Thomas Grenet
Verified Expert in Finance
Finance Expert
London, United Kingdom
Toptal member since October 31, 2017
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
Education Highlights
Case Studies
Expertise
Work Experience
CFO (Freelance)
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.
Head of Finance
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.
Interim CFO
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.
Head of Finance
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.
Director
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.
Credit Research Analyst
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.
Leveraged Finance and TMT Portfolio Management Analyst
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).
Education
Master's Degree in Business Administration
EDHEC Business School - Lille, France
Skills
Finance
Forecasting, Financial Modeling, Valuations, Three-statement Modeling, Leveraged Buyout Modeling, Accounting, Startup Funding, Budgeting Consulting, FP&A, Valuations, Fundraising, Revenue & Expense Projections, Investment Portfolio Management, Investment Monitoring, Debt Restructuring, Structured Finance Documentation, Financial Restructuring, Portfolio Analysis, Cash Management, M&A, Interim CFOs
Output Software
Microsoft Word, Excel Development, Google Docs Development, Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Sheets Development, Google Slides
Industry Expertise
Retail & Wholesale, Healthcare App Design, Debt Capital Markets
Geographic Expertise
Europe
Data & Analysis Software
SQL, Looker
Other
Leveraged Finance, Leveraged Buyout (LBO), Excel 365, Pitch Deck Consulting, Interim CFOs, Airtable, Bookkeeping, Investor Presentations, Investor Reporting, Business Planning, DCF Modeling, Startup Development, Presentations, Boards, Investor Relations, Modeling, Fundraising Strategy
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