Julien Roger, Finance Expert in Toronto, ON, Canada
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Julien Roger

Verified Expert  in Finance

Bio

Julien led finance and operations teams at an HR software startup, overseeing a 6x growth in ARR and two rounds of financing totalling over $37 million. He founded a payroll software company that processed over $1.2 billion in payroll and led the company to acquisition. He freelances to share the lessons he learned in fundraising and operations. Julien started his career in the M&A group of RBC Capital Markets and holds a master’s degree in math and undergraduate degrees in math and commerce.

Career Highlights

Education Highlights

Master's Degree
McGill University

Case Studies

Work Experience

VP, Finance and Operations

2018 - 2021
Humi
  • Engineered the company's first 3-statement model and financial forecast, identifying areas for cash flow optimization and margin improvement. The model became the backbone of all strategic and operational planning, including two fundraising rounds.
  • Developed paired KPIs to balance department and company objectives, contributing to a 14% increase in gross margins from improved support and engineering infrastructure efficiency.
  • Designed and implemented an automated investment strategy for the company's growing payroll business cash float. The strategy resulted in a new line of revenue yielding sustained gross margins of over 95%.
  • Consolidated three existing CRM sales pipelines across business lines and sales teams into a unified sales process. Pipeline integration increased sales data quality and contributed to a 6% increase in average contract value.
  • Raised two rounds of equity financing and non-dilutive debt financing. Involved in investor sourcing, pitching, and transaction execution secured over $36 million in capital from top-tier VC and lending firms.
Focus areas: Operations, Finance, Operational Finance, Operational Modeling, Fundraising, Leadership, Financial Modeling, Data Modeling, Accounting, Storytelling Design, Venture Debt, Venture Funding, Early-stage Venture Capital, Startup Development, Early-stage Funding, Fintech, SaaS, Human Resources, HR Tools, HRIS, Canada, Excel Development, Team Leadership, Payroll & Benefits, Forecasting, Three-statement Modeling, Visual Storytelling, Tax Software, Early-stage Startups, Business Planning, Business Operations, Virtual Coaching, Revenue & Expense Projections, FP&A, SaaS, Recurring Revenue Modeling, Cohort Analysis, Series B, Due Diligence, Sales, Startup Funding, M&A Modeling, Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, Presentations, Presentation Design, Business Strategy, B2B Design, Venture Capital, Investor Presentations, Data Science, Investor Relations, Capital Raising, Investment Capital Raising, Series A, Due Diligence, Design Strategy, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Pricing Analysis, Valuation Modeling, Excel 365, Term Sheet Advisory, Financing, Cash Flow Modeling, IRR, ROI, Market Research Analyst, Cap Tables, Scenario Analysis, Financial Forecasting, Subscriptions, Excel

Founder and CEO

2015 - 2017
Abletribe
  • Architected operational plans, including go-to-market strategy, banking and regulatory partnerships, and the customer lifecycle. The payroll product has processed over $1.2 billion in payments to date.
  • Developed a codebase for the payroll software platform, including a multi-jurisdiction tax engine, user interface, and a payment processing system for ACH, EFT, and EDI transactions.
  • Structured and negotiated the sale of the company, completing the acquisition and business integration with a dominant HRIS vendor in under four months.
Focus areas: Leadership, Fundraising, Sales, Product Management, M&A (Sell-side), Acquisitions, Startup Funding, Venture Funding, Startup Development, Early-stage Funding, Fintech, SaaS, Human Resources, HR Tools, HRIS, Canada, Team Leadership, Seed Fundraising, Payroll & Benefits, Ruby, SQL, Operations, Three-statement Modeling, Early-stage Venture Capital, Early-stage Startups, Business Operations, Business Planning, Virtual Coaching, Business Plan Consulting, Storytelling Design, Visual Storytelling, SaaS, Recurring Revenue Modeling, M&A, Operational Finance, Finance, Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, Presentations, Data Modeling, Presentation Design, Financial Modeling, Operational Modeling, Business Strategy, B2B Design, Venture Capital, Investor Presentations, Capital Raising, Investment Capital Raising, Design Strategy, Excel 365, Deal Structuring, Term Sheet Advisory, Financing, Cap Tables, Scenario Analysis, Subscriptions, Excel, Excel VBA

Analyst

2012 - 2013
RBC Capital Markets
  • Completed valuation for strategic asset sale valued at over $1.3 billion for a global mining company, including sum-of-the-parts valuation of over 15 individual mining operations.
  • Advised on a buy-side mandate for a Canadian client in a $1.2 billion auction of international retail assets.
  • Executed the sale of $190 million in assets for a Calgary-based oil and gas producer as the only execution team member.
Focus areas: M&A, Valuations, Due Diligence, DCF Modeling, M&A Modeling, Canada, Pitch Books, Excel Development, Accounting, Acquisitions, M&A (Sell-side), Finance, Microsoft PowerPoint, Data Modeling, Financial Modeling, Operational Modeling, Capital Raising, Investment Capital Raising, Valuation Modeling, Excel 365, Waterfall Modeling, Term Sheet Advisory, Investment Banking, Investment Return Scenario Analysis, Cash Flow Modeling, IRR, ROI, Investments, Market Research Analyst, Excel, Excel VBA
2013 - 2015

Master's Degree in Mathematics and Statistics

McGill University - Montreal, QC, Canada

2009 - 2012

Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics

Queen's University - Kingston, ON, Canada

2007 - 2011

Bachelor's Degree in Commerce

Queen's University - Kingston, ON, Canada

Finance

Fundraising, Financial Modeling, Forecasting, Operational Finance, FP&A, Seed Fundraising, Startup Funding, Venture Funding, Three-statement Modeling, M&A (Sell-side), M&A, Accounting, Revenue & Expense Projections, Capital Raising, Series A, Valuation Modeling, Investment Return Scenario Analysis, Cash Flow Modeling, ROI, Market Research Analyst, Valuations, M&A Modeling, Due Diligence, Series B, Venture Debt

Output Software

Excel Development, Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote

Geographic Expertise

Canada

Industry Expertise

Early-stage Startups, Venture Capital

Data & Analysis Software

SQL, R

Other

Presentations, Data Modeling, Excel Development, Presentation Design, SaaS, Early-stage Venture Capital, Operations, Operational Modeling, Startup Development, Excel 365, Financial Forecasting, Subscriptions, Excel, Mathematics, Statistics, Finance, Payroll & Benefits, Fundraising, DCF Modeling, Leadership, Team Leadership, Pitch Books, Pitch Deck Consulting, HRIS, HR Tools, Product Management, Acquisitions, Recurring Revenue Modeling, Cohort Analysis, SaaS, Storytelling Design, Early-stage Funding, Fintech, Tax Software, Business Operations, Business Planning, Virtual Coaching, Business Plan Consulting, Business Strategy, Investor Presentations, Data Science, Investor Relations, Investment Capital Raising, Due Diligence, Design Strategy, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Pricing Analysis, Deal Structuring, Term Sheet Advisory, Financing, Investment Banking, IRR, Investments, Cap Tables, Scenario Analysis, Ruby, Human Resources, Sales, Visual Storytelling, B2B Design, Waterfall Modeling, Excel VBA

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