groups of 1-15 entities and who wants to do more.
Who are the founders, and what sparked the idea for this venture?
The idea was sparked by co-founder William Pontoppidan’s personal experience (MBA 2022). Having worked as a management consultant at McKinsey and as Head of Finance in a fast-growing tech company, he saw firsthand how outdated financial planning processes were managed.
What makes your product or service unique in the market?
Francis is fundamentally a spreadsheet, combining the flexibility and familiarity of traditional spreadsheets with modern SaaS and finance-focused features such as version control, collaboration, reporting, and integrations.
What milestones have you achieved so far if any, and where do you see your startup in the next 2-5 years?
Over 150 companies already use Francis to manage their finances. In the next 2–5 years, we expect to serve thousands of companies and for Francis to become the expected alternative to Excel in the finance stack for financial planning.
What defines your company culture, and what type of talent are you looking for?
We believe in small teams creating exceptional software. We work cross-functionally and obsess over users. Related, we're looking for experienced self-starters who thrive in small teams with the potential for significant influence. We work best when we're co-located and are currently looking for talent willing to relocate to Copenhagen. We will soon open offices in the US.
Are you currently open to investments or partnerships?
We partner with CFO consultancies who use Francis to serve their clients efficiently.
We are also interested in other distribution partnerships.
We are always open to inquiries about investments.
How can interested investors, partners, or potential employees get involved or learn more?
What were the best and worst pieces of advice you received as a founder?
Best: Find the one thing that matters the most and focus on that.
Worst: Always be raising