Capital starts before the application.

You know your business needs capital.
The bigger questions are:

  • How much do you actually need?
  • What can the business support?
  • What type of capital makes sense?
  • And are your financials ready for someone else to scrutinize?
Finance Savvy CEO helps established businesses prepare for capital, design the financing strategy, connect with appropriate capital sources, and navigate the process from initial readiness through diligence.
Talk to Us About Capital
  • For established, owner-led businesses typically generating $1M–$25M in revenue.

Getting introduced to a lender is not the same as being ready for one.

A capital provider is going to look beyond the amount you’re requesting. They may evaluate historical financial performance, profitability and cash flow, existing debt, debt-service capacity, balance sheet strength, use of funds, management assumptions, forecasts, owner liquidity or guarantees where applicable, and the financial logic behind the request.

Before we ask “Who should we approach?” we first ask “What will they see when they look at the business?”

Get ready. Design the strategy. Get connected. Navigate the process.

01

Get Ready

We assess whether the financial foundation is ready for external scrutiny. That may include financial statements, balance sheet integrity, profitability, cash flow, existing debt, working capital, historical trends, reporting quality, forecasting, and potential lender or investor questions. If something needs to be strengthened first, we tell you before the capital provider does.

02

Design the Strategy

We help answer how much to raise, what the money is funding, what the business can reasonably support, how debt service affects cash flow, whether the capital should come in stages, and what type of provider is likely to fit. Work may include capital needs analysis, use-of-funds planning, debt-capacity analysis, DSCR analysis, capital-stack strategy, cash-flow modeling, scenario planning, forecasting, and financing structure analysis.

03

Get Connected

Once the business and opportunity are ready, who you approach matters. Finance Savvy CEO maintains relationships across the capital ecosystem and, where appropriate, can facilitate introductions to commercial banks, SBA lenders, CDFIs, specialty lenders, fintech and alternative financing providers, and other capital partners whose mandates may fit the business and transaction.

04

Navigate the Process

Getting the introduction isn’t the finish line. We can remain involved through lender conversations, financial follow-up, underwriting requests, model updates, scenario analysis, diligence support, financial explanations, management responses, coordination with CPA, legal, and other advisors, and closing-related financial support.

We believe the right capital relationship begins with fit — not a mass application strategy.

Capital is a process. We help you navigate it.

Before you raise, we want to know five things.

Fractional CFO services in Atlanta supporting professional services and growth-focused businesses

Not the round number that sounds right. The amount supported by the actual project, cash needs, working capital requirements, and financial plan.

We evaluate profitability, cash flow, existing obligations, and potential debt service to understand the financial capacity of the business.

If the income statement says one thing and the balance sheet says another, that matters. We identify financial reporting issues that could create unnecessary questions during diligence.

A clear capital request should explain exactly where the money is going and how that investment supports the business objective.

We help connect the historical performance, current financial position, forecast, and capital request into a coherent financial case.

Build the financial case before you enter the room.

Financial Readiness Review

Assess the financial foundation and identify potential diligence issues.

Normalized Earnings Analysis

Separate recurring business performance from unusual or non-recurring items where appropriate.

Debt Capacity & DSCR

Understand how much debt the business may reasonably be able to service.

Use of Funds

Translate the business need into a clear, defensible capital request.

Forecasting & Pro Forma Modeling

Show how the business is expected to perform after the capital is deployed.

Cash & Working Capital Analysis

Determine whether the business has enough liquidity to execute the plan.

Capital Strategy

Evaluate possible structures and capital sources.

Capital Provider Package

Organize the financial information required to tell the story clearly.

Capital Introductions

Facilitate appropriate relationships within our network where there is a potential fit.

Diligence & Underwriting Support

Help answer the financial questions that arise as the process progresses.

More than getting “funding ready.”

Capital decisions are financial decisions. Finance Savvy CEO approaches the process through the lens of strategic finance — not simply application support.
  • What the business can afford.
  • How the financing affects cash flow.
  • Whether the structure makes sense.
  • What risks the capital provider is likely to see.
  • Whether the financing actually supports the larger business strategy.
Getting approved for capital is not enough. The capital still has to make financial sense.

You don't need more financial reports. You need to know what to do next.

Your bookkeeper can tell you what happened.

Your CPA can help you understand taxes and historical financial reporting.

You need more than reporting. You need financial strategy.

But when the question becomes:

  • Can we afford to hire?
  • Should we open another location?
  • How much capital should we raise?
  • Can the business support the debt?
  • Is this acquisition actually a good deal?

What are you trying to do next?

Raise Capital

You need funding — and your financials, strategy, and story need to withstand scrutiny. Finance Savvy CEO helps determine how much capital you need, what the business can support, how the opportunity should be positioned, and what needs to be strengthened before you approach capital providers. When appropriate, we can also connect you with lenders and capital partners in our network and support you through the financing process.

Make a Better Growth Decision

You're growing, but the numbers aren't giving you enough confidence to act. Finance Savvy CEO brings forecasting, financial analysis, scenario planning, and CFO-level judgment to the decisions that matter.

Buy a Business

Before you buy a business, understand what you’re actually buying. We help evaluate earnings, cash flow, debt capacity, purchase economics, downside risk, and the financial implications of the deal.

Prepare to Sell

You’ve built value. Now make sure the financial story supports it. We help owners strengthen reporting, normalize earnings, prepare for diligence, and understand the financial factors that can influence a transaction.

The Finance Savvy CEO® Method

01

Know the numbers.

Major decisions require reliable financial information. We assess what’s working, what’s missing, and whether the current financial infrastructure is strong enough for the decision ahead. If the books, reporting, close process, or underlying financial data need to be strengthened first, we help address what is necessary.

02

Design the strategy.

Once the numbers are clear, we turn them into a plan. We model the options, pressure-test assumptions, evaluate tradeoffs, and help determine the financial path that best supports the business objective.

03

Make the move.

Then we help you execute. That may mean raising capital, navigating underwriting, making an acquisition, preparing for a sale, expanding operations, or implementing the financial plan behind your next stage of growth.

What We Do

Financial Infrastructure

Build a foundation you can trust.
When the current financial setup isn’t strong enough for where the business is going, we help strengthen it. This may include financial cleanup, management reporting, monthly close support, bookkeeping oversight or support, balance sheet integrity, controller-level review, and financial processes and controls.
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Strategic Finance

Turn the numbers into a plan.
We provide the financial visibility and CFO-level thinking behind major business decisions, including forecasting, cash strategy, scenario modeling, profitability analysis, KPI visibility, hiring and investment decisions, expansion planning, enterprise value strategy, and executive financial decision support.
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Capital

Get ready. Get connected.
Navigate the process. We help businesses prepare for capital before they begin applying everywhere, including readiness, debt-capacity analysis, capital strategy, use-of-funds planning, forecasting, package preparation, normalized earnings analysis, lender introductions, underwriting support, diligence, and financing execution.
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Deals

Understand the economics before you buy or sell.
We provide strategic financial support around acquisitions and exits, including financial diligence, acquisition modeling, normalized EBITDA analysis, debt capacity, purchase-price scenarios, downside modeling, working-capital analysis, exit readiness, buyer diligence support, and transaction CFO advisory.
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The goal isn’t bookkeeping for bookkeeping’s sake. It’s making sure the numbers are strong enough to support the next move.

Already have a bookkeeper or CPA?

Great. Finance Savvy CEO doesn’t need to replace them.

We can work alongside your existing bookkeeping and tax team and focus on the financial strategy, analysis, forecasting, and decision support they may not provide. And if the underlying financial infrastructure needs to be strengthened before you can make the next move, we can help address that too.

1

Your bookkeeper records the activity.

2

Your CPA handles tax and compliance.

3

Your strategic finance partner helps you decide what happens next.

Why Finance Savvy CEO®

Decision-Focused

We don't stop at producing reports. We help translate financial information into decisions and action.

Capital Fluent

We understand the preparation, financial scrutiny, and decision-making behind lending, investment, and transactions.

Built for Growth-Stage Businesses

Sophisticated enough for the decision. Practical enough for the owner.

One View Across the Business

Financial infrastructure, strategy, capital, and transactions should not exist in separate silos. We connect them.
Female business leader providing high growth service based businesses with fractional CFO services

Marguerite Pressley Davis
Founder

Built by an investor. Designed for owners.

Finance Savvy CEO was founded by Marguerite Pressley Davis to give growth-stage business owners access to the kind of financial thinking typically available inside larger companies, investment firms, and transaction environments.

Marguerite’s background spans private equity, M&A strategy, investing, strategic finance, venture capital, entrepreneurship, and growth-stage businesses.

Today, Finance Savvy CEO brings together financial infrastructure, CFO strategy, capital readiness, and transaction support to help owner-led companies navigate their most consequential financial decisions.

For Partners

You bring the audience.
We bring the strategic finance.

Help your business clients become financially ready for what’s next.

Finance Savvy CEO works with banks, fintechs, corporations, associations, accelerators, and entrepreneurial ecosystems to help growth-stage businesses strengthen financial readiness and make better financial decisions.

Partnerships can combine curated audience design, hands-on strategic-finance experiences, diagnostics, advisory support, and clear follow-up pathways that surface real business needs and connect them to the right partner resources.

  • Banks
  • Fintechs
  • Corporations
  • Associations
  • Accelerators
  • Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Partner With Finance Savvy CEO

What's your next move?

Whether you’re raising capital, making a major growth decision, buying a business, or preparing for a transaction, start by making sure the financial strategy is ready.

Talk to Finance Savvy CEO