Bootstrapped to €1 Billion: How Vio.com’s CFO delivered a step change in financial discipline 

Imagine scaling your company to over €1 billion without ever raising a cent of venture capital - impossible, right? Not for Daniëlle Keeven, CFO of Vio.com. 

We recently sat down with Daniëlle for a deep dive discussion to uncover how Vio.com has achieved what many thought was impossible in the highly competitive travel tech space. From mastering unit economics and achieving positive contribution margins at every stage, to implementing rigorous cash flow telemetry and embedding financial discipline company-wide, Daniëlle shared candid insights into the financial frameworks and strategic decisions that guided their remarkable journey. 

As CFO, her leadership has been instrumental in steering Vio.com through challenges such as maintaining liquidity during crises and leveraging finance as a strategic, value-driving function.

Interview:

Luc from CFO Connect: Why did Vio.com decide to stay bootstrapped from the beginning? Was that a philosophical decision, or driven by pragmatism?

Daniëlle Keeven (Vio.com): At the beginning, it was entirely pragmatic. When we started back in 2008-2009, the angel investment scene in the Netherlands was very limited. Every failed fundraising round taught us the same thing: if we couldn’t build a profitable business from day one, we simply wouldn’t survive.

Over time, that evolved into a principle. We saw that being bootstrapped let us make traveler-first decisions without the pressure of outside capital—things like showing the true cheapest deal or delaying capture on refundable bookings. These moves were easier when no one was demanding hypergrowth.

Today, our philosophy is simple: positive unit economics before scale. Once the product matured, we evolved to a lifetime value model. Historically, we haven’t spent a euro that doesn’t return with a margin attached.

Luc: Being bootstrapped can limit flexibility. Were there trade-offs, especially around scalability?

Daniëlle: Definitely. But we’ve made every product and growth decision with a clear ROI mindset. We test, measure, iterate—or stop. If we ever raise funding, it would be for a strategic step-change. We don’t build things just for the sake of it. We build when it’s sustainable.

Luc: You operate on a CPA model in an industry where CPC is standard. How do you think about the trade-off between short-term monetization and long-term value?

Daniëlle: With CPA, we give up that instant 60-cent click payout. So we monitor three key signals:

1. Contribution margin per booking - even after cancellations and support costs, it must be close to or above zero.

2. 30-day ad payback cycles - CPC peers often work on 90-day horizons.

3. Retention and return bookings - they’ve grown 5x over the last three years while maintaining contribution margin.

This proves that we’re compounding LTV faster than we’re sacrificing top-line revenue. Payment only triggers on a completed stay, so every euro spent is tied to realized value. It’s a system of alignment.

Luc: What operational muscle have you built because you had to bootstrap?

Daniëlle: A few things:

• Weekly contribution margin closure - not just quarterly.

• Company-wide cash flow telemetry dashboards.

• Strict ROI discipline on growth loops: new channels only launch when the cohort CM is positive.

• Supplier settlement discipline—we match receivables from travelers to payables to hotels daily to avoid float burn.

These disciplines are foundational. They’ve made us resilient.

Luc: What’s been the toughest moment for Vio since you joined?

Daniëlle: COVID. Revenue dropped 90% in a week. €150 million in forward bookings turned into refunds.

But instead of hiding behind leadership platitudes, we practiced radical transparency. We built a data war room, expanded affiliate programs, and renegotiated with partners. We didn’t lay anyone off. We pivoted fast - together. That built an enormous amount of trust.

Luc: You mentioned finance as an "offensive weapon." What do you mean by that?

Daniëlle: Finance isn’t just about saying "no." It’s about finding the “yes, if.” I tell my team: don't think just in terms of controls or compliance. Think in terms of opportunity. We’ve worked on major commercial deals, and embedded ourselves into key decision-making moments.

Finance doesn’t have to be a blocker. We can be the engine.

Luc: How are you thinking about automation and AI at Vio?

Daniëlle: We're AI-ready, not AI-first. Our product team is building automation into booking flows with split booking algorithms and real-time price tracking. Marketing uses automated bid balancers. In finance, we’ve eliminated manual campaign reconciliation.

We’re also exploring AI in contract reviews, legal compliance, and risk modeling—not to replace people, but to give them leverage.

Luc: Rapid-fire to close it out:

Question #1: Biggest VC misunderstanding?

Daniëlle: Confusing headline growth with growth that funds the next cohort.

Question #2: Why is contribution margin your north star?

Daniëlle: Because it ties every team’s work to profitability. It’s the one financial language we all speak.

Question #3: An unexpected soft skill you rely on?

Daniëlle: Radical candor. Delivering hard news early without killing morale.

Question #4: Tips for practicing radical candor?

Daniëlle: Assume good intent. Especially in multicultural, high-stress environments.

Question #5: Contingency planning lessons from COVID?

Daniëlle: 24-hour cash flow telemetry, pre-agreed credit lines, and partner goodwill escrows. Plus: the ability to pivot fast.

Question #6: If you had 10% of your budget for a 3-year experiment with no ROI pressure…?

Daniëlle: A long-term brand trust campaign. We want to be the most trusted OTA in Europe.

Luc: Thanks for the chat and insights!