"It's step by step. You cannot say, 'Oh, now I want that.' You need to just follow the growth of the company — and if the company grows as expected, you will grow with the company and get your share."
JeanPierre Ferrando, Fractional CFO, NourishPro: As a board advisor, I can help companies on the international stage — helping them grow and making sure they understand the different aspects of operating across different countries, each with their own set of rules around finance and legal entity setup. It felt like the right place to bring that experience and share it with the startup founders who needed it.
JeanPierre Ferrando: The Academy gave me the rules and preparation I needed. My first assignment was a pro bono placement.
We had a good first meeting with Gamal, the founder of NourishPro, and he was looking for help setting up the finance organisation. We've been working together since last year, and it's been a good partnership so far.
JeanPierre Ferrando: Gamal is not a financial person, so the priority was to make sure we built the basics of finance first. I helped him build the model, and after that, how to use the model to start looking for funding. We implemented a five-year forecast, which allowed us to calculate the discounted cash flows and arrive at an enterprise value. That's what we built together.
Gamal is really focused — he knows the platform, the technology side of it, and what he wants to achieve. So our collaboration worked pretty well.
JeanPierre Ferrando: We met on a weekly basis for one hour at a time.
The big challenge was building the discounted cash flow model, because you need that to apply for any funding. That was a major value-add. When it was time to go for funding, we already had all the financials organised — filling out the applications was simply a case of, "This is the finance, these are the numbers, let's apply."
Last week we spent about 10 hours together on our first application — and the work we'd done over the previous six months paid off. It's working really well. We're now looking at an expansion into the US. Right now we're focused on EMEA, but we have the base set up and we can use it to move forward. We just need to attract more customers and build NourishPro on the international stage.
JeanPierre Ferrando: It's still in a growing phase. Right now I have equity, and it's shaping up well. When we open a subsidiary in the US, I'll become the Director and CFO.
It's step by step. You cannot say, "Oh, now I want that." You need to follow the growth of the company — and if the company grows as expected, you will grow with it and get your share.
JeanPierre Ferrando: Some founders are willing to listen and let you guide them. Others think they know everything, and navigating that relationship can be tricky. With NourishPro and Gamal, I really don't have that issue. He genuinely listens and actively looks for my advice. You feel good when you can transfer your knowledge, see it applied, and see the fruits of it.
For me, it's been a great experience — a true win-win situation where we've created a real partnership together.
JeanPierre Ferrando: I have genuinely benefited from this programme — the network, the lessons, the teaching, and the way it connects people with the companies that need their expertise.
Connectd is a good platform, but you need to be more involved if you want to take full advantage of what it offers. You can learn from your peers, you can learn from the tutorials, and the platform can help you find your placement. That should be your goal.
JeanPierre Ferrando, Fractional CFO, NourishPro
Going fractional doesn't change your function — it changes almost everything about how you operate within it.
