Ben Sternberg, Finance Expert in Seattle, WA, United States
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Ben Sternberg

Verified Expert  in Finance

Finance Expert

Location
Seattle, WA, United States
Toptal Member Since
November 27, 2019

Ben is the founder and CFO of an eCommerce and digital media rollup that has made six acquisitions and raised $20+ million from private equity sponsor Tritium Partners. He is a former Jeopardy! champion and investment banker with experience at Credit Suisse, UBS, and the Raine Group. Freelancing exposes Ben to new people, industries, and ideas and enables him to apply his extensive operating and financial expertise to a variety of situations.

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Financial ModelingRevenue & Expense ProjectionsMarket SizingFinancial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)Venture CapitalStartup ConsultingCapital Markets

Career Highlights

CFO & Founder
Fexy Media
Vice President
Raine Group
Director
UBS Investment Bank

Education Highlights

Bachelor's Degree
Dartmouth College

Case Studies

Industry Expertise

Venture Capital & Private EquityMedia & InternetSoftwareeCommerceFinancial ModelingSoftware as a Service (SaaS)Capital Markets

Other Expertise

Capital RaisingCFOeCommerceFinancial ModelingGrowth StrategyMergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Pitch Decks

Work Experience

CFO & Founder

2013 - PRESENT
Fexy Media
  • Developed the strategy, financial projections, and investor presentation to secure $20+ million in private equity funding.
  • Built an acquisition screening model, and reviewed hundreds of opportunities for appropriate targets.
  • Led the sourcing, diligence, negotiation, and overall deal execution for six acquisitions that met the established screening criteria.
  • Integrated acquisitions on common finance, technology, and HR platforms.
  • Designed and implemented business processes and internal controls to rapidly scale the company to 60+ employees with appropriate risk management.
  • Established commercial banking relationships to obtain both secured and unsecured term loans and revolving credit facilities.
  • Created teams and procedures to execute our strategic development, FP&A, finance, tax, risk management, and legal functions.
Focus areas: Venture Debt, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), CFO

Vice President

2009 - 2014
Raine Group
  • Sourced and executed early-stage venture investments deploying over $10 million in growth capital in lifestyle digital media platform Tastemade.
  • Led teams that created marketing materials, financial models, investor presentations and virtual data rooms for M&A transactions.
  • Closed sell-side M&A transactions in excess of $1.3+ billion.
Focus areas: eCommerce, Media, Digital Media, Venture Capital, Growth Equity, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)

Director

2003 - 2008
UBS Investment Bank
  • Served as the primary execution officer on capital raising transactions, coordinating among corporate, legal, accounting, regulatory, and tax partners, and raising $5+ billion for corporate clients.
  • Worked closely with clients to create effective marketing materials including prospectuses, information memos, and presentations.
  • Built extensive valuation and transaction models for clients utilizing M&A, DCF, IPO, comparable transaction and comparable trading multiples methodologies.
Focus areas: Equity Financing, Initial Public Offerings, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)

Analyst

2000 - 2002
CSFB Technology Group
  • Developed valuation models to price capital raise initiatives, which included initial public offerings (IPOs), follow-on equity offerings, as well as convertible debt and high-yield debt.
  • Built financial models to support and advise clients on capital structure and financing issues, including equity funding, debt issuance, share repurchases, and debt retirement.
  • Created marketing materials to support public and private funding.
Focus areas: Initial Public Offerings, Capital Raising, Valuation Multiples, Valuation Analysis, Financial Modeling
1995 - 1999

Bachelor's Degree in History and Economics

Dartmouth College - New Hampshire