James is available for hire
Hire JamesJames Park
Verified Expert in Finance
Finance Expert
Location
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Toptal Member Since
March 2, 2017
Formerly from Techstars (Korea MD) and AWS (startup BD), James started his career in a mining-focused investment bank and global equity hedge funds. He is a former entrepreneur who has run his own advisory firm for six years. James joined Toptal to serve his clients' needs around fundraising, investor relations, and go-to-market strategy.
Career Highlights
Business Development Manager
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Interim Managing Director
Techstars
Director, Co-founder
Exalto Advisory
Education Highlights
Bachelor's Degree
University of British Columbia
Case Studies
Industry Expertise
Other Expertise
Work Experience
Assistant Vice President
2022 - PRESENT
Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)
- Led strategy for a new product by the largest financial center between London and Singapore with over 5,000 companies registered in the free zone.
- Built relationships as head of BD with key venture capital funds, private and public-sector stakeholders, and startups for the new product launch.
- Sourced and developed relationships with global SaaS companies to operate in the region.
Focus areas: Budgeting, Business Planning, New Products, Venture Funding, Startups
Business Development Manager
2022 - 2022
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Managed relationships with key early-stage startup organizations ranging from accelerators to startup organizations and the government.
- Developed and delivered workshops for startups with key AWS resources and personnel.
- Project-led the sponsoring of a key private-public sector paper on policy advisory.
Focus areas: Angel/Seed Funding, Startups, Business Planning
Interim Managing Director
2020 - 2021
Techstars
- Oversaw program operations leading up to Demo Day (December 2, 2020) and ensured the connectivity of the 2020 Korea cohort companies with the Techstars network.
- Engaged with mentors, investors, and partners in the Korea program.
- Provided ongoing support for strategy, finance, business operations, and all other matters relating to the cohort companies' continued success.
Focus areas: Financial Modeling, Pitch Decks, Seed Fundraising, Business Planning, Startup Accelerators
Entrepreneur in Residence
2020 - 2021
Techstars
- Reviewed and provided feedback on the top 20 startups selected by the inaugural Techstars Korea Accelerator cohort in terms of their fit and potential with the accelerator.
- Advised the 2020 cohort of the accelerator, which included 10 startups in various industries, ranging from eCommerce, retail tech, AI, and enterprise data.
- Assisted the CEOs and management teams of the startups with fundraising strategy, including identification and approach of the venture capital funds and other investors, as well as on their valuation, financial modeling, and pitch decks.
Focus areas: Strategy, Startup Accelerators, Fundraising, Seed Fundraising, Go-to-market Plans, Startups
Advisor, Corporate Development
2018 - 2020
True Leaf Medicine International
- Developed a three-statement financial model including three major business lines and a grow facility.
- Revised the pitch books and conducted market research on medical and recreational cannabis industries, pet industries, and wellness industries.
- Conducted research about potential non-dilutive funding opportunities for the firm, including but not limited to government grants and tax credits.
- Created presentations for the board of directors, summarizing and analyzing key operational metrics, financial performance, and other pertinent quarterly information.
- Led sales of True Leaf's products in the Korean market, signing MOU with a major pet distributor with a reach of over 5,000 stores.
Focus areas: Pitch Decks, Valuation, Market Research, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Fundraising
CEO, Co-founder
2016 - 2019
Revive Kit
- Developed a natural supplement product to combat symptoms of hangovers and oversaw product development, production, and Health Canada approval.
- Accumulated and deployed resources strategically, to go from product research to a fully-licensed, ready-to-sell product with only $30,000 spent throughout the entire process.
- Secured a letter of intent to acquire the company, within a year of founding, in an all-stock offer.
- Screened product-based companies that cater to millennials and led discussions to acquire them.
Focus areas: Product Design, Go-to-market Plans, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Capital Markets, Finance Strategy, Startup Funding
Director, Co-founder
2014 - 2019
Exalto Advisory
- Built a client base of more than 200 clients for grant advisory and capital raising.
- Provided deal-vetting services for major conglomerates out of Asia, focusing on consumer tech spaces.
- Helped a client in the food delivery sector raise $1.2 million in government and venture funding through building financial models and investment pitch decks.
- Reorganized the personnel and introduce employee evaluation for an eCommerce company with $20 million in sales—reducing their HR costs by 15%.
- Helped a healthcare startup to build their financial model, pitchbook, and business plan; reached out to investors on their behalf and managed their data room.
- Created investor-facing business plans for clients in various industries ranging from beauty and personal care, agriculture, advertising, and exporting consumer goods.
Focus areas: Entrepreneurial Finance, Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), Capital Raising, Comparable Company Analysis, Business Planning, Financial Data, Budgeting, Grant Proposals, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
CEO
2014 - 2017
Tabulit Media Corporation
- Developed a financial model that detailed Tabulit's expansion plans and burn rate—presenting them to potential investors.
- Successfully led Tabulit to one of Canada's leading accelerators, Wavefront, through a series of presentations—this enabled us to build our MVP.
- Bootstrapped Tabulit through different revenue strategies (pay-per-view, subscription, and more) to arrive at the present version, which can be found at TabulitComics.com.
- Managed the communication between tech and management by organizing regular meetings and bridging the communications gap.
- Built pitches to be delivered to two major investor groups in Canada and ten venture capital firms.
Focus areas: Budgeting, Venture Funding, Revenue & Expense Projections, Fundraising
Vice President of Finance
2016 - 2016
Viralyze
- Developed a comprehensive financial model for an influencer marketing startup, valuing the company at $8 million.
- Helped raise $2 million in a super-seed round from a prominent Vancouver-based real estate magnate by building financial models and pitch decks.
- Managed investor relations and regular quarterly reporting for investors, including revenue and operational metrics development.
- Delivered marketing pitches for strategic partnerships to some of the most prominent players in social media and influencer marketing (combined 150 million followers on Twitter and Instagram).
- Conducted pro-forma and M&A analysis for acquiring/merging with other social media marketing firms and influencer marketing firms.
Focus areas: Angel/Seed Funding, Revenue & Expense Projections, Working Capital Management, Entrepreneurial Finance, Revenue Management, Venture Funding, Financial Modeling
Associate
2014 - 2015
Orbis Investments
- Worked in a team of three in covering investor relations and mutual fund operations covering investment inflows and outflows into a $70 billion AUM fund.
- Streamlined various operational workflows such as team reporting, fund calculations, and fund flow management by introducing new procedures and guidelines, which was implemented by the team.
- Built internal-use financial spreadsheets to ease the workflow on CRM, which helped to reduce the time taken for the monthly fund accounting process by 10%.
Focus areas: Fund Analysis
M&A Analyst
2011 - 2014
RCI Capital Group
- Built an industry landscape for various different metals and mining projects in the Americas, used by Korean metals traders and conglomerates to scan for mining deals.
- Conducted valuations of multiple mining companies and managed communications with key stakeholders in Korea and Canada.
- Implemented market research on sustainable technologies focusing on startups in Vancouver in partnership with Sustainable Development Technologies Canada (SDTC), a government entity investing and supporting startups in the sustainable technology industry.
- Advised a major Korean government power producer to invest in Canadian natural resources, which led its senior management to consider investment in one of the largest coal terminals in Canada.
- Developed teasers and managed communication with Korean investors, providing bilingual Korean-English pitch decks.
Focus areas: Valuation Multiples, Market Research, Financial Modeling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Valuation Modeling, Valuation, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
Summer Analyst
2009 - 2010
Nomura
- Assisted the team in preparing pitches for deals with a total transaction size of $400 million.
- Conducted due diligence in the proposed buyout of Korea's largest independent bank at the time, in a transaction valued at $4 billion.
- Helped onboard and train other interns to the investment banking division.
Focus areas: Market Research, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Financial Modeling, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
Education
2008 - 2012
Bachelor's Degree in Accounting
University of British Columbia - Vancouver, BC, Canada