Thomas Grenet, Finance Expert in London, United Kingdom
Thomas is available for hire
Hire Thomas

Thomas Grenet

Verified Expert  in Finance

Finance Expert

London, United Kingdom

Toptal member since October 31, 2017

Bio

Tom spent the last three years working as the finance lead for early-stage startups in London and, since 2020, as portfolio FD. Tom was instrumental in a £3 million seed round for fuel-delivery startups backed by Tier 1 VC investors; he recently raised £600,000 for an eCommerce business. When he's not busy with fundraising, he loves helping founders and management teams shape their sustainable business vision. Before his startup life, Tom spent ten years in leverage finance.

Career Highlights

Head of Finance
Zebra Fuel Ltd

Education Highlights

Master's Degree
EDHEC Business School

Case Studies

Expertise

  • CFO
  • Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
  • Forecasting
  • Fundraising
  • Investor Presentations
  • Startup Funding
  • Startups
  • Three-statement Modeling

Work Experience

CFO (Freelance)

2020 - PRESENT
HouseOf
  • Raised £750 million of funding across multiple rounds through a mix of equity, loan, crowdfunding, and working capital financing—to support the growth of the business.
  • Implemented management accounts, KPIs, and ROI targets.
  • Acted as an instrument to change the founder's mindset from a pure eCommerce brand to a multi-channel, profit-focused business. Reduced burn by 80% over six months.
  • Automated processes, including invoice processing and stock management.
Focus areas: Startups, Fundraising, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Accounting, Modeling, Pitch Deck Consultant, Startup Funding, Fundraising Strategy, Interim CFO, Financial Modeling, Three-statement Modeling, Forecasting, Valuation, Comparable Company Analysis, Revenue & Expense Projections, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Business Planning, Investor Reporting, Microsoft PowerPoint, Retail & Wholesale, Europe, Google Docs, Presentations, Excel 365, CFO, Looker

Head of Finance

2020 - PRESENT
Beam
  • Built a financial model for internal projections and external fundraising.
  • Led the process of converting debt into capped return equity shares.
  • Built a pricing model template for new contracts, covering national and international expansion.
  • Managed payroll and bookkeeping for a charity and social enterprise.
Focus areas: Accounting, Fundraising, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Financial Modeling, Pitch Deck Consultant, Interim CFO, Three-statement Modeling, Forecasting, Revenue & Expense Projections, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Investor Reporting, Microsoft PowerPoint, Europe, Airtable, Google Docs, Presentations, Startup Funding, Excel 365, CFO

Interim CFO

2021 - 2021
Weezy
  • Rolled out finance processes for a high-growth business—where the team quadrupled within three months—including payment, payroll, and invoice processing automation.
  • Initiated fundraising work in preparation for the Serie B round, including investor presentation and financial modeling.
  • Oversaw the EMI share option roll-out and equity for service contract with a key tech development boutique.
Focus areas: Startups, Accounting, Forecasting, Modeling, Interim CFO, Financial Modeling, Three-statement Modeling, Valuation, Comparable Company Analysis, Revenue & Expense Projections, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Business Planning, Investor Reporting, Microsoft PowerPoint, Retail & Wholesale, Europe, Google Docs, SQL, Presentations, Excel 365, CFO, Looker

Head of Finance

2018 - 2019
Zebra Fuel Ltd
  • Raised £3 million round; built financial model and investor deck; heavily involved in the due diligence process.
  • Optimized cash flow and negotiated improved payment terms (resulting in negative working capital); Capex put on long-term debt financing.
  • Built the finance function from scratch. Designed and rolled out finance and accounting processes; automated invoicing, payable capture and payroll; insourced bookkeeping; overhauled pricing model and commission structure.
  • Managed two direct reports.
Focus areas: Cash Management, Bookkeeping, Financial Modeling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Fundraising, Pitch Deck Consultant, Startup Funding, Fundraising Strategy, Interim CFO, Three-statement Modeling, Forecasting, Valuation, Revenue & Expense Projections, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Business Planning, Investor Reporting, Microsoft PowerPoint, Europe, Accounting, Google Docs, SQL, Presentations, Boards, Excel 365, CFO

Director

2017 - 2018
Guide and Seek Ltd
  • Built a fully-costed financial model for a liquor manufacturing startup, resulting in successful seed fundraising of £50,000.
  • Created budgeting and performance monitoring tools for a social enterprise in France and a non-profit organization operating in London.
  • Hosted workshops to help entrepreneurs understand finance as well as build business plans and financial models.
Focus areas: Three-statement Modeling, Budgeting, Startup Funding, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Business Planning, Pitch Deck Consultant, Fundraising Strategy, Interim CFO, Financial Modeling, Forecasting, Valuation, Comparable Company Analysis, Revenue & Expense Projections, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Europe, Google Docs, Presentations, Excel 365, Looker

Credit Research Analyst

2012 - 2017
Lyxor Asset Management
  • Recommended investment opportunities—analyzed roughly 90 companies—leading to an estimated €1.3 billion of investments made across all sectors, with a particular focus on healthcare, retail, and services.
  • Involved heavily in fundraising three funds totaling €670 million at launch. Helped prepare marketing materials, model prospective returns, and answer due diligence questions from prospective investors.
  • Monitored investment performance with regular updates on position—buy, hold, and sell—and reviewed amendment requests issued by the borrowers.
  • Drafted investor reports and validated valuation reports in collaboration with the trustee, the in-house valuation team, and middle-office and portfolio managers.
Focus areas: Financial Restructuring, Structured Finance Documentation, Debt Restructuring, Debt Capital Markets, Three-statement Modeling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Fundraising, Investment Monitoring, Leveraged Buyout Modeling, Financial Modeling, Investment Portfolio Management, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Pitch Deck Consultant, Forecasting, Comparable Company Analysis, Revenue & Expense Projections, Leveraged Finance, Leveraged Buyout (LBO), Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, DCF Modeling, Microsoft PowerPoint, Europe, Presentations, Excel 365

Leveraged Finance and TMT Portfolio Management Analyst

2007 - 2012
Société Générale
  • Monitored a portfolio composed of about 15 European names across all sectors; effort included preparation of quarterly review and analysis of waiver and amendment requests.
  • Advised the borrower and the banking pool on waiver requests, financials, and interpretation of the credit documentation.
  • Set up monitoring tools for regulatory or performance purposes (involved VBA programming).
Focus areas: Structured Finance Documentation, Financial Restructuring, Debt Restructuring, Investment Monitoring, Leveraged Buyout Modeling, Portfolio Analysis, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Financial Modeling, Three-statement Modeling, Forecasting, Comparable Company Analysis, Revenue & Expense Projections, Leveraged Finance, Leveraged Buyout (LBO), Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, DCF Modeling, Microsoft PowerPoint, Europe, Excel 365
2003 - 2006

Master's Degree in Business Administration

EDHEC Business School - Lille, France

Finance

Forecasting, Financial Modeling, Valuation, Three-statement Modeling, Leveraged Buyout Modeling, Accounting, Startup Funding, Budgeting, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Comparable Company Analysis, Fundraising, Revenue & Expense Projections, Investment Portfolio Management, Investment Monitoring, Debt Restructuring, Structured Finance Documentation, Financial Restructuring, Portfolio Analysis, Cash Management, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), CFO

Output Software

Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Google Docs, Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Sheets, Google Slides

Industry Expertise

Retail & Wholesale, Healthcare, Debt Capital Markets

Geographic Expertise

Europe

Data & Analysis Software

SQL, Looker

Other

Leveraged Finance, Leveraged Buyout (LBO), Excel 365, Pitch Deck Consultant, Interim CFO, Airtable, Bookkeeping, Investor Presentations, Investor Reporting, Business Planning, DCF Modeling, Startups, Presentations, Boards, Investor Relations, Modeling, Fundraising Strategy

Collaboration That Works

How to Work with Toptal

Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.

1

Share your needs

Discuss your requirements and refine your scope in a call with a Toptal domain expert.
2

Choose your talent

Get a short list of expertly matched talent within 24 hours to review, interview, and choose from.
3

Start your risk-free talent trial

Work with your chosen talent on a trial basis for up to two weeks. Pay only if you decide to hire them.

Top talent is in high demand.

Start hiring