Over the past few years, Graphite has become the leading online marketplace for top-tier business talent with big-firm consulting experience and specialized knowledge in finance, strategy, marketing and IT. There is a wealth of potential opportunities to leverage our highly qualified talent pool, but the best way to understand the possibilities is to read some of our success stories. We’ve put together a few highlights of case studies that demonstrate how Graphite professionals have led important projects and initiatives at private equity and venture capital firms, portfolio companies, corporations and startups.

If you’re new to Graphite, we hope this will introduce you to value of hiring independent professionals to meet your critical business needs. If you’ve already used Graphite to find and hire top talent, we hope this will inspire your next engagement and a similar success story for your organization.

‍Consumer Affairs Capital Raise

‍ConsumerAffairs.com, a rapidly growing SaaS/lead generation company, was preparing for a $25M growth equity raise. The company needed a finance expert with SaaS experience to help lead the capital raising process, develop financial models and investor materials, and provide ongoing analytical support during the transaction. Through Graphite, ConsumerAffairs was introduced to Neel B., a former Bain consultant with PE experience and a strategic advisor to growth stage companies.

Neel had recently completed a similar project, quarterbacking the process for a tech-enabled services company and resulting in a $15M raise. Neel’s experience and expertise were pivotal at ConsumerAffairs, where he led the company's $25 million capital raise effort. He also served as an ongoing, trusted advisor to CEO Zac Carman, providing insights and contributions in corporate development, business operations, and finance initiatives. According to Carman, “Neel is a consummate professional. His work product is top notch and he’s super helpful at thinking through the corner cases of whatever project he’s tackling.”

‍Interim CFO/Controller Becomes Long-Term Financial Leader

‍UpCounsel, a VC-backed marketplace for legal services, was looking for an interim CFO/Controller. The company needed to review and make updates to all company financials to improve its financial reporting process for current and future investors. Working through Graphite, UpCounsel connected with and hired Robert M., a versatile senior financial and operations professional with Big Four accounting experience at Deloitte. He also had several years of interim CFO leadership.

Having worked in many venture-backed startups, Robert supervised and initialed equity and debt financing on many levels, supporting multiple startup and emerging growth companies backed by venture capital. This made him the ideal candidate for UpCounsel because he deeply understood the nature of startups and knew how to manage relationships between management teams and venture investors. Robert completed the initial review and updates of UpCounsel’s financials, but his skills and experience proved valuable far beyond the company’s original scope. What began as a one-month project turned into on an ongoing role of providing financial leadership for UpCounsel.

‍Analyst Researches & Evaluates Acquisition Opportunities for Banjo

‍Banjo, a fast growing technology company with $100 million in Series C funding led by SoftBank, needed an experienced business analyst on very short notice. The company needed an analyst to work with the management team to research and evaluate several potential acquisition opportunities. Through Graphite, Banjo found Gavin M., a business strategy consultant with over 20 years of professional experience focused on working with high-growth companies in the technology, media and telecommunications industries.

Gavin had relevant industry knowledge and experience working with many technology, management consulting and private equity firms, where he researched, analyzed and evaluated investment opportunities. He put that knowledge and experience to work for Banjo, where he led a successful research and analysis effort and earned praise for his professionalism and ability to meet the company’s “very tight deadline.”

‍Start Writing Your Success Story

‍Are you a corporation or startup ready to tap the global marketplace to meet your business-critical needs for financial, strategic or marketing expertise? Are you a PE or VC firm seeking an interim executive or a portfolio company or industry expertise to evaluate a potential investment opportunity? At Graphite, our network includes more than 4,000 professionals who are carefully screened to meet the highest standards for education, qualifications and experience.

Graphite professionals have an average of over 10 years of experience in their field, and each has at least two years of experience working for a top consulting firm. In addition, more than 1,000 of our professionals have an MBA from a top 10 U.S. business school, and hundreds more have MBA from top global programs such as INSEAD and the London Business School.

Visit www.graphite.com to create your account or sign in, and start your search now.