Toptal Finance Blog

The Toptal Finance Blog is a hub for in-depth studies and analysis on all facets of finance, ranging from innovative strategies on raising capital to detailed coverage of new finance trends and technologies.

Toptalauthors are vetted experts in their fields and write on topics in which they have demonstrated experience. All of our content is peer reviewed and validated by Toptal experts in the same field.
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Toptalauthors are vetted experts in their fields and write on topics in which they have demonstrated experience. All of our content is peer reviewed and validated by Toptal experts in the same field.

Caution to the Wind: Views on the Renewable Energy Growth Boom

Renewable energy generation, lead by solar PV and wind power, is growing at a considerable rate. Innovations are lowering the cost to generate such power to levels of traditional fossil fuels. Yet underneath the positive headlines, there are some fundamental issues that remain in the long-term sustainability of business models in the industry.

13 minute readContinue Reading
Dhruv Tandan

Dhruv Tandan

Dhruv has worked on M&A and fundraises for energy, infrastructure, RE, and agricultural projects across India, the ME, and Africa.

Effective Startup Boards: What They Are and How to Build Them

Depending on your perspective, type, and motivation, the idea of building a board of directors either excites or intimidates you, complete with all associated imagery of aged oak rooms, brief-case wielding titans, and expensive cigars.

This article, by Toptal Finance Expert Orinola Gbadebo-Smith, sets out to debunk a few myths. It sheds light on boards as a construct, their workings, dealings, and nuances, and explores some battle-tested strategies for recruiting, building, and managing effective boards.

16 minute readContinue Reading
Orinola Gbadebo-Smith

Orinola Gbadebo-Smith

Ori is an investor turned entrepreneur with experience across M&A, PE, VC and startup operations. He most recently founded a VC-backed startup.

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Fundraising Consultants vs. Broker-dealers

Fundraising is hard to get right, which is why companies of all sorts often turn to fundraising experts for help and advice regarding the fundraising process. There is a multitude of different professional figures that help companies raise capital, but for startups and growth companies, the two figures most often encountered are fundraising consultants and broker-dealers. Who is right for which endeavor?

19 minute readContinue Reading
Aleksey N. Krylov, CFA

Aleksey N. Krylov, CFA

Aleksey has contributed to 25+ private equity deals and has advised 50+ clients on raising equity in a range of different sectors.

Anatomy of a Business Plan

Business plans are critical in the early stages of the life of a business, providing guidance to both internal and external stakeholders. In this guide, we will walk you through the process of writing a business plan, including the sections to cover and the necessary considerations to take into account.

11 minute readContinue Reading
Toptal Research

Toptal Research

Justifying Investments With the Capital Budgeting Process

For a business manager, choosing what to invest in should not be an exercise of instinct. With capital budgeting methods, managers can appraise various projects simultaneously, with the end result indicating which one will have the highest impact on company value.

11 minute readContinue Reading
David Bradshaw

David Bradshaw

David is an expert in planning asset acquisitions, managing projects of up to $100m across the financial, real estate and consumer space.

Corporate Tax Reform and the Future of Valuation – Part II

In his first article on the effects of the new US corporate tax reform bill, Toptal Finance Expert Jacob Wright assessed one of the most important impacts of the reform: the changes to interest deductibility. In this follow-up article, he runs through some further thoughts related to the effects on capital expenditures, in addition to a more high-level assessment of what the optimal capital structure of the future will look like given these changes.

11 minute readContinue Reading
Jacob Wright

Jacob Wright

A CFA charterholder, Jake has participated in M&A transactions exceeding $500m and performed valuations for companies of all maturities.

Online Dating Industry: The Business of Love

Though matchmaking is one of the oldest industries in existence, online matchmaking is now having a moment of its own. This article explores the business of dating: the market size of dating apps in the U.S., the industry’s biggest players, and how these products actually make money (if they even do).

15 minute readContinue Reading
Melissa Lin

Melissa Lin

Melissa has worked in ECM, tech startups, and management consulting, advising Fortune 500 companies across multiple sectors.

Toptal Finance Expert

Neil Portus | CFA, CMA

Neil is a CFO for growth companies and a former equity analyst at Goldman Sachs in NY where he helped lead numerous transactions including Zipcar's $1.1 billion IPO. He was also an equity analyst at Barclays Capital & Lehman Brothers and began his career at a boutique investment bank (M&A, restructuring, debt financings). He's built his operational skills both as a startup founder and as the CFO of an East Africa-focused impact investment firm.
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