Clients and Results
Who I work with
High-potential early stage companies with an entrepreneurial culture facing the following key challenges:
Need to create a rock-solid business plan
Need to create credible and compelling financial forecasts and presentations to secure funding from potential investors
Need to create a rock-solid business plan
Need to get the financial side of the business under control and put financial systems in place
Need to train management on financial considerations and tools
The companies I work with want the credibility, business experience, financial expertise, and protection that a strong and business-savvy CFO can offer, but are not yet ready for a full-time CFO. They want a trusted advisor who can spot potential problems and provide solid input for key financial tradeoffs and business decisions.
I have worked with a wide range of client companies, both traditional and web-based, across a variety of industries including software and game companies, high and low tech manufacturing companies, wholesale distribution companies, product and services companies, and non-profit organizations.
I also work with investors who need a timely and truthful assessment of the financial situation of their portfolio companies or potential acquisitions.
How you benefit
You get senior-level expertise in finance, strategic planning, and business management just when you need it – without the burden of hiring a full-time CFO.
I function as your trusted advisor – bringing my years of CFO, business, and entrepreneurial experience to your strategic business team.
I serve as your confidential thinking partner and objective sounding board, and provide financially focused feedback in brainstorming, strategizing, prioritizing, and problem-solving.
I spot potential financial problems early and provide targeted solutions. I help you create a strong financial strategy and plan, and alert you to the financial implications of potential business decisions.
Because I stay focused on the financial aspects of your business, your time and energy are freed up to focus on other critical areas such as sales and profits.
I cost-effectively create the key financial analyses and documents you need, including business plans and financial forecasts, models, and tools that highlight the impact of potential business decisions and opportunities.
I help you identify and implement critical financial systems and processes and I can train your management team on financial considerations and tools.
I am a great believer in helping you move quickly and efficiently from where you are to where you need to be to accomplish your financial objectives (my “Straight Line” approach).
I specialize in providing simple, yet powerful, solutions for addressing business and financial problems and opportunities
Here are some of the benefits and results my clients have experienced:
Dana Warren
Former Partner, Bingham & McCutcheon Law Firm
“I have had the pleasure of working with Eli Eisenberg in a number of different contexts over many years. Eli is an intelligent, savvy businessman and advisor whose background as a consultant and as a CFO gives him the ability both to sharpen a business model AND to help execute it.”
“Eli Eisenberg mentored and guided the founder of Steril-Aire. Eli prepared the first business plan for the start-up company, organized its incorporation, established and served on the Board of Directors and brought in the legal assistance needed by the company. And perhaps, most importantly, he led the successful effort to secure initial funding of nearly $750,000, without which Steril-Aire would not exist today. His efforts to lead, guide, mentor and successfully fund a start-up Company were most notable in that they were completed in a timely manner working against very difficult circumstances.”
Robert Scheir
Ph.D., CEO, Steril-Aire
Michael Silton
CEO Rainmaker Systems, Inc.
“Every company faces at least one financial challenge in its start up phase. Eli’s calm, experienced and proactive efforts made it easier for us to overcome our challenges and move on to greater success. I wish every business leader had someone like him at their side for those crucial moments.”
“Eli Eisenberg is a no-nonsense down-to-earth pragmatic businessman who can be hard-nosed yet sensible, is a cunning astute negotiator, and who shows good judgment and wisdom. He is a shrewd businessman with perceptive and judicious qualities, and is a multi-faceted human being with strong convictions to faith, hard work and family.”
Dave Robbins
Former CTO ModeZone.com
Michele Jackman
Organizational Consultant
“It was a pleasure working with Eli Eisenberg. He quickly assessed what needed to be done with the culture of a “sinking ship” and saved the ship and the day. What was most impressive was how he supported the employees through the transition and recovery with excellent leadership strategies.”
“As an early stage Venture Capital manager and board member, I hired Mr. Eisenberg as an interim CEO to help pull a company out of a difficult situation. He did an excellent job of stabilizing employee moral, establishing a useful corporate hierarchy, and building a go-forward business strategy which worked. We couldn’t have done it without him.”
David Cremin
Founder and Managing Director, DFJ Frontier Ventures
Jacques Welche
CPA, Partner Raimondo Petit Group
“Eli is a pleasure to work with. He takes his clients’ best interests to heart in the most professional manner and brings the CFO value to smaller companies that otherwise could not afford it.”
“Eli is a true mensch of an entrepreneur. While he has very strong talents in finance, his willingness to roll up his sleeves and truly work with growing companies is remarkable. He has a passion for growing great companies, and he has a heart for working with great people. He is one of the best in the business that I know.”
Victor W. Hwang
President Larta Institute
Jerry Gallwas
Retired Director of Program Management,
Beckman Coulter and Larta Fellow
“Eli Eisenberg is a straight line thinker who makes the complexities of a start-up company’s financials understandable for entrepreneurial teams. He is well networked in the Southern California technology and financial communities to facilitate top-level contacts. He has broad experience in the organizational challenges of business operations and thus is able to simplify issues into actionable strategies. Over the ten years that I have known and worked with Eli, I have seen him analyze a multitude of business problems for young companies resulting in insightful and practical solutions. He is a ‘no nonsense’ pleasure to work with.”
“Eli is one of Larta’s most valued and respected mentors and contributors. I have enjoyed a long association with him. No matter the venture, he always brings great doses of enthusiasm and energy, intelligence and insight along with generosity of time and spirit, and loyalty. On a personal level, he is a trusted friend and advisor.”
Rohit K. Shukla
CEO Larta Institute
Wayne D. McFarland
CEO, Link It Software Corporation
“Eli’s business expertise, his knowledge of the ins and outs of “ramp up” business environments, and his extensive list of rock solid professionals in a wide variety of critical areas proved invaluable to both our launch and subsequent growth. We also have always appreciated Eli’s direct “tell it like it is” approach to both problems and solutions; you can’t succeed without that and it is a critical element to have in any consultant. Since we met Eli, our firm has grown from my partner and I to numerous employees in three locations. Under Eli’s guidance and that of the other professionals he brought to us we now have 11 stockholders and have acquired some seven figures of investment capital while still retaining control. I highly recommend Eli and the services of his company Straight Line Management. If you are looking for a real pro, one who can give you guidance and expertise and pull in other proven professionals to cover virtually any situation you find yourself in, Eli is your man.”