Krispy Kreme hardly needs an introduction. The donut franchise is a global behemoth, boasting 1,400 locations in over 30 countries and employing roughly 21,000 people. It opened its doors back in 1937 in Winston-Salem, NC, and is currently headquartered in Charlotte, NC. Its mission is simple: to make the most incredible donuts on the planet daily and bring people together.
Krispy Kreme’s has built a track record for driving revenue growth and in this growth phase the company recognized the need to double down on its efforts to maintain the momentum. To ensure it was on the right track, they decided to bring on an expert that could guide them.
Specifically, they sought a financial planning and analysis (FP&A) subject matter expert well-versed in monthly and year-end performance reporting and analysis, strategic operational decision support, and planning and forecasting.
The ideal candidate would need to be comfortable providing in-depth financial modeling services and forecasting operating and profitability performance.
An experienced FP&A expert is key to making sure that your business is on track to meeting its vision. For Krispy Kreme, this was a much-needed skill they needed to ensure its long-term success and one that was needed fast to meet yearly goals.
After hearing about Graphite's mission and reputation from a peer, the hiring manager decided to reach out to an Account Executive (AE) to learn more. Realizing the benefits of onboarding an independent expert on demand and learning more about Graphite's vetting process and the ease of onboarding and paying the expert on the platform, a subsequent meeting was set up to gather the scope of work.
In that call, the AE and the hiring manager dove into the specifics of the role. The AE used the details from this scoping call to create a thorough project description, which they then posted to the Graphite platform.
From there, experts who have signed up to the network can either apply themselves or are invited to apply by the Graphite team. Over five experts were presented to Krispy Kreme, but the AE earmarked one specific candidate as the best fit based on Krispy Kreme's niche criteria.
Krispy Kreme went along with the AE's suggestion after carefully reviewing each candidate. The chosen expert was a corporate finance executive with 18 years of experience. The primary focus of their career was working with multi-unit brands (retail and restaurant).
In the expert’s most recent full-time role, they led the FP&A function for a private equity portfolio restaurant company, responsible for both the day-to-day and strategic finance support. This included financial business partner support for various organizations within the company, such as:
Moreover, the expert's impressive background — which included roles at enterprise companies like Deloitte, Blockbuster Inc, and Taco Bueno Restaurants — further demonstrated that they were the right fit for this project.
As a financial business partner, the expert worked with business unit leaders on strategic financial analysis, modeling, reporting, creation of annual budgets, and quarterly forecasts. They also provided ongoing analysis and advice, working with Krispy Kreme for ~11 months. Krispy Kreme was able to maintain its momentum and power growth in revenue.
Graphite worked closely with both the client and the expert throughout the process. The project's dedicated AE checked in regularly to facilitate their smooth collaboration and to offer ongoing support when necessary.
After reforecasting revenue growth, Krispy Kreme knew it would need to bring on an FP&A expert to help maintain the momentum of its growth. Within 42 hours of working with Graphite, it found the right expert for the role.
Eager to onboard a team that could achieve results within six months, the client and their dedicated Graphite account manager partnered to determinze the specifications for each of the four roles. They were:
