Jake is available for hire
Hire JakeJake Luerkens
Verified Expert in Finance
Finance Expert
Location
Dallas, United States
Toptal Member Since
April 6, 2022
Jake is a finance and strategy consultant with experience in investment banking, private equity, corporate development (VP level), and startup finance. He is an expert in financial modeling, debt, and equity capital raising, M&A with 15+ transactions executed, operations, and strategy. Jake has extensive experience working with companies of varying sizes, from early-stage startups to large multinationals, across industries such as consumer, manufacturing, industrial services, and technology.
Software Expertise
Other Expertise
Work Experience
President
2021 - PRESENT
JWL Consulting
- Operated as an independent consultant advising startups through critical company milestones such as capital raising, transaction structuring and execution, financial modeling, cash flow forecasting, and new market entry.
- Supported clients with various critical initiatives, including ongoing FP&A support and maintenance of internal operating models, raising rounds of equity and debt capital, M&A support and execution, and other finance-related workstreams.
- Oversaw all sales and marketing initiatives, including client outreach, CRM maintenance, and social media marketing.
Focus areas: Fundraising, Seed Fundraising, Private Capital Markets, Startups, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Cash Flow Modeling, 13-week Cash Flow, Financing, Finance, Market Sizing, Financial Modeling, Revenue & Expense Projections, Forecasting, Three-statement Modeling, M&A Modeling, Due Diligence, Rollup, Deal Analysis, Pitch Decks, Venture Capital, Business Models, Exit Strategy, Models, Food & Beverage, Operations, CAPEX Budgeting & Inventory Management, Break-even Analysis, Revenue Projections, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, CFO, Cap Tables, Fundraising Consultant, Startup Funding, Pitch Deck Consultant, Business Plan Consulting, Fundraising Strategy, Cash Flow Forecasting, Cash Flow, Manufacturing, Consumer Products, SME/SMB Financing, Debt Financing, Health & Wellness, Early-stage Startups, Excel Expert, Data Analysis, Investment Memoranda, Investment Committee Advisory, RiskMetrics, M&A Due Diligence (Financial), Project Finance, Investment Analysis, Industrials, Excel Modeling, Music, Healthcare, Fractional CFO, Inventory Management, Business Planning, Small Business, Small Business Consultants, SBA, Loans, Debt, Angel Investing, Angel/Seed Funding, Nutrition & Supplements, Accounting, Reporting, US GAAP, Budget Management, Performance Improvement, Market Research, Cost Reduction & Optimization, Profitability Analysis, COO, Chief Operations Officer (COO), Investment Banking, Cannabis, Bank Covenants, Pricing, Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SME), Go-to-market Strategy, Cash Management, Startup Growth Strategy Development, Growth Strategy, CEO, Financial Reporting, Interim CFO, Cash Flow Management, VentureXpert, Deal Structuring, Information Memoranda, Deal Sourcing
Vice President of Corporate Development
2020 - 2021
Stryve
- Led cross-functional strategic initiatives across operations, finance, capital raising, sales and channel strategy, and in-store marketing for a fast-growing, vertically integrated CPG brand.
- Developed and implemented process improvement initiatives throughout the organization and served as a leader to various team members across all departments.
- Maintained the company’s multi-factor operating model for use by the board of directors and potential financing sources and provided detailed cash flow forecasting for use by the executive management team.
- Acquired Kalahari Biltong, the #2 biltong brand in the U.S. at the time, and helped support the integration of Kalahari into the broader Stryve platform.
- Pursued various capital raise initiatives, including a series C round of equity and business combination with a SPAC, and ultimately closed SPAC transaction on July 20, 2021, at a $170 million enterprise value.
Focus areas: Corporate Development, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Venture Funding, Venture Debt, Capitalization Tables, SPACs, Budgeting, Cash Flow Modeling, 13-week Cash Flow, Projected Cash Flow, Demand Planning, CPG, eCommerce, Consumer Branding, Financial Modeling, Revenue & Expense Projections, Forecasting, Three-statement Modeling, M&A Modeling, Due Diligence, Rollup, Deal Analysis, Pitch Decks, Venture Capital, Business Models, Startups, Exit Strategy, Models, Food & Beverage, Operations, CAPEX Budgeting & Inventory Management, Break-even Analysis, Revenue Projections, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, CFO, Cap Tables, Fundraising Consultant, Startup Funding, Pitch Deck Consultant, Business Plan Consulting, Financing, Fundraising Strategy, Cash Flow Forecasting, Cash Flow, Manufacturing, Consumer Products, SME/SMB Financing, Debt Financing, Health & Wellness, Early-stage Startups, Excel Expert, Data Analysis, Investment Memoranda, Investment Committee Advisory, RiskMetrics, M&A Due Diligence (Financial), Project Finance, Investment Analysis, Excel Modeling, Fractional CFO, Inventory Management, Business Planning, Small Business, Loans, Debt, Angel Investing, Angel/Seed Funding, Nutrition & Supplements, Accounting, Reporting, US GAAP, Budget Management, Performance Improvement, Market Research, Cost Reduction & Optimization, Turnaround, Profitability Analysis, COO, Chief Operations Officer (COO), Bank Covenants, Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SME), Go-to-market Strategy, Cash Management, Investment Thesis, Fundraising, South Africa, Financial Reporting, Cash Flow Management, VentureXpert, Deal Structuring, Information Memoranda, Deal Sourcing
Private Equity Investor
2018 - 2020
Pfingsten Partners
- Led and supported all aspects of deal execution, including sourcing, screening, financial modeling, on-site and third-party due diligence, legal documentation, and structuring of debt and equity financing.
- Executed nine total transactions, including two new platform investments, four add-on acquisitions, two divestitures, and one recapitalization.
- Built detailed financial models to analyze the expected investment returns and financial impact of key operational initiatives; synthesized and presented findings to the investment committee.
- Supported ongoing operations of several portfolio companies, assisted management teams with strategy, financial analysis, and budgeting, and participated in the quarterly board of directors meetings.
- Constructed comprehensive operating models for each company acquired and worked closely with portfolio company CFOs to ensure internal and external reporting requirements were met.
- Assisted in business development and other marketing efforts through managing relationships with investment bankers and other intermediaries.
Focus areas: Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Capital Markets, Debt Raises, Equity Capital, Growth Equity, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Budgeting, Strategy, Meetings, Buy-side, M&A (Buy-side), Buyouts, Leveraged Buyout (LBO), Leveraged Buyout Modeling, Capitalization Tables, Private Equity, M&A (Sell-side), Financial Modeling, Revenue & Expense Projections, Forecasting, Three-statement Modeling, M&A Modeling, Due Diligence, Rollup, Deal Analysis, Pitch Decks, Venture Capital, Business Models, Exit Strategy, Models, Operations, CAPEX Budgeting & Inventory Management, Revenue Projections, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Cap Tables, Fundraising Consultant, Startup Funding, Pitch Deck Consultant, Business Plan Consulting, Financing, Fundraising Strategy, Cash Flow Forecasting, Cash Flow, Manufacturing, NetSuite, SME/SMB Financing, Debt Financing, Excel Expert, Data Analysis, Investment Memoranda, Investment Committee Advisory, RiskMetrics, M&A Due Diligence (Financial), Project Finance, Investment Analysis, Industrials, Excel Modeling, Fractional CFO, Inventory Management, Business Planning, Small Business, Loans, Debt, Angel Investing, Angel/Seed Funding, Accounting, Reporting, Budget Management, Performance Improvement, Market Research, Cost Reduction & Optimization, Profitability Analysis, COO, Chief Operations Officer (COO), Investment Banking, Bank Covenants, Merchant Banking, Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SME), Go-to-market Strategy, Cash Management, Investment Thesis, Fundraising, Financial Reporting, Cash Flow Management, VentureXpert, Deal Structuring, Information Memoranda, Deal Sourcing
Investment Banker
2016 - 2018
Lincoln International
- Participated in all aspects of the execution of nine sell-side M&A processes.
- Prepared marketing materials, identified and contacted potential investors, and facilitated due diligence efforts between executive management teams, potential investors, and third-party accountants, attorneys, and other service providers.
- Performed various valuation exercises, including leveraged buyout, discounted cash flow, sum-of-the-parts, and trading comparables analyses.
- Constructed merger models to analyze synergy opportunities.
- Researched macroeconomic and industry-specific trends and maintained databases of relevant market statistics to inform valuation guidance provided to clients.
Focus areas: Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Capital Markets, M&A (Sell-side), Sell-side, Financial Modeling, Revenue & Expense Projections, Forecasting, Three-statement Modeling, M&A Modeling, Due Diligence, Deal Analysis, Business Models, Exit Strategy, Models, CAPEX Budgeting & Inventory Management, Revenue Projections, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Cap Tables, Cash Flow Forecasting, Cash Flow, Manufacturing, SME/SMB Financing, Debt Financing, Excel Expert, Data Analysis, RiskMetrics, M&A Due Diligence (Financial), Project Finance, Investment Analysis, Industrials, Excel Modeling, Healthcare, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Business Planning, Small Business, Loans, Debt, Reporting, Market Research, Investment Banking, Bank Covenants, Merchant Banking, Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SME), Cash Management, Investment Thesis, Fundraising, Cash Flow Management, Deal Structuring, Information Memoranda
Education
2012 - 2016
Bachelor's Degree in Finance and Economics
University of Iowa - Iowa City, IA, USA
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