Finance & Controlling for Startups and SMBs

Finance should be decision-ready, not just accurate.

Deistermind helps startups and small to mid-sized businesses turn cash, forecasting, and KPIs into robust decision-making foundations, from a structured first step to ongoing strategic sparring.

Many companies have numbers, but not a clear logic for which drivers actually determine growth, liquidity, profitability, and business decisions.

10+ years of finance and controlling experience
CFO-level sparring at eye level
Pragmatic for startups and SMBs

Non-binding intro call. Focused on your biggest uncertainty, not generic consulting.

Roman Braun, Deistermind
Decision-Ready Finance

Typical situations

The starting points may differ, but the core issue is often the same: a lack of clear financial decision logic.

For startups and growth-stage companies

When growth outpaces the finance structure

Typical questions from founders and management teams:

  • Runway and cash development are not modeled cleanly enough.
  • Investors expect robust KPIs, forecasts, or scenarios.
  • The business is growing, but assumptions, drivers, and reporting are not yet consistent.
  • Hiring, product, or growth decisions are being made under too much uncertainty.
For small to mid-sized businesses

When visibility, liquidity, or profitability comes under pressure

Typical questions from owners and managing directors:

  • Profitability trends are difficult to explain.
  • Liquidity fluctuates despite strong demand.
  • Decisions are still driven more by intuition than by robust numbers.
  • Reporting exists, but there is no clear steering logic behind it.

More clarity. Less guesswork.

Deistermind combines structured finance analysis with pragmatic implementation, so numbers are not just documented, but used as a real basis for decision-making.

Go to the Finance Status Check
Entry product

Finance Status Check

The structured starting point to assess cash, forecasting, KPI drivers, and business pressure points, and to prioritize the next steps with clarity.

Lane 1

Stability Check

For businesses that need greater transparency around profitability, cost structure, liquidity, and financial risk.

  • Focus on liquidity, cost structure, and profitability logic
  • Relevant for established SMBs, trades, and operating businesses
  • Helps surface operational pressure points early
Typical output
  • Assessment of liquidity and earnings position
  • Bottlenecks and early warning signals
  • Prioritized focus areas
Lane 2

Growth Check

For startups and growth-stage companies whose development is moving faster than their finance and KPI structure.

  • Focus on cash, runway, forecasting, and KPI drivers
  • Relevant for fundraising, growth, or scaling situations
  • Helps sharpen assumptions and steering logic
Typical output
  • Assessment of runway, forecast, and key drivers
  • Core KPI tension points
  • Prioritized next decisions
Lane 3

Decision Check

For specific business decisions such as investments, financing, expansion, or major structural questions.

  • Focused on decision preparation, not long-term advisory by default
  • Relevant for both startups and SMBs
  • Helps make risks, assumptions, and scenarios visible
Typical output
  • Decision-relevant assessment of the situation
  • Critical assumptions and scenario logic
  • Clear prioritization of open issues

What you take away from the Status Check

Clarity on where you stand, which drivers are shaping your development, where the financial risks are, and which product or engagement format makes the most sense as the next step.

Open landing page
Product pyramid

Three products. One clear system.

The collaboration starts with a low-friction entry point and can scale into building your finance structure or ongoing strategic sparring when needed.

Level 1 · Entry

Finance Status Check

The structured first step to assess cash, forecasting, KPIs, and key business pressure points.

Diagnosis Low entry barrier Clear prioritization
Relevant for
  • unclear liquidity or profitability dynamics
  • limited transparency on drivers and KPIs
  • a first robust assessment before going deeper
Level 3 · Premium

Strategic Finance Partner

Ongoing CFO-close sparring for companies that want to regularly pressure-test key financial and strategic decisions.

Sparring Strategy Ongoing support
Relevant for
  • recurring investment, growth, or financing decisions
  • founder or executive sparring at eye level
  • regular scenario and decision-support updates

About Roman Braun

Finance and controlling perspective focused on business clarity, steering capability, and pragmatic implementation.

I’m Roman Braun, and I help leadership teams build Finance in a way that enables fast, robust, and transparent decisions in day-to-day operations, not just in reporting or the pitch deck.

With more than ten years in senior finance and controlling roles, I bring a practical view of how financial steering actually works: which drivers matter, which KPIs serve as real early warning signals, and how numbers can be translated into robust decisions.

With Deistermind, I combine classic finance expertise with modern analysis and automation methods, where they strengthen processes and improve decision-making foundations.

Cash & Liquidity

Early warning signals, liquidity logic, and financial pressure points.

Forecasting & Scenarios

Base, downside, and upside instead of linear wishful thinking.

KPI & Driver Logic

A focused steering model instead of KPI overload.

Strategic Sparring

CFO-close decision support for founders and executives.

Roman Braun in the office
Hannover / Schaumburg · Remote across Germany

Why companies work with Deistermind

The focus is not on more reporting, but on better business decisions.

Experience

Senior finance background

10+ years in senior finance and controlling roles with responsibility for forecasting, reporting, and financial steering.

Outcome

Clear decision logic

Focused on the few drivers that actually determine liquidity, profitability, and growth.

Approach

Low-friction entry

Start with diagnosis, go deeper if needed. That reduces risk and creates clarity fast.

Working style

Pragmatic, not theoretical

No buzzwords, no isolated tools, just robust decision-making foundations for real-world business situations.

How the collaboration works

A clear process that creates orientation, limits unnecessary effort, and moves into implementation when needed.

1

Intro call

A first assessment of your current situation, open questions, and the most suitable entry point.

2

Finance Status Check

A structured analysis of cash, forecasting, KPI drivers, and the most relevant business pressure points.

3

Finance Decision System

Build or sharpen your forecasting model, KPI logic, scenarios, and reporting structure.

4

Strategic Finance Partner

Ongoing support for high-stakes decisions when Finance is needed as a permanent sparring function.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to help you quickly assess whether Deistermind fits your situation.

Who is Deistermind relevant for?
Deistermind is designed for startups and small to mid-sized businesses that need greater clarity around cash, forecasting, KPIs, and business drivers in order to make robust decisions.
What exactly does the Finance Status Check deliver?
A structured assessment of your financial situation: cash and liquidity logic, forecast structure, KPI drivers, key bottlenecks, and a prioritization of the most sensible next steps.
Is the Status Check only for startups?
No. The Status Check is intentionally designed to be relevant for both growth-stage companies and small to mid-sized businesses. The analytical logic is the same, but the focus is adapted to your specific situation.
When does the Finance Decision System make more sense?
When the diagnosis shows that the issue is not just a few isolated questions, but that forecasting, KPI structure, scenarios, or reporting need to be fundamentally sharpened or built out.
How does scheduling work?
Appointments can be booked via Calendly. Alternatively, you can get in touch by email, phone, or WhatsApp. Please note that clicking on external services may transfer data to the respective providers.

Let’s talk

A short intro call helps determine whether the Finance Status Check, the Finance Decision System, or ongoing sparring is the right starting point.

Reach out directly

Roman Braun – Deistermind
Am Brabrinke 14
30519 Hannover

Phone: +49 1575 6648867
Email: info@deistermind.de

Hannover / Schaumburg region · Remote across Germany

Next step

Send a short note on what is currently most relevant, for example cash, forecasting, KPIs, an investment decision, or a need for better visibility on profitability and liquidity.

Please note: clicking external links may transfer data to the respective providers.