When searching for funding and eventually partnering with an organization, sometimes what your partner can bring to the table is just as (if not more) important than the funds themselves. UPMC Enterprises offers a variety of business functions, or what we call “business services,” to our portfolio companies, including Finance, Legal, HR, and Marketing. These teams can act as consultants or a fully functioning department for a startup that may not have the resources yet to bring those departments in-house. This model has helped numerous companies focus on building and scaling their products while leaving some of the administrative work to the experts at Enterprises.
Financial expertise is important to every business, and startups in the life sciences and health care technology sectors are no exception. Investors and startup executives recognize that building a fully functional and successful company takes a lot of money. But if that money is not properly managed and a company is spending too much – or in some cases, too little – problems will surely arise. Only when you add proper management to the field of finance, can you reap its benefit. Enter the UPMC Enterprises Finance team.
Our Finance team is a critical part of the success of both Enterprises and our portfolio companies. With decades of collective experience and deep expertise in transactional services, operational finance, corporate finance, and more, the team thrives on adeptly guiding new startups to set them up for financial success.
The team is led by Chief Financial Officer of UPMC Enterprises, Dave Gibson. Although Dave’s team can be fluid in their respective focus areas, Dave’s direct reports breakdown into three specific tracks including investments and transactional services, operational finance, and corporate finance/controllership. Let’s explore these three tracks in a little more depth.
Investment and Transactional Services
With limited resources, some startups are not able to prioritize hiring a CFO or a full finance team early in their lifecycle. This is where the investment and transactional services experts on Enterprises’ Finance team can help. Think of this team as part of a startup’s investment “bullpen.” The team is always ready to support our portfolio companies in whatever investment capacity they need. For example, they will work directly with the startup CEO and board of directors to act as strategic advisors to contemplate funding rounds or liquidity events. In working in partnership with the company, the team can lead more tactical elements such as driving data room development and building financial models and valuation scenarios to more strategic elements such as board governance, fundraising development, and exit positioning discussions.
Operational Finance
The operational finance experts at Enterprises are responsible for assisting with and guiding the successful execution of all agreements between UPMC Enterprises, UPMC, and our portfolio companies. This includes assisting with invoicing portfolio companies for services used and creating detailed financial reporting for UPMC Enterprises and portfolio companies alike. Operational finance also provides supply chain support to Enterprises through PO creation, vendor management, and analysis.
Corporate Finance/Controllership
Like the transactional services and operational finance teams, the corporate finance team has both internal and external stakeholders. The corporate finance team is responsible for all internal UPMC Enterprises financial reporting, budgeting, and forecasting. When it comes to their portfolio company responsibilities, they are the go-to experts for general controllership, financial analysis, budgets/forecasts, board support, and more.
As a business service, the UPMC Enterprises Finance team can share their deep expertise in corporate and startup finance with our portfolio companies, saving them time and money. Are you an entrepreneur in the health care space and are looking for a partner that has business services capabilities? Drop us a line and let us know.
Stay tuned for more spotlights on all the business services teams at UPMC Enterprises.
