Aaron Chockla
Verified Expert in Finance
Finance Expert
Austin, TX, United States
Toptal member since November 21, 2019
As an entrepreneur and active venture capital/private equity investor, Aaron enjoys freelancing to leverage broad business expertise (MBA–Kellogg), law (JD—Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law), and science and engineering (Ph.D.—the University of Texas at Austin) to help companies raise capital, scale operations, and develop marketing and corporate strategy.
Career Highlights
Education Highlights
Case Studies
Pitch Deck
Three Statement Operating Model
Example of Simple Real Estate Model
Startup Cap Table
LCOE Techno-Economic Model for Geothermal Power Plant
Presentation: VC and Startup Financials
Operating Model for a Growth-stage Healthcare Company
Project Finance Model
Industry Expertise
- Energy, Utilities & Waste
- Finance
- Venture Capital & Private Equity
- Real Estate
- Financial Modeling
- Startups
- Consulting
- Early-stage Startups
Other Expertise
- Financial Modeling
- Fundraising
- Pitch Decks
- Startups
- Strategy
- Waterfall Modeling
Work Experience
Financial Consultant
Toptal Client
- Developed waterfall model for complex cap table consisting of six prior investment rounds and four equity priority levels and the flexibility to evaluate scenarios for future funding for an investment fund evaluating a follow-on opportunity.
- Provided strategic guidance on pitch deck development and valuation framing and messaging for engaging investors for multiple startups seeking seed and Series A investment.
- Built a portfolio-level financial model for an early-stage venture fund to evaluate investment opportunities and expected returns under various portfolio mixes.
Investment Professional
True North Venture Partners
- Developed investment theses in strategic investment verticals, including energy (e.g., solar, waste heat, storage, geothermal power), water, the circular economy (upgrading CO2 and waste streams), and mobility.
- Built three-statement financial and valuation models, driven by technology and market economics, to evaluate investment opportunities.
- Led deep-dive due diligence efforts on financial modeling, markets, technology, policy, and startups in target investment verticals.
- Sourced strategic investment opportunities by identifying and developing networks with leading researchers, startup executives, and technology incubators in target market and technology areas such as energy, water, chemicals, and fuels.
- Supported portfolio companies with operational, marketing, and policy analysis, e.g., supply chain, carbon pricing policies for biofuels, and evaluated opportunities in waste markets to drive key strategic decisions for portfolio companies.
- Conducted strategic market research and developed a financial operating model to help a portfolio company secure an AUD 5 million grant (around $4 million).
Senior Consultant
Foresight Science and Technology
- Evaluated commercial viability of novel technologies in the materials science and medical device / healthcare space through primary and secondary research on topics related to competitive landscape (market, technology, commercial, IP, etc.) and communicate findings via in-depth memos.
- Developed three-statement financial and techno-economic models for fundraising purposes as well as to guide strategic decision making.
- Developed cap table and waterfall analysis to evaluate investment opportunities for early stage startups seeking pre-seed and seed investment.
Co-founder and CEO
Stealth-mode Startup Company
- Negotiated non-dilutive funding through a sponsored research agreement with a strategic commercial partner.
- Authored commercialization proposals to secure non-dilutive funding through government research grants.
- Developed three-statement financial models driven by techno-economic and KPI assumptions for external fundraising efforts along with internal strategic decision making.
- Developed partnerships, research plans, IP strategy, and commercialization plan and oversaw relationships with third-party providers (i.e., legal and accounting).
- Awarded Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy (30 Under 30 is a set of lists issued annually by Forbes Magazine recognizing emerging leaders in business and industry figures).
- Developed pitch decks and present to investors, at pitch competitions, and business plan competitions, successfully securing external investment.
Education
Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree in Finance
Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management - Evanston, IL, US
Juris Doctor (JD) in Law
Northwestern University - Pritzker School of Law - Chicago, IL
Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Chemical Engineering
University of Texas at Austin - Austin, TX, US
Master of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering
University of Texas at Austin - Austin, TX, US
Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering
University of Delaware - Newark, DE, US
Skills
Finance
Market Research, Project Finance, Financial Modeling, Fundraising, Forecasting, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Valuation, Capital Raising, Private Equity, Investment Memoranda, Three-statement Modeling, Cash Flow Modeling, Business Intelligence (BI), Business Advisory, Profitability Analysis, Series B, Due Diligence, Startup Funding, Revenue & Expense Projections, Venture Funding, Convertible Notes, Projected Cash Flow, Cap Table Formation, Total Addressable Market (TAM)
Industry Expertise
Venture Capital, Energy, Technology, Sustainability, Renewable Energy, Real Estate, Early-stage Startups, Power Plants
Geographic Expertise
United States
Output Software
Microsoft Excel
Other
Business Strategy, Strategy, Startups, Early-stage Venture Capital, CleanTech, Clean Energy, Pitch Decks, Waterfall Modeling, Finance, Marketing Research & Analysis, Market Sizing, Pitch Books, Fundraising Consultant, Solar, Renewables, Financing, Climate Change, Pitch Deck Consultant, Investments, Operating Models, Energy Storage, Cap Tables, Python 3, Business Development, Sales Growth, Grants, Grant Proposals, Manufacturing, Strategic Planning & Execution, Operations Analytics, R&D, Intellectual Property, Commercialization, Waterfall Development, Business Plan Consulting, Early-stage Funding, Geothermal Energy, Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), DCF Modeling, Techno-Economic Modeling (TEM), Power Generation, Data Science, Machine Learning, Chemical Engineering, Business Administration, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Energy Utilities
How to Work with Toptal
Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.
Share your needs
Choose your talent
Start your risk-free talent trial
Top talent is in high demand.
Start hiring