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Sean Heberling, CFA, Finance Expert in Bryn Mawr, PA, United States
Sean Heberling, CFA

Finance Expert in Bryn Mawr, PA, United States

Member since October 12, 2017
With Morgan Stanley, BNY Mellon, Sailfish Capital, and Marion Street Capital, Sean has analyzed 10,000+ companies, built complex models, and helped facilitate $1+ billion in investment transactions. He freelances to leverage his expertise in financial modeling, investor presentations, investment analysis, and M&A. He is on the boards of several early-stage companies, advising on operations, growth strategy, and fundraising.
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Career Highlights

Education

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Expertise

Employment

  • General Partner

    2021 - PRESENT
    Addvia Capital
    • Built and staffed the GP and its first venture fund, focusing upon early-stage investments into innovative high-growth companies addressing large end markets from scratch.
    • Partnered with a SaaS sales executive who had several successful exits, including a $30 billion public company, and mentored scores of protégés who now lead sales organizations for other innovative growth SaaS companies.
    • Executed our first investment into a SaaS company that had already received unsolicited offers for additional capital that it refused at valuations, which was more than five times what Addvia invested.
    • Issued a term sheet for a second investment into a TESP company.
    • Built a pipeline of additional investment opportunities and interested LPs.
    Focus areas: Lean Startups

  • Adjunct Professor

    2017 - PRESENT
    Villanova University
    • Taught Applied Portfolio Management for the Master of Science in Finance Program. Taught Equity Markets & Valuation for the Finance Department.
    • Developed a series of 12 weekly Bloomberg® assignments to guide undergraduate Finance Majors to produce actionable long and short investment recommendations with quantifiable alpha and asymmetric risk/reward.
    • Integrated CFA Exam questions into Midterm and Final Exams for the Equity Markets and Valuation course.
    • Received a 4.8/5 rating and several top quartile scores from the student survey for the 2017 Fall Semester.
    • Three former students have registered for the CFA Level I Examination.
    • Recruited various investment and finance professionals, including the Fundamental Value Equity Team from Brandywine Global Investments, an $80B active manager located in Philadelphia, to grade my students’ final projects.
    Focus areas: Modeling, Valuation, Capital Raising, Hedge Funds, Capital Markets, Equity Valuation, Equity Research, Forecasting, Accounting, ESOPs, Investment Analysis, Education Technology (Edtech), Credit Analysis, Investment Committee Advisory, Initial Public Offerings, SPACs, Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC)

  • Director

    2016 - PRESENT
    Global Interdependence Center
    • Helped a Philadelphia nonprofit with a global reach, headquartered inside the Philadelphia Federal Reserve and a sponsor of The College for Central Bankers to strengthen its finances.
    • Refocused the organizations' efforts around a core group of directors. More exclusive events such as the "Monetary and Economic Policies on Both Sides of the Atlantic" attracted attendees from well-capitalized financial institutions.
    • Negotiated ongoing financial support from the CFA Society of Philadelphia.
    • Helped secure financial support from WisdomTree by programming Beyond Abenomics - The Bull-Case for Japan's Economy ahead of Central Banking Series: Japan.
    • Participated in the roles of higher education in competitiveness and global productivity, where Patrick Harker, the current president of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve, delivered the keynote address.
    Focus areas: Valuation, Capital Raising, Programming, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Finance, Strategy, Forecasting, Accounting, Cryptocurrency, Nonprofits

  • President and Director

    2016 - PRESENT
    CFA Society of Philadelphia
    • Elected to the executive committee in 2019 overseeing initiatives in Education, Programming, and Strategy.
    • Elected to the finance, audit, and investment committee. I have been assisting in the draft of a committee charter and the re-draft of an investment policy statement since the fall of 2016.
    • Resolved legacy accounting challenges stemming from a change in nonprofit management companies. Studied executive compensation and delineated long-term strategic reserves by setting parameters around the purpose and investment of those reserves.
    • Served as chair of the education committee in 2018. Successfully launched a new CFA Exam preparatory course that increased education revenue by 50%. Taught review courses in financial reporting and analysis, corporate finance, and other topics.
    • Served as chair of the Investment Research Challenge from the fall of 2015 to the spring of 2017. Selected as a judge for the global final in Kuala Lumpur in 2018. Implemented a detailed grading rubric for research reports.
    • Served as co-chair of the programs committee from 2015 to 2019. Designed, promoted, and managed five-member programs. Hosted a major annual conference and assisted with four different Villanova University and CFAP programs.
    • Honored as Volunteer of the Quarter in Spring of 2016.
    Focus areas: Modeling, Valuation, Capital Raising, Hedge Funds, Investment Portfolio Management, Equity Research, Three-statement Modeling, Forecasting, Accounting, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Education Technology (Edtech), Investment Committee Advisory, Cost-benefit Analysis, Nonprofits

  • CEO and CFO

    2016 - PRESENT
    Marion Street Capital
    • Built a nimble firm from $0 to over $1 million annual revenue in two years by helping innovative growth companies solve their most pressing challenges.
    • Implemented techniques used by the FBI and CIA to solve complex problems for dozens of innovative growth companies generating $0 to $2+ billion in annual revenue.
    • Designed and structured several single-purpose investment vehicles, including equity investments, secured mezzanine debt, and short-biased LP structure using call-protected healthcare REITs.
    • Served as CFO for a revolutionary healthcare concept from 2020, helping it grow from $0 to $35+ million in annual revenue.
    • Served as CFO for a niche healthcare consulting firm from 2019, helping it grow from $1 million to $10 million in annual revenue. Presented the CEO with term sheets from debt and equity investors exceeding $10 million.
    • Served as CFO for a 20-month-old consumer electronics company as it grew from $26 million in 2018 revenue to almost $50 milion in 2019. Secured $3.5 million in trade financing.
    • Served as CEO and CFO for a restaurant concept that MSC purchased, turned around, and sold inside of three years for 4x the purchase price and 45x the equity contribution.
    • Advised several startups on how to prepare for institutional fundraising. Researched competition, designed company strategy, wrote business plans, creating pitch decks and detailed financial models.
    • Recruited advisors, designed target investor lists, managed the investor funnel, conducted investor outreach, negotiated term sheets, created investor documents, and subscribed investors for several startups.
    • Wrote a strategic plan and recommended a contract fundraiser that enabled an international nonprofit to increase its reserves from under $5,000 to over $200,000 and transition from a founder-funded model to a donor-funded model in around a year.
    Focus areas: Interim CFO, Private Capital Markets, Tourism, Health & Wellness, Deal Structures, Market Research, Fractional CFO, Modeling, Team Management, Cannabis, Private Equity, Pitch Decks, Business Planning, Valuation, Capital Raising, CFO, Hedge Funds, Credit Investing, Investor Presentations, Private Company Valuation, Equity Financing, Value Investing, Investment Thesis, Venture Funding, Biotech, Seed Fundraising, Startup Funding, Three-statement Modeling, Forecasting, Startup Funding Consultant, Feasibility Studies, Management Consulting, Startup Consulting, Investment Memoranda, Real Estate Development, Healthcare, Health IT, Healthcare IT, Part-time CFO, Accounting, Biotechnology, ESOPs, Investment Analysis, Trading, Credit Analysis, Aircraft & Airlines, Air Freight, Investment Committee Advisory, Fundraising, Venture Capital, Data, Big Data, Data Analytics, Data Visualization, Power Query, Microsoft Power BI, Initial Public Offerings, SPACs, Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC), Cost-benefit Analysis, Specialty Healthcare, P&L Forecasting, Cash Flow Modeling, Balance Sheets, M&A Modeling, Lean Startups, Activity-based Costing, Pitch Deck Consultant, M&A (Sell-side), Security Products and Services, Cryptocurrency, Reverse Mergers

  • Director of Research

    2015 - 2016
    Valdes & Moreno
    • Built an Institutional Research product for this minority-owned broker-dealer, offering the best execution for institutional equity, equity option and fixed income investment firms.
    • Developed relationships with public company management teams to offer our institutional clients corporate access.
    • Presented to many recognizable institutions on negative interest rate policies, The Puerto Rican Debt Crisis, MLP’s, transportation industries, nonresidential construction, and homebuilders vs. apartment REITs.
    • Recommended investment in Virgin Airlines (long, annualized return 345%) and SunPower (short, annualized return 55%).
    Focus areas: Market Research, Valuation, Capital Raising, Hedge Funds, Fixed Income Analysis, Equity Research, Biotech, Logistics, Forecasting, Feasibility Studies, Biotechnology, Investment Analysis, Trading, Credit Analysis, Aircraft & Airlines, Air Freight, Investment Committee Advisory, Initial Public Offerings

  • Investment Banking Product and Securities Sales

    2013 - 2015
    Morgan Stanley
    • Presented the firm with over $7.5MM in potential new revenue.
    • Built an institutional practice focused on banks, family offices and investment firms.
    • Designed an absolute return money management product offering asymmetric rewards with a target profile of 15% annual return and single-digit volatility.
    • Recommended investment in Citizens Financial (long, annualized return 40%) and in Enable Midstream Partners (short, annualized return over 70%).
    Focus areas: Private Capital Markets, Deal Structures, Market Research, Modeling, Team Management, Pitch Decks, Valuation, Capital Raising, Hedge Funds, Fixed Income Analysis, Equity Research, Biotech, Seed Fundraising, Startup Funding, Three-statement Modeling, Forecasting, Investment Memoranda, Biotechnology, Investment Analysis, Trading, Credit Analysis, Investment Committee Advisory, Initial Public Offerings

  • Senior Analyst

    2008 - 2009
    Very Independent Research
    • Helped expand the distribution of our research on equity and credit securities for metals and mining companies to as many as 300 recognizable institutions.
    • Proposed a new research vertical with the potential to double sales.
    • Investigated launching a hedge fund as a complement to our research.
    • Recommended investment in Century Aluminum convertible bonds (long, redeemed at an annualized return of over 35%) and Alumina Ltd. (short, annualized return over 89%).
    Focus areas: Private Capital Markets, Greenfield, Deal Structures, Market Research, Modeling, Team Management, Valuation, Capital Raising, Hedge Funds, Fixed Income Analysis, Equity Research, Three-statement Modeling, Forecasting, Feasibility Studies, Startup Consulting, Investment Analysis, Credit Analysis, Investment Committee Advisory, Initial Public Offerings, Cost-benefit Analysis

  • Senior Analyst

    2006 - 2007
    Sailfish Capital Partners
    • Oversaw more than $100 million in capital invested in equity and credit securities for this $2.5B multi-strategy hedge fund.
    • Launched a $100 million equity hedge fund. Hired staff, raised capital, evaluated prime brokers, vetted vendors, and shaped and implemented strategy. Authored monthly investor letters, terminated staff and handled legal issues.
    • Invested client capital into Hasbro (long, annualized return exceeded 80%) and National City (short, annualized return exceeded 80%).
    Focus areas: Private Capital Markets, Tourism, Greenfield, Deal Structures, Market Research, Modeling, Team Management, Valuation, Capital Raising, Hedge Funds, Fixed-income Derivatives, Derivatives, Equity, Fixed Income Analysis, Equity Research, Biotech, Logistics, Three-statement Modeling, Forecasting, Feasibility Studies, Startup Consulting, Investment Memoranda, Biotechnology, ESOPs, Investment Analysis, Trading, Education Technology (Edtech), Credit Analysis, Aircraft & Airlines, Air Freight, Investment Committee Advisory, Initial Public Offerings, SPACs, Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC), Cost-benefit Analysis, Balance Sheets, Reverse Mergers

  • Research Analyst

    2000 - 2001
    BNY Mellon
    • Co-developed a new zero-beta product which helped the division grow from $2B to $18B in assets.
    • Evaluated private investment partnerships employing various sophisticated investment strategies, including convertible debt arbitrage, credit arbitrage, distressed debt investing, risk arbitrage and long/short equity.
    • Utilized FBI investigative interviewing techniques to reveal investment manager fraud and deceit.
    Focus areas: Private Capital Markets, Tourism, Deal Structures, Market Research, Private Equity, Capital Raising, Hedge Funds, Risk Analysis, Biotech, Seed Fundraising, Startup Funding, Forecasting, Startup Consulting, Investment Memoranda, Real Estate Development, Biotechnology, Investment Analysis, Credit Analysis, Investment Committee Advisory, Initial Public Offerings, Balance Sheets

  • Senior Consultant

    1997 - 1999
    Navigant Consulting, Inc.
    • Designed expert witness testimony for mass tort litigation involving billions of dollars.
    • Entrusted with managing my division’s largest engagement at the age of 23 with a staff of over ten.
    • Prepared and presented proposals to develop new business frequently.
    Focus areas: Market Research, Modeling, Team Management, Risk Models, Risk Analysis, Logistics, Forecasting, Management Consulting, Investment Analysis, Credit Analysis, Cost-benefit Analysis

Other Experience

  • The Undeniable Importance of a Business Plan (Publication)
    https://www.toptal.com/finance/business-plan-consultants/importance-of-business-plan
    We often hear about business plans in the context of early-stage companies; however, constructing excellent business plans is difficult and time-consuming, so many entrepreneurs avoid them. But, is this a mistake? While most people may be aware of the “soft” arguments for and against writing a business plan, in this article, a Toptal Finance Expert takes a data-driven approach to addressing the debate. In it, he finds strong evidence to support the notion that writing an excellent business plan is time well spent.

Education

  • Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) in Investment Management
    1997 - 1999
    CFA Institute - Charlottesville, NJ
  • Bachelor's Degree in Finance
    1993 - 1997
    Villanova University - Villanova, PA

Certifications

  • Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
    AUGUST 2000 - PRESENT
    CFA Institute

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