How We Built Banking Relationships in High-Growth Company
This scaling, emerging growth company grew organically without any outside funding for it’s first five years. Over those years, company grew revenue 10-fold and began to turn a profit; yet during growth their working capital needs grew disproportionately to their expanding revenue.
- Building out virtual accounting capability and processes to leveraging greater technology
- Developed a corporate finance and accounting calendar to implement cadence, expectations, and ownership
- Developed their first Annual Operating Plan with integrated cash flow planning
Challenge:
Refinance & Restructure Debt
Industry:
Materials Science
Services
Accounting, FP&A, CFO
Challenge
This emerging growth company had scaled organically without outside funding for its first five years, achieving a 10x revenue increase and turning profitable. However, as revenue expanded, working capital needs outpaced growth, creating a strain on liquidity.
With ambitious goals for geographic and partner expansion, as well as acquisitive growth, the company faced a dual challenge: refinancing and restructuring debt to increase liquidity while building a scalable foundation in accounting and HR to support their long-term vision. Without deep corporate finance expertise, the business owners needed help navigating banking relationships and restructuring their capital stack cost-effectively and with a strategic approach.
Solution
The company partnered with GrowthLab’s Pro Package to leverage a combination of robust accounting support, FP&A services, and virtual CFO expertise.
Key actions included:
- Virtual Accounting and Technology: GrowthLab built scalable accounting processes, leveraging modern financial tools to streamline operations.
- Corporate Finance and Accounting Calendar: Implemented a structured cadence for financial reporting, cash flow planning, and team accountability.
- Annual Operating Plan (AOP): Developed the company's first AOP, integrating cash flow planning to provide a clear financial roadmap.
With the urgency of the refinancing effort, GrowthLab’s Accounting, FP&A, and CFO teams collaborated closely to prepare and present the company’s story to banking partners. This included:
- Memorializing financial data and strategic goals into a compelling narrative.
- Supporting underwriting, credit committee reviews, and funding processes.
- Establishing an annual strategic business cycle with shareholder reporting, compensation structures, and long-range planning.
GrowthLab also supported acquisition screening and due diligence, positioning the company for future growth opportunities.
Results
Within eight months, the company successfully refinanced its debt on favorable terms, consolidating existing obligations and improving liquidity.
One year later, the company’s balance sheet is cleaner, providing financial flexibility and better positioning them for strategic acquisitions. The newly implemented accounting systems provide transparency for project planning and management, while the structured cadence of monthly and quarterly meetings ensures consistent communication and accountability.
The Annual Strategic Planning Process, supported by dashboards and metrics, has enabled the Executive Leadership Team to think long-term, respond to risks and opportunities, and improve feedback loops across the organization.
With GrowthLab’s CFO Suite, the company not only achieved its immediate financing goals but also built a foundation for sustained growth and operational excellence.
GrowthLab, a Finance-as-a-Service (FaaS) company serving founders and management teams with full-service Financial Planning & Analysis, Monthly Accounting, Virtual CFO, HR-People Advisory, and Business Tax.