Bechara Kara, Finance Expert in London, United Kingdom
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Bechara Kara

Verified Expert  in Finance

Finance Expert

Location
London, United Kingdom
Toptal Member Since
December 7, 2018

Bechara is a private equity professional with ESW Capital, a $5 billion software buyout fund, and a former investment banker at UBS, where he worked on $1+ billion in transactions. He has worked with executives on corporate finance initiatives and advised on due diligence for M&A and fundraising transactions. Experienced with firms of all sizes, Bechara freelances to utilize his financial insight and experience to enhance value for his clients.

Business DevelopmentInvestment StrategyInvestment BankingInvestment AnalysisCrowdfunding ConsultantInvestment ManagerGrowth StrategyInterim CFOEnterprise Resource Planning (ERP)Financial ModelingMarket ResearchCorporate FinanceCapital MarketsMergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)

Career Highlights

Business Development and Investment Management
ESW Capital
Investment Manager
Crowdcube Ventures
Associate
UBS Investment Bank

Education Highlights

Master of Business Administration (MBA)
ESSEC
Master's Degree
University of Warwick
Bachelor's Degree
American University of Beirut

Certification Highlights

Private Markets
University of Oxford
Chartered Accountant
CIMA

Case Studies

Work Experience

Director

2024 - PRESENT
GG Capital
  • Worked on developing and engaging with a network of institutional and private investors, sustaining a relevant investment pipeline for the business focused on direct real estate transactions.
  • Sourced investment opportunities in the real estate space in Europe and across all segments, including offices, residential, and logistics.
  • Led transactions from an indicative offering to closing, working with various stakeholders, including law firms, real estate planners, architects, and commercial agents.
Focus areas: Commercial Real Estate Finance (CREF), Equity Investment, Modeling, Excel Modeling, Financing, Capital Advisory, Microsoft Word, EMEA, United Kingdom, Debt, Funding Process, Excel 2010, Investment Analysis, Investment Research, Alternative Investments, Finance Blog, Investment Funds, Financial Analysis, Creative Financing

FP&A Director

2021 - 2024
Salla
  • Led the Series A fundraising process for the business and contributed to the subsequent Series B round as part of a broader team. Developed a network of venture capital investors locally as well as internationally.
  • Restructured the FP&A function by developing processes for engaging and collaborating with the company's different departments, resulting in increased accuracy in the budgeting exercise and the tracking of key indicators.
  • Built an extensive and comprehensive operating model for the business, drafted pitch decks and various other tools for analyzing financial and operational data, and communicated them to relevant internal and external stakeholders.
Focus areas: Fundraising, Series A, Series B, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Pitch Books, Operating Models, Excel Modeling, Investment Capital Raising, Strategy, Product Strategy, Strategic Planning & Execution, Capital Advisory, Product Marketing, Business Strategy, Growth Strategy, Digital Strategy, SME/SMB Financing, Software Equity, HubSpot, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Equity Raises, Corporate Finance, Three-statement Modeling, Microsoft Word, EMEA, Growth Equity, Capital Raising, Revenue Modeling, Funding Process, Accounting, Excel 2010, Private Company Valuation, Content Creation, Content Writing, Alternative Investments, Finance Blog, Financial Analysis

Associate Director

2019 - 2021
Razorhorse Capital
  • Sourced investments for growth equity and private equity clients. Built the entire origination back and front offices, researching B2B software and tech-enabled solutions focusing on key verticals and horizontals.
  • Drafted extensive reports and presentations, quantifying the target markets for venture capital and private equity investors, identifying potential investment targets, and highlighting key M&A and capital raising trends.
  • Analyzed US-based venture capital funds' portfolios, contributing to the development of their investment thesis and its formulation.
  • Developed the marketing strategy of US- and EMEA-based investment funds, enabling them to communicate their investment rationale effectively online and offline through presentations and newsletters.
  • Engaged with CEOs and founders across the technology space, developing a network of C-level executives in EMEA and the US, both on the investor and investee sides.
Focus areas: B2B, Software, Fintech, Insurance Technology (Insurtech), Software as a Service (SaaS), Enterprise SaaS, SaaS, Venture Funding, Venture Capital, Market Research, Market Research & Analysis, Investment Memoranda, Financial Modeling, Investments, Interim CFO, CFO, Pricing Strategy, Pricing Models, Subscription Pricing, Forecasting, Dashboards, Financial Reporting Dashboards, Budgeting, Early-stage Funding, Startups, Finance, Investment Manager, Modeling, Excel Modeling, Investment Capital Raising, Equity, Financing, Strategic Planning & Execution, Capital Advisory, Business Strategy, Salesforce Knowledge, HubSpot, Email Marketing, Equity Raises, Microsoft Word, EMEA, Funding Process, United States, Growth Capital Raising, Salesforce, Private Company Valuation, Content Writing, Alternative Investments, Financial Analysis

Business Development and Investment Management

2018 - 2019
ESW Capital
  • Identified M&A and strategic opportunities in the B2B software and financial technology spaces, developed relationships with C-level executives, and executed transactions.
  • Researched market trends and conducted competitive analyses by analyzing and presenting information as part of internal and external market reports.
  • Drove the market expansion and the implementation of the investment thesis by developing a sales and customer relationship management process using software including HubSpot and DealCloud.
  • Managed the due diligence processes, created financial models, and determined the valuation based on critical software metrics, including retention and customer lifetime value.
  • Prepared investment recommendations for the ESW Investment Committee, including presentations and financial models, for the successful acquisitions of Olive Software, ResponseTek, and Knowledge Marketing.
Focus areas: Due Diligence, Financial Modeling, Transaction Modeling, Valuation Modeling, M&A Modeling, Investment Memoranda, Investment Thesis, Fintech, Finance Strategy, Business Planning, Financial Marketing, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Market Research, Market Research & Analysis, Investments, Interim CFO, CFO, Pricing Strategy, Pricing Models, Subscription Pricing, Forecasting, Dashboards, Financial Reporting Dashboards, Budgeting, Startups, Early-stage Funding, Investment Strategy, Finance, Investment Manager, Equity Investment, Modeling, Excel Modeling, Investment Capital Raising, Strategy, Equity, Financing, Strategic Planning & Execution, Capital Advisory, Salesforce Knowledge, Email Marketing, Equity Raises, EMEA, Capital Raising, Funding Process, Excel 2010, United States, Growth Capital Raising, Salesforce, DealCloud CRM, Investment Analysis, Alternative Investments, Investment Funds, Financial Analysis

Investment Manager

2014 - 2016
Crowdcube Ventures
  • Conceptualized an innovative debt-raising platform and managed the product development strategy from inception to execution.
  • Designed financial models to assist the senior management of small and medium-sized UK companies with fundraising and to help optimize their capital-raising strategies.
  • Performed in-depth analysis of operating models, stress-testing the critical assumptions that drove a company's revenue and costs, helping to validate the performance outlook of the business for potential investors.
  • Structured debt transactions with features including security, amortization, and inflation-linkage for companies in the technology, consumer, real estate, and renewable industries.
  • Conducted and closed crowdfunding campaigns across a wide range of sectors, raising as much as GBP 10 million in retail bonds, including a complex inflation-linked offering for a renewable energy business.
Focus areas: Due Diligence, Subordinated Debt, Debt Workouts, Venture Debt, Debt Capital Markets, Equity Crowdfunding, Equity Financing, Business Planning, Transaction Modeling, Transaction Structuring, Capital Structuring, Debt Structuring, Debt Raises, Equity Capital, Revenue & Expense Projections, Five-year Projections, Business Advisory, Financial Marketing, Fundraising, Investment Memoranda, Financial Modeling, Investments, Interim CFO, Pricing Strategy, Pricing Models, Subscription Pricing, Budgeting, Forecasting, Dashboards, Financial Reporting Dashboards, Early-stage Funding, Startups, Investment Strategy, Finance, Investment Manager, Crowdfunding Consultant, Debt Financing, Modeling, Operating Models, Excel Modeling, Investment Capital Raising, Strategy, Product Strategy, Strategic Planning & Execution, Capital Advisory, Marketing, Product Marketing, Business Strategy, Crowdfunding Promotion, Crowdsourcing, Digital Strategy, SME/SMB Financing, Software Equity, Corporate Finance, Three-statement Modeling, EMEA, United Kingdom, Growth Equity, Debt, Revenue Modeling, Cost of Capital, Funding Process, Excel 2010, Crowdinvesting, Crowdfunding, Investment Analysis, Private Company Valuation, Content Creation, Content Writing, Alternative Investments, Creative Financing

Investment Manager

2011 - 2013
QWin Capital
  • Worked with the co-founders for the launch of a $500 million fund targeting primary and secondary investment opportunities in Asia and the Middle East, communicating with potential limited partners.
  • Managed the fundraising process and met with a wide range of limited partners, securing $50 million in commitments from a family office located in the Middle East.
  • Performed a fundamental fund analysis and selection, mapping and ranking general partners in relevant regions after meeting a wide range of private equity funds operating in Asia and the Middle East.
  • Built a data room for the fund including documents for corporate governance, the investment thesis, and the marketing strategy as well as waterfall models replicating potential fund investments over the full lifecycle of the vehicle.
  • Evaluated the acquisition of Chinese secondary portfolios as well as primary investments in Turkey and Citadel for Turkish and Egyptian general partners.
Focus areas: Due Diligence, Fund Governance, Fund Management, Private Equity Secondaries, Private Equity Valuation, Private Equity, Structuring of Funds, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Financial Marketing, Market Research & Analysis, Investment Memoranda, Investments, Budgeting, Investment Strategy, Finance, Banking & Finance, Leveraged Finance, Private Placements, Investment Banking, Equity Investment, Modeling, Excel Modeling, Investment Capital Raising, Strategy, Equity, Capital Advisory, Marketing, Growth Strategy, EMEA, United Kingdom, Growth Equity, Capital Raising, Funding Process, Excel 2010, Growth Capital Raising, Investment Analysis, Content Writing, Alternative Investments, Investment Funds, Creative Financing

Associate

2007 - 2011
UBS Investment Bank
  • Built leveraged buyout and M&A models for infrastructure and transport corporations, including airports, ports, and airline operators.
  • Determined and executed capital structure optimization mandates advising on complex fundraising solutions such as rights issues, initial public offerings, as well as equity-linked and derivative products.
  • Prepared presentations for capital raise and advisory meetings developing equity financing models for UK real estate and construction companies seeking to recapitalize in the wake of the financial crisis.
  • Worked as part of the syndicate team liaising with investors and marketing capital raises on behalf of issuers, aligning marketing with investment strategies of various fund managers.
  • Built corporate finance transaction models for earnings estimates and to determine the sustainability of dividend payouts incorporating financial variables, including estimated volatility and credit spread.
Focus areas: Due Diligence, Transaction Modeling, Leveraged Buyout Modeling, Valuation Modeling, M&A Modeling, Cash Flow Modeling, Debt Workouts, Subordinated Debt, Debt Restructuring, Debt Capital Markets, Convertible Equity, Convertible Debt, Derivatives, Equity, Equity Financing, Equity Offerings, Equity Valuation, Equity Research, Transaction Structuring, Capital Structuring, Debt Structuring, Financial Marketing, Fundraising, Debt Raises, Equity Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Market Research & Analysis, Investment Memoranda, Investments, Investment Strategy, Finance, Banking & Finance, Leveraged Finance, Private Placements, Investment Banking, Equity Investment, Debt Financing, Modeling, Excel Modeling, Financing, Capital Advisory, Product Marketing, Corporate Finance, Three-statement Modeling, Microsoft Word, EMEA, United Kingdom, Capital Raising, Debt, Revenue Modeling, Funding Process, Excel 2010, France, Growth Capital Raising, Bloomberg, Investment Research

Financial Analyst

2006 - 2007
General Electric
  • Managed the base costs for the integrated IT Solutions business unit P&L in Europe, covering 300 employees and totaling $40 million in expenses.
  • Contributed to the quarterly financial reporting by consolidating accounts and analyzing performance as the business unit grew by acquiring new entities.
  • Worked on accounts reconciliation and the reorganization of cost and profit centers, constituting the overall reporting structure.
  • Developed detailed spreadsheets to analyze trends and forecasts, contributing to the company's budget review and leading to the identification of legacy costs from acquisitions and ultimately increased margins.
  • Created and delivered presentations to senior management of the European Healthcare division of General Electric.
Focus areas: Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Financial Management, Budgeting, Interim CFO, Finance, Excel Modeling, Financing, Accounting, Excel 2010, France, SAP BusinessObjects (BO)
Image of What’s Next for Equity Crowdfunding? publication
Publication

What’s Next for Equity Crowdfunding?

https://www.toptal.com/finance/startup-funding-consultants/whats-next-for-equity-crowdfunding
2005 - 2008

Master of Business Administration (MBA) in General Management

ESSEC - Paris, France

2004 - 2005

Master's Degree in Political Science

University of Warwick - Warwick, UK

2000 - 2003

Bachelor's Degree in Economics

American University of Beirut - Beirut, Lebanon

MARCH 2024 - PRESENT

MIT

Commercial Real Estate

FEBRUARY 2024 - PRESENT

Private Markets

University of Oxford

JANUARY 2024 - PRESENT

Family Enterprises and Wealth

Columbia University

JANUARY 2018 - PRESENT

Chartered Accountant

CIMA

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