Hudson Cashdan
Finance Expert
Location
New York, NY, United States
Toptal Member Since
December 28, 2016
Hudson has a broad financial experience as a trader, hedge fund equity analyst and portfolio manager, middle-market private equity associate, and director of finance for an enterprise SaaS startup. He is a strategic thinker adept at dealing with the details of a business or transaction. As a freelancer, Hudson enjoys exposure to a range of industries and business models while working with innovative management teams to advance solutions.
Hudson is available for hire
Hire HudsonCareer Highlights
Director, Finance
Xpand
Consultant
TigerTrade
Associate
Glenwood Capital
Education
Nanodegree
Udacity
Advanced Graduate Degree
New York University
Select Certifications
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA Institute
Case Studies
Real Estate Development and Conservation
Real Estate DevelopmentFinancialsModelingThree-statement ModelingReal EstateFinancial Modeling+ 3 more
Expertise
BlockchainEnterprise StartupsExcel ModelingKey Performance Indicators (KPIs)MarketplacesSaaSSeed FundraisingThree-statement ModelingWork Experience
2023 - PRESENT
Product Lead
Black Sheep Analytics LLC
- Led product ideation from idea to MVP by incorporating expertise as a financial analyst (the target market).
- Worked with the designer and engineers to deliver the MVP. This required a clear explanation of the key financial concepts underlying the functionality delivered in a manner that was understandable to people without a financial background.
- Built a beta testing group in advance of the August '23 launch.
Focus areas: Financial Modeling, Product Development, Product Design, Product Delivery
2023 - PRESENT
Fundraising Lead
Quantgene
- Implemented an investor communications process incorporating regular and intermittent updates. Created a parallel update scheme geared toward prospective investors.
- Worked with management to update the investment materials, financial model, and business narrative ahead of a Series B fundraiser.
- Designed a fundraising plan in advance of the upcoming Series B raise.
Focus areas: Fundraising Strategy, Startup Funding, Investor Relations
2021 - PRESENT
Financial Expert Network
AlphaSights
- Collaborated with the AlphaSights team to identify key areas of investor interest before virtual meetings.
- Led discussions between the panel of industry experts and hedge fund and private equity investors, asset managers, and consultants.
- Addressed key areas of investor interest with panelists on call and distilled content into concise summaries.
Focus areas: Equity Research, Market Research, Investment Ideas
2020 - PRESENT
Finance and Product Director
Offramp, LLC
- Led the product team that built an alternative financial data platform from scratch.
- Scaled the platform from zero to 90,000 active monthly users in 14 months.
- Worked with engineering to build proprietary technology feeding the sales-and-sales marketing funnel.
Focus areas: Data, Cap Tables, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Excel Modeling, Financial Modeling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Three-statement Modeling, Big Data, Content Marketing, Marketing Technology (MarTech), Profit & Loss (P&L), Pitch Decks, Business Models, Revenue & Expense Projections, Business Planning, Forecasting, Market Research, Total Addressable Market (TAM), Venture Capital, New Product Business Cases, Customer Acquisition, Hypothesis Testing, Growth Strategy, Early-stage Funding, Startup Consulting, Startup Growth Strategy Development, Pitch Deck Consultant, Profitability Analysis, Project Management, Break-even Analysis, Revenue Projections, Budgeting, Quantitative Analysis, Part-time CFO, CFO, Technology, Microsoft PowerPoint, Financial Forecasting, Financial Data, Software as a Service (SaaS), SaaS, B2C, Startups, Cash Flow, Early-stage Startups, Early-stage Venture Capital, Startup Funding, Data Analysis, Quantitative Research
2022 - 2022
Fundraising Expert
Frangere, Inc.
- Advised on reorientating the business model, which resulted in a dramatically improved product market fit.
- Augmented the financing plan to reduce founder dilution while offering investors a more suitable investment vehicle.
- Collaborated with the accountant to optimize the pro forma model and sanity-check assumptions.
Focus areas: Forecasting, Financial Modeling, Fundraising, Revenue & Expense Projections, Pitch Decks, Cash Flow, Early-stage Startups, Early-stage Venture Capital, Startup Funding, Excel Expert
2022 - 2022
Financing/Fundraising Expert
Option Scout
- Supported the acquisition of a competitor, resulting in the combined entity being a market leader in their trading technology niche.
- Built 12-month and three-year pro-forma model for the merged entity.
- Created clear and concise investor presentation used to finance the acquisition.
Focus areas: Seed Fundraising, Fundraising, M&A (Buy-side), SaaS, B2C, Startups, Cash Flow, Early-stage Startups, Early-stage Venture Capital, Startup Funding, Excel Expert
2022 - 2022
Fundraising Expert
Frangere Inc.
- Worked with management to re-engineer the financing structure driving the business model.
- Shifted strategy from full equity financing to asset-based financing that is expected to dramatically reduce dilution.
- Worked with the team to augment the investor presentation materials as needed.
Focus areas: Forecasting, Financial Modeling, Fundraising, Revenue & Expense Projections, Pitch Decks, Technology, Consulting, Financial Forecasting, M&A Modeling, B2C, Startups, Cash Flow, Early-stage Startups, Early-stage Venture Capital, Startup Funding, Excel Expert
2022 - 2022
Financial Forecasting
The Lost Draft LLC
- Built pro forma model for retail F&B concept pre-opening.
- Developed and demonstrated the importance of KPIs using a scenario analysis financial model.
- Recommended financial controls and budgeting and forecasting processes.
Focus areas: Forecasting, Financial Modeling, Revenue & Expense Projections, Food & Beverage, CAPEX Budgeting & Inventory Management, Break-even Analysis, Revenue Projections, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), United States, Budgeting, Operations, Consulting, Financial Forecasting, Cash Flow, Early-stage Startups, Excel Expert
2022 - 2022
Fundraising/Modeling Expert
Sawyer Winston
- Guided a business strategy related to a single-family real estate portfolio using a scenario analysis financial model.
- Forecasted company and investor returns using the Waterfall cash flow model.
- Led negotiations with a long-term financial partner.
- Advised on construction acquisition and other non-real estate M&A deals.
Focus areas: Fundraising, Early-stage Startups, Financial Modeling, Forecasting, Venture Capital, Business Models, Fundraising Consultant, Energy, Oil & Gas, Real Estate, Consulting, Financial Forecasting, M&A Modeling, Deal Analysis, Asset-based Finance, Cash Flow, Excel Expert
2022 - 2022
Fundraising Consultant
XMT Construction, Inc
- Engaged with the client on thorough business model due diligence to fully understand the investment opportunity.
- Conducted market research to determine product market fit, Total Addressable Market (TAM), and Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM).
- Constructed investor presentation, including formatting and content used to pitch seed-stage VCs.
Focus areas: Fundraising, Pitch Decks, Seed Fundraising, Startups, Technology, Microsoft PowerPoint, Financial Forecasting, Software as a Service (SaaS), SaaS, B2C, Early-stage Startups, Early-stage Venture Capital, Startup Funding
2022 - 2022
Financial Advisor
[Undisclosed] Financial Research Group
- Built a financial model incorporating multiple scenarios for a seven-year-old, $2.5 million annual revenue, cash flow positive, bottom-up market research group.
- Managed relationships with prospective lending partners financing the growth phase.
- Collaborated with the CEO to build a new product line that would likely be spun off as a separate business.
Focus areas: Financial Modeling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), New Products, Business Strategy, Revenue Projections, Budgeting, Financing, Loans & Lending, Business Plan Consulting, Debt Financing, Consulting, Financial Forecasting, Deal Analysis, Cash Flow, Excel Expert
2021 - 2021
Financial Planning and Analysis
Hand Barell Bourbon
- Built the financial model used for the seed fundraising round (in the process).
- Collaborated with the client through an iterative process to add specificity around inventory and cash flow.
- Advised on the ideal financing structure at various stages of the forecasted business maturity.
Focus areas: Fundraising Consultant, Startup Consulting, Business Strategy, Food & Beverage, CAPEX Budgeting & Inventory Management, Break-even Analysis, Revenue Projections, Business Plan Consulting, Equity Financing, Consulting, Financial Forecasting, Asset-based Finance, B2C, Startups, Cash Flow, Early-stage Startups, Startup Funding, Excel Expert
2020 - 2021
Consultant
Self-employed, Blockchain Platform Client
- Built a token economics model to forecast the impact on market prices under various scenarios.
- Collaborated with the tech and product team to align product development with the required token economics.
- Worked with regulators on behalf of the client to ensure compliance and obtain necessary approvals.
Focus areas: Cryptocurrency, Three-statement Modeling, Compliance, Tokenomics, Pitch Decks, Business Models, Revenue & Expense Projections, Business Planning, Forecasting, Market Research, Total Addressable Market (TAM), New Product Business Cases, Growth Strategy, Early-stage Funding, Startup Consulting, Startup Growth Strategy Development, Pitch Deck Consultant, Fundraising, Business Plan Consulting, Technology, Consulting, Financial Forecasting, M&A Modeling, White Papers, Early-stage Startups, Excel Expert
2020 - 2020
Consultant
TWYST
- Built the pricing model for RFID-based industrial warehouse automation software plus a hardware solution.
- Worked with the founder to ascertain the core value-add and estimate market size and new product potential.
- Built a financial model for short and intermediate-term cash flow needs under various scenarios.
Focus areas: Pricing Models, Financial Modeling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Pro Forma Financial Statements, Business Models, Revenue & Expense Projections, Business Planning, Total Addressable Market (TAM), New Product Business Cases, Early-stage Funding, Startup Consulting, Startup Growth Strategy Development, Pitch Deck Consultant, Pricing, Business Strategy, CAPEX Budgeting & Inventory Management, Business Plan Consulting, Technology, Consulting, Manufacturing, SaaS, Startups, Early-stage Startups, Pricing Strategy, Excel Expert
2019 - 2020
Consultant
She's Well
- Integrated marketing and financial data to restructure KPIs.
- Built the full profit and loss forecasts using new KPIs.
- Modeled out the sales and marketing funnel using Excel.
- Cleaned up the capitalization table and advised on the financing impact.
- Used the model to raise a $2,100,000 seed round led by 500 startups.
Focus areas: Seed Fundraising, Excel Modeling, Financial Modeling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Blockchain, Three-statement Modeling, Cap Tables, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), P&L Forecasting, Finance Strategy, Venture Funding, Pitch Decks, Revenue & Expense Projections, Business Planning, Forecasting, Market Research, Total Addressable Market (TAM), Venture Capital, New Product Business Cases, Customer Acquisition, Growth Strategy, Early-stage Funding, Startup Consulting, Startup Growth Strategy Development, Pitch Deck Consultant, Profitability Analysis, Revenue Projections, Fundraising, Equity Financing, Technology, Consulting, Financial Forecasting, Software as a Service (SaaS), SaaS, B2C, Startups, Early-stage Startups, Early-stage Venture Capital, Startup Funding, Excel Expert
2019 - 2019
Product Leader
Banyan Hill Publishing
- Launched a financial newsletter focused on the IPO/SPAC market.
- Acted as a member of the senior editorial team that generated $10,000,000+ subscriber revenues and was the largest at the company.
- Generated investment analysis and composed copy related to upcoming and recent IPOs.
Focus areas: Publishing, Financial Markets, Financials, Customer Acquisition, Hypothesis Testing, Financial Writer
2019 - 2019
Consultant
Consultant, Real Estate Developer
- Built a financial model for pre-funding a real estate development venture.
- Consulted development experts in the community on best practices.
- Worked with marketing and the founding team to determine product/market fit.
Focus areas: Excel Modeling, Financial Modeling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Real Estate, Pro Forma Financial Statements, Business Models, Revenue & Expense Projections, Business Planning, Forecasting, Waterfall Modeling, Break-even Analysis, Microsoft PowerPoint, Consulting, Financial Forecasting, M&A Modeling, Excel Expert
2019 - 2019
Consultant
Braintrust
- Built a token economics model for innovative user-owned services marketplace.
- Constructed a financial model used to obtain ~$20 million in Series A funding.
- Developed the KPIs used to monitor business performance.
Focus areas: Marketplaces, Venture Funding, Cryptocurrency, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Excel Modeling, Financial Modeling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Blockchain, Three-statement Modeling, Forecasting, Finance Strategy, Tokenomics, Pitch Decks, Business Models, Revenue & Expense Projections, Business Planning, Market Research, Total Addressable Market (TAM), Venture Capital, New Product Business Cases, Growth Strategy, Early-stage Funding, Startup Consulting, Startup Growth Strategy Development, Pitch Deck Consultant, Profitability Analysis, Break-even Analysis, Revenue Projections, Equity Financing, Technology, Consulting, Financial Forecasting, M&A Modeling, Startups, Early-stage Startups, Early-stage Venture Capital, Startup Funding, Excel Expert
2015 - 2019
Director, Finance
Xpand
- Oversaw a successful $1-million growth capital raise.
- Built from the bottom-up a financial model including forecast scenarios around net income and cash flow.
- Cleaned up the capitalization table and migrated to Carta, a cap table management software platform.
- Identified and screened eventual investors and negotiated terms.
- Worked with legal counterparts to negotiate and edit investment documents.
Focus areas: Venture Funding, Seed Fundraising, Cap Tables, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Excel Modeling, B2B, Financial Modeling, Three-statement Modeling, Investor Relations, Budgeting, Growth Capital Raising, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Pitch Decks, Business Models, Revenue & Expense Projections, Forecasting, Market Research, Total Addressable Market (TAM), Venture Capital, Early-stage Funding, Startup Consulting, Startup Growth Strategy Development, Pitch Deck Consultant, Profitability Analysis, Business Strategy, Business Operations, Break-even Analysis, Revenue Projections, Fundraising, Fractional CFO, Equity Financing, Technology, Microsoft PowerPoint, Financial Forecasting, Software as a Service (SaaS), SaaS, Startups, Cash Flow, Early-stage Startups, Early-stage Venture Capital, Startup Funding, Excel Expert
2018 - 2018
COO
Leviathan Analytics
- Oversaw the integration between two investor portfolio companies.
- Managed the team through merger, rebranding, and restructuring.
- Led the on-demand microdata product and interfaced with the quant data analytics team to build an integrated product offering.
Focus areas: Big Data, Data Analytics, Geopolitical Risk, Business Operations, Project Management, Business Plan Consulting, Technology, Microsoft PowerPoint, Consulting, Financial Forecasting, M&A Modeling, Financial Data, Software as a Service (SaaS), Startups, Xero, Cash Flow, Early-stage Startups, Early-stage Venture Capital, Startup Funding
2018 - 2018
Consultant
Findyr
- Outlined options for supplementing existing consumer data survey platform with blockchain tech.
- Integrated a survey company with a big data company after a merger.
- Integrated two teams post-merger on behalf of senior management.
Focus areas: Data, Cryptocurrency, Excel Modeling, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Financial Modeling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Blockchain, Big Data, Pitch Decks, Business Models, Revenue & Expense Projections, New Product Business Cases, Early-stage Funding, Startup Consulting, Startup Growth Strategy Development, Pitch Deck Consultant, Profitability Analysis, Business Strategy, Business Plan Consulting, Chief Operations Officer (COO), Operations, Technology, Microsoft PowerPoint, Consulting, Financial Forecasting, Software as a Service (SaaS), SaaS, B2C, Startups, Xero, Cash Flow, Early-stage Startups, Early-stage Venture Capital, Startup Funding, Excel Expert
2017 - 2018
Consultant
TigerTrade
- Identified several investors who came in at various stages and/or will be coming in at the next stage.
- Built a financial model using top-down assumptions. Currently, revising to incorporate data around ROI on marketing and sales resources.
- Helped to identify a new product line concentrated on managing excess inventory that is currently the focus of the business, contributing to business model rationalization.
- Created forward budgets under various financing scenarios.
- Worked with leaders of logistics/operations, marketing, sales, and technology to model resource needs and return on investment.
Focus areas: Marketplaces, Cryptocurrency, Excel Modeling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Blockchain, B2B, Three-statement Modeling, Investor Relations, Budgeting, Financial Modeling, Business Planning, Pitch Decks, Business Models, Revenue & Expense Projections, Forecasting, Market Research, Total Addressable Market (TAM), Venture Capital, Early-stage Funding, Startup Consulting, Pitch Deck Consultant, Profitability Analysis, Business Strategy, Project Management, Revenue Projections, Operations, Equity Financing, Technology, Consulting, Financial Forecasting, Startups, Cash Flow, Early-stage Startups, Early-stage Venture Capital, Startup Funding, Excel Expert
2011 - 2013
Associate
Glenwood Capital
- Evaluated businesses and determined optimal investment structures based on enterprise value and deal feasibility.
- Originated a presentation used to educate current financial partners then worked towards obtaining LOI and term-sheet and set up a data room for conducting due diligence.
- Negotiated terms working with management and legal on both sides of transactions.
- Worked on transactions that typically involved companies with $5-30 million in EBITDA—either raising capital for growth or acquisitions or selling a controlling interest.
- Sourced deals using a network of attorneys, accountants, entrepreneurs, and advisors.
Focus areas: Excel Modeling, Financial Modeling, Three-statement Modeling, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Mezzanine, Pitch Decks, Revenue & Expense Projections, Forecasting, Pitch Deck Consultant, Private Equity, Revenue Projections, Budgeting, Fundraising, Valuation, Investments, Financing, Loans & Lending, Equity Financing, Debt Financing, M&A (Buy-side), Microsoft PowerPoint, Manufacturing, Financial Forecasting, M&A Modeling, Deal Analysis, Asset-based Finance, Investment Banking, Cash Flow, Investment Memoranda, Excel Expert, Investment Committee Advisory
2004 - 2010
Senior Equity Analyst
ReachCapital Management
- Managed the Asia-and-emerging-markets portion of the $3 billion+ Tamarack Fund, a non-US long/short equity hedge fund. Generated significant alpha from the bucket commingled with the larger fund.
- Advanced from junior analyst to senior analyst and eventually to junior portfolio manager over six years.
- Grew fund AUM over 20x during tenure, helping the fund make the Barrons List of Top 50 Hedge Funds in 2007.
Focus areas: Financial Services, Economics, Equities, Portfolio Management, Wealth Management, Forecasting, Hedge Funds, DCF Valuation, Investments, Equity Research, Equity Research Analysis, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Brazil, Financial Forecasting, Asset Management, Excel Expert
Other Experience
Publication
A Step-by-step Guide to Building an Accurate Financial Model
https://www.toptal.com/finance/financial-modeling/financial-modeling-process
Publication
Modeling an Asset Class: Why Wall Street May Be in the Single-family Rental Market for Keeps
https://www.toptal.com/finance/real-estate/wall-street-buying-single-family-homes
Education
2017 - 2018
Nanodegree in Business Analyst
Udacity - Remote
2002 - 2003
Advanced Graduate Degree in Real Estate
New York University - New York, NY, USA
1996 - 2000
Bachelor's Degree in Economics
Lafayette College - Easton, PA, USA
Certifications
SEPTEMBER 2013 - PRESENT
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA Institute