First-Time Startup CFO: 4 Lessons I Wish I Knew

Introduction

When I first interviewed for a finance position at a rapidly growing startup, I was filled with youthful ambition and bravado. Still, I did not truly understand what working in a finance department meant, but I was eager to take my shot. During this interview, the regional CFO asked about my five-year goals, and I boldly declared that I saw myself in her role.

Fast forward less than five years, and I stepped into that position when she was promoted.

While I possessed a strong technical foundation, having honed my skills in FP&A, managed complex projects, built detailed financial models, and quickly spotted discrepancies, I quickly learned that finance was more than a support function; it was pivotal to the organisation's success.

Unfortunately, there was no manual, no easy blueprint to guide me through balancing strategy and operations, leading through chaos, or ensuring a company's growth while keeping its finances sound. Although I had mentors and could draw from the former CFO's experience, the reality was that much of what I needed to learn, I had to absorb in real time, and that would probably be the same case for you.

Lesson 1: You're Not Just the Numbers Person Anymore

Before becoming a CFO, many might think the job revolves mainly around financial modelling, performance tracking, and achieving targets. While these are essential tasks, they are just the starting point.

In my first month as CFO, the company was undergoing a restructuring, and there was significant pressure to improve performance after a slow second quarter. The commercial teams frequently generated innovative ideas, and with increased pressure to perform, came a bold proposal: a new initiative that would slash our margins by over 75%, but, if successful, could position us as a market leader in under a year.

As CFO, the decision fell to me. I had to make critical decisions while we were preparing for an eventual IPO, ensuring that every strategic move was well thought out. It raised key questions:

• What metrics should we use to gauge success?

• How can we validate our assumptions?

• Are we operationally ready for immediate execution?

• And if it fails, when should we pull the plug?

This experience underscored a vital realisation: a CFO's role extends beyond interpreting numbers (see Glossary of Key Finance Team Roles & Responsibilities). It involves setting the pace for the organisation, defining strategic trade-offs, and guiding the business on where to invest. Strategy becomes embedded in every decision made.

Being a startup CFO requires navigating incomplete data, high stakes, and real constraints. While numbers are still important, the ability to manage ambiguity and make strategic choices is even more crucial.

Lesson 2: Relationships Are Half the Job

When people think of a CFO, they picture spreadsheets, board decks, and investor calls. That's accurate but incomplete. What I've come to realise is that relationships are as critical to the role as financial acumen. Possibly more.

You're at the centre of multiple power dynamics:

• Between the CEO and the board

• Between investors and operators

• Between strategy and execution

The success of the finance function often depends less on how right you are and more on how well you can influence, align, and gain trust.

Key Relationships

• With the CEO: Your relationship must evolve into a true partnership. You have to complement each other, one focused on vision, the other on sustainability, and still speak a shared language of growth.

• With your team: You're building a culture that values precision, discipline, and impact, but also agility and ownership. You can't afford to micromanage, so hiring well and trusting people becomes non-negotiable.

• With investors and lenders: You're the voice of stability. They expect you to have conviction, know your numbers cold, and pre-empt their concerns before they raise them.

What surprised me most was how much time and mental energy go into managing these relationships. Some weeks, you're less of a finance lead and more of a translator, therapist, or diplomat. However, these relationships allow you to get things done, especially when the numbers alone aren't enough to carry the argument.

Lesson 3: You'll Always Be Adapting

One of the most underrated parts of the CFO's job is the emotional and operational toll of constant change. People expect you to manage the numbers, but no one tells you that you'll also have to manage change fatigue; yours and everyone else's.

In a startup, there is no stable ground for too long. You're:

• Scaling one quarter, cutting back the next

• Fundraising, hiring, pivoting, restructuring, launching

• And it's all happening at once

The finance function becomes the throughline for everything else, which means you constantly rethink how things work and why.

Personal Growth

I used to think agility was just about being responsive, but it's much more than that. It's about building systems that can evolve, creating a team culture that doesn't break under shifting priorities, and learning to lead without needing full certainty.

There's also a deeper personal shift. You go from asking, "How do we optimise this?" to "What does the business need from me right now?" and the answer isn't always comfortable. Sometimes, it means playing the "*bad guy*" and slowing things down. Other times, it means accelerating risk because standing still is costlier.

If you can't adapt, emotionally, mentally, and structurally, you'll burn out or become irrelevant. The goal isn't to control change. It's to lead through it without losing sight of what truly matters: your mission.

The goal isn't to control change. It's to lead through it without losing sight of what truly matters: your mission.

Lesson 4: Protect Your Time

This one took longer to learn than I'd like to admit: not everything needs your input, and not everything deserves your time.

In a startup, especially in finance, there's a gravitational pull toward firefighting:

• Someone needs a report urgently

• A regulator has a new requirement

• A board member wants a one-off analysis

You start off thinking you can manage it all, but eventually, you realise that if you're not careful, your entire week can be spent solving other people's problems.

Beyond Time Management

Our workplaces today tend to reward presence, but it often defines presence in the wrong way. You're seen as present if you respond to Slack within minutes, say yes to every meeting, and are always available for a "quick chat" or a "can I pick your brain" moment.

Early on, I found myself pulled into too many conversations, reviews, Slack threads, and ad hoc decisions. I became the focal point for everything because I had the answers, or could find them faster than anyone else.

So I had to become more disciplined: carving out time for proactive work, blocking off deep-focus days, and being intentional about where I add the most value. I also had to build the confidence to say, "This doesn't need to come to me," and empower others to make good decisions without waiting for my green light.

Being a CFO isn't about being available for every question. It's about making sure your time, attention, and energy are aligned with the company's most critical decisions and challenges.

Your calendar is your strategy. If you're not protecting it, you're probably not leading, just reacting.

Final Thoughts

No one walks into the CFO role fully ready.

You'll be tested, strategically, emotionally, and operationally, in ways no textbook or MBA can prepare you for. That's what makes this role so interesting and impactful. It's one of the few seats where you can see the entire business and shape its direction from the inside out.

The job is hard, but it's meaningful, and you don't have to lose yourself to do it well.

Success as a startup CFO isn't about having all the answers. It's about asking better questions, creating clarity in ambiguity, and holding the long-term view when everyone else is caught in the urgency of now.

The truth is, you don't just become a CFO. You grow into one with every decision, every late night, and every hard-earned win.

About the author

Nelly Movine, is currently the CFO at Numida. She has a wealth of experience in financial management and strategic leadership for high growth companies. Before her role at Numida, she served in various capacities at Jumia, a NYSE listed company, where she notably setup and built JumiaPay in East Africa. Her tenure at Jumia included roles as Group FP&A and Regional CFO, crucial in financial and business performance pre and post-IPO. She believes in proactive problem-solving and a hands-on approach to fostering sustainable business growth.