CFO in a Start-up environment – Dealing with

Creativity, Structure and Changes

Clear concepts Motivation & Integrity

Passionate

Management

Human Resources Production Engineering Sales

Operations

Creative - Structured Dynamic - Conservative Reassessment

Start-Up

Computer Science Project management IT-innovation management Data structuring

IT

Business plan modeling Financial rounds

Controlling & Reporting IR, Legal & IP

Finance

Corporate Governance Management Accounting

Business & Industry Marketing & Operations

Business

Administration

Phil Huber

Concept developed in California, US

Company Founded in Switzerland in 2006

Company Mission

Improve patient lives and drive-down health care costs by

providing innovative implantable pump systems

to manage fluid overload within the body

3

The automated low-flow ascites pump system is

an intelligent pump, charging device and patient monitor

What It Is How It Works

alfapump &

catheters

smart charger

remote data

monitoring

4

Product platform: Fully implantable battery

powered pump system

that continually collects

and moves excess fluid

Have identified four key fluid management markets that

can benefit from an automated pump system therapy

Fluid Overload due to End-

Stage Renal Disease

Fluid Overload due to

Congestive Heart Failure

Ascites Independent of

Underlying Disease

Chronic Pleural Effusion

Target Fluid Management

Patient Conditions

5

Creativity

„An essential aspect of creativity

is not being afraid to fail. “ Edwin Land

„Creativity involves breaking out

of established patterns in order to

look at things in a different way.“ Edward de Bono

Creativity – a “SWOT” analysis

Market advantage

Analyze

Check costs

„OUTCH“

Opportunity:

right product

Threat:

wrong product

Strength: drives innovation

Weakness: drives resources

• Keep the big picture – the market in focus

• Watch where the money and time is spent

• Evaluate; i.e. Quality Control uses the 5W Method

Creativity – what can a CFO do?

Structure

„…The higher your structure is to be,

the deeper must be its foundation. “ Saint Augustine

„Structure is more important than

content in the transmission of

information.“ Abbie Hoffman

Structure – the focus changes

Research

Development

Clincal

Regulatory

Quality

Manufacturing

Commerical

Structure – changes affect all levels

Structure

Company

Organization Processes

• Build an organization for the future

• Budget the changes, keep forecasting

• Hire overqualified

• Fill gaps with consultants

Structure – what can a CFO do?

Changes- Restart Today

„If you find out, that you are riding a dead horse,

…“ Tribal Wisdom of the Dakota Indians

Changes

„If you find out, that you are riding a dead horse,

…“ Tribal Wisdom of the Dakota Indians

Changes

Right Strategy Wrong Strategy

CONTINUE

STOP

Type I error

Type II error

…quite human reasons not to stop a project:

1. Against intuition

2. Admitting failure

3. Remaining uncertainty

4. Sunk cost bias

5. Bad risk / reward profile

Changes – allow them

- Error detection means survival

- Personal integrity

- Safes money

- … and last but not least

Changes

„You are never too old to set another

goal or to dream a new dream.“ C. S. Lewis

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