Brian Faust
Finance Expert
Location
Dayton, OH, United States
Toptal Member Since
November 9, 2017
Brian co-founded a family of privately held global technology and media companies with 180 employees and offices in NYC, Ohio, LA, and Tel Aviv—serving as its board member and CFO. He is also an experienced corporate development executive having led more than $500 million of transactions, integrations, and capital raises. Brian joined Toptal because he enjoys working with leading companies and teams on interesting and dynamic challenges.
Brian is available for hire
Hire BrianCareer Highlights
Co-founder, President, and CFO
Krush Media
Board Member and CFO
ooVoo Video Chat
Director, M&A
Teradata Corp
Education
Certified Master of Business Administration (CMBA)
University of Dayton
Bachelor's Degree
Wright State University
Case Studies
Financial and Operating Model for a New Business Venture
ModelingOperating ModelsOperational FinanceBudget ModelingBusiness PlanningFinancial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)+ 1 more
Financial and Operating Budget
ModelingBusiness PlanningAnalysisFinancial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)Operating ModelsOperational Finance+ 1 more
Industry Expertise
Business ServicesFinanceInvestment BankingVenture Capital & Private EquityMedia & InternetManufacturingFinancial ModelingConsultingOther Expertise
Financial ModelingFinancial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Operational FinanceWork Experience
2017 - PRESENT
Managing Director
ShelbyMac Advisory Services
- Provided part-time CFO and other consulting services to mid-market technology and media businesses—ranging from management of administrative and accounting staff, cash and cash flow management, revenue and expense management, and monthly investor reporting for finance and operations.
- Raised $2 million of equity financing from a network of angel investors. Evaluated potential investments for investor network and led due diligence for three investment opportunities.
- Developed bottoms-up operational and financial models and dashboards for small and medium-sized businesses. Updated models with actual results each month and produced "budget vs actual" reporting and variance analysis for management and investors.
- Helped client secure $1 million of investor debt financing by developing pro forma cash flow model and opportunity overview deck. Attended investor pitch meeting and provided input as the credible finance and business expert.
- Led the shut down of an unsuccessful business for a client. Managed residual “wind down” team of five employees. Liquidated physical assets, closed offices, terminated contractual obligations and negotiated cancelation or reduction of outstanding invoices. Brokered sale of client patent portfolio and directed wind-up of legal entities.
Focus areas: Due Diligence, Acquisitions, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Operational Finance, Strategic Planning & Execution
2016 - 2017
Co-founder, President, and CFO
Krush Media
- Developed investment strategic rationale, business plan, bottom-up operational model and budget and an investor overview deck. Pitched investors and secured funding (in the seven figures).
- Negotiated and implemented legal and corporate structure, and employee incentive compensation plan.
- Recruited and hired geographically dispersed team of eight highly skilled digital media and programmatic advertising experts. Established headquarters in Los Angeles, CA.
- Defined company mission and vision statements, and built the brand voice, corporate messaging, corporate culture and online social presence.
- Ramped from $0 revenue to approximately $5 million of annual revenue in the first 12 months.
- Conceptualized, modeled, negotiated, and closed four complex exclusive partnerships with strategic clients.
Focus areas: Management, Fundraising, Strategic Partnerships, Operational Finance, Strategic Planning & Execution
2015 - 2017
Co-founder, Board Member, and CFO
Krush Technologies
- Developed investment strategic rationale, business plan, bottom-up operational model/budget and overview deck. Pitched investors and secured funding of more than $130 million.
- Negotiated and implemented legal and corporate structure and employee profit sharing units plan. Negotiated employment agreements for COO, CTO, CPO, VP of HR, and VP of Engineering.
- Established offices in Los Angeles, San Jose, and Dayton OH and managed offices in NYC and Tel Aviv.
- Selected and implemented all infrastructure and services required to ramp the business, including insurance and employee benefit plans, payroll systems, accounting systems, IP phone service, physical security, office furniture, and equipment.
- Designed and implemented business processes, controls and policies including expense management policies, purchasing and contracting policies and process, levels of financial and contractual approval, monthly budget to actual reporting and variance analysis, travel policies, FMLA leave processes and many others.
- Designed and managed a hiring mechanism that enabled ramp from 0 to more than 70 engineering and product employees in 12 months.
- Built and led world-class monetization function increasing revenue efficiency by 60% in six months. The increase was driven by the onboarding of new high-value digital media revenue opportunities while simultaneously scrubbing legacy processes to uncover opportunities for optimization of existing revenues.
- Served on the board of directors and provided financial management, investment and transaction expertise and perspective to the other board members and the chairman.
Focus areas: Business Planning, Management, Fundraising, Strategic Partnerships, Operational Finance, Strategic Planning & Execution
2013 - 2016
Board Member and CFO
ooVoo Video Chat
- Led a 12-person team in New York and Tel Aviv responsible for all aspects of finance, accounting, planning, analysis, corporate development, HR, legal, privacy, user safety, and facilities management. Spent one week each month working in the Tel Aviv office and enhancing team performance by turning the U.S. and Israeli cultural differences into strengths.
- Implemented business processes, controls and policies, including expense management policies, purchasing and contracting policies and process, levels of financial and contractual approval, monthly budget to actual reporting and variance analysis, travel policies, and FMLA leave processes.
- Conceived, orchestrated, and executed simultaneous downsizing in New York and Tel Aviv, resulting in a 30% workforce reduction and annual savings of more than $4 million with no loss of productivity.
- Reorganized the management team and helped evaluate and select the new CTO, Head of Product, and EVP of Engineering.
- Restructured the monetization function and led the new team resulting in 50% increase in advertising revenue efficiency.
- Served on the board of directors and provided financial management, investment and transaction expertise and perspective to the other board members and the chairman.
Focus areas: Management, Fundraising, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Strategic Partnerships, Operational Finance, Strategic Planning & Execution
2010 - 2015
M&A Director
Myrian Capital
- Developed the formal concept, business plan, bottom-up operational model and budget and overview deck for a direct investing vehicle for a wealthy family, Myrian Capital.
- Built the investment hypotheses and defined the investment focus areas. Designed investment screening process, criteria and approval gates.
- Negotiated and implemented the legal and corporate structure of the management company and serial investment fund, including the management fee and carried interest plan.
- Developed and maintained contacts with investment banks, financial advisories, VC firms, and other corporate finance-related businesses to drive high quality, strategically significant deal flow. Compiled and curated a list of investment candidates and established a mechanism to actively track them.
- Led five new investments and completed more than $100 million of follow-on investments in the technology and media space. Negotiated all associated term sheets, definitive agreements, and ancillary deal documents.
- Served as a board director of three portfolio companies in the technology, advanced advertising, and medical technology spaces.
- Developed, implemented, and managed monthly investment reporting processes.
Focus areas: Investment Portfolio Management, Investment Monitoring, Private Equity, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
2006 - 2009
Director, M&A
Teradata Corp
- Advised on all aspects of transactions including selection and evaluation, due diligence, negotiation of deal terms, earnouts, definitive agreements, management roles, employment agreements, media and analyst releases, integration planning, and post-closing performance tracking.
- Managed the large cross-functional due diligence teams of analysts, managers, outside and inside counsel, outside and inside accounting, tax advisors, and investment bankers.
- Created detailed financial models describing proforma results, synergy impacts, valuation analysis and EPS impact analysis on more than 50 acquisition candidates in the data warehouse, analytics, marketing technology and professional services industries, of which about half were based outside of the US.
- Negotiated letters of intent, conducted due diligence and negotiated definitive agreements for more than 10 acquisition candidates.
- Developed and maintained contacts with investment banks, financial advisories, venture capital firms and other corporate finance-related businesses to drive high quality, strategically significant deal flow.
- Developed and instituted a standardized financial reporting format across the organization in order to produce consistent results and presentations for management.
Focus areas: Integration, Due Diligence, Transaction Structuring, M&A Modeling, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
2005 - 2006
Business Development Director
Reynolds and Reynolds Company
- Led the financial, valuation and EPS analysis and deal structuring of 16 acquisition targets representing revenues of more than $600 million, where four of the targets were outside the US. The targets were in the automotive technology, business services, eCommerce, and professional services spaces.
- Led the formal due diligence process for acquisition targets including managing large cross-functional teams consisting of 20 to 30 internal functional area experts, external investment bankers, and legal counsel.
- Led the negotiation of agreements relating to asset purchase, stock purchase and strategic alliance. Worked closely with inside and outside counsel to create all transaction and ancillary documents.
- Presented acquisition and partnership opportunities and the associated progress reports to senior management in order to build consensus and create a buy-in for the transaction.
- Helped develop the overarching business strategy for three new business units.
Focus areas: Integration, Due Diligence, M&A Modeling, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
Education
2001 - 2003
Certified Master of Business Administration (CMBA) in Corporate Finance
University of Dayton - Dayton, OH, USA
1999 - 2001
Bachelor's Degree in Finance
Wright State University - Dayton, OH, USA