01 — Diagnose
AI Startup Financial Audit
2–3 weeks
- Unit economics review built for AI cost structures
- Compute, model, and infra spend breakdown
- Runway and burn-multiple reset ahead of your raise
Fundraising · Investor Models · 409A Valuation · CFA Charterholder
The CFO who gets AI startups funded.
I'm Serge Mochtchenkov, CFA — a fractional CFO for founders of AI-native startups raising seed through Series B. Round sizing, investor models, data rooms, valuation and diligence prep: I bring the financial discipline that lets AI-savvy investors say yes.
Not ready to talk? Start with the free tools — budget planner, benchmarks, QSBS and R&D credit calculators.
300+
Engagements completed
CFA
Canadian charterholder
Seed → B
Fundraising stages covered
AI-native
Sector focus
CFA Institute
Charterholder
Upwork
Top Rated Plus · 100% JSS
Fundraising
Seed → Series B
NA & EU
Remote engagements
The AI Economics Stack
You've stacked your tech, but did you stack your economics? You've built your software, but did you build your business & financial model?
- 01
The crystallization curve.
Frontier model → distilled → cached → rules. Today's inference COGS is R&D for tomorrow's near-free logic. Margin isn't a number — it's a slope you engineer.
- 02
Plan the tech tree like a balance sheet.
Sequence which capabilities to build, buy, or wait out as models improve — then harmonize pricing, hiring, and your fundraising calendar to that roadmap. The raise should fund the next milestone, not last quarter's overrun.
See a sample tech tree → - 03
The quality–cost frontier.
Margin is a dial: model choice trades compute against churn. Scenario-plan the settings — best model, cheapest model, hybrid — and know your P&L at each before a VC asks it in diligence.
- 04
Match the pricing unit to the cost unit.
Charge per seat, pay per token — that's a bet on user behavior. Align them, or price the risk before it shows up in your raise.
- 05
Burn math when costs move both ways.
Inference deflates on a schedule; talent and data inflate. Compute is a portfolio — reserved vs. on-demand is price risk against utilization risk. Forecast cost direction, not just level, and size the round to it.
What I Do
Fundraising-grade CFO work, executed with the discipline of a CFA.
I don't deliver decks. I build the financial backbone an AI startup needs to raise — round strategy, investor models, data rooms, valuation, 409A, compute control, and investor-grade reporting.
01
AI-native unit economics
Cost-per-query, gross margin after inference, and contribution margin by model — measured the way AI investors actually evaluate them.
02
Fundraising strategy & round design
How much to raise, at what stage, against which milestones — round sizing, dilution scenarios, and a use-of-funds story that survives a partner meeting.
03
Investor-grade financial modeling
Driver-based models that link revenue, compute, headcount, and cash. Built for usage-based pricing, token economics, and VC diligence.
04
CFA Charterholder-signed valuation
Defensible, investor-ready company valuations signed by a Canadian CFA charterholder — for fundraising, board reporting, and shareholder decisions.
05
409A valuation
Independent 409A valuations and cap table analysis for AI startups issuing equity compensation to talent.
06
Data room & diligence prep
Seed, Series A and B data rooms assembled and stress-tested — the questions get asked here first, not in front of the investment committee.
07
Compute & GPU cost control
Break down spend across OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS, and on-prem GPUs. Find the 30% you're leaking before your next board meeting or raise.
08
Usage-based revenue modeling
NRR, expansion, and forecast models built for token-based, seat-based, or hybrid pricing — the metrics AI investors underwrite.
09
In the room with your investors
Pitch financials, term sheet and SAFE/note math, and the calm presence when AI-savvy VCs start drilling into your numbers.
10
Fractional CFO on retainer
Strategic finance partner to the founder between rounds — board prep, hiring plans, and cash discipline from PMF to Series B.
Free Tools
Use the same instruments I use with clients — before you talk to me.
Every tool is free, runs in the browser, and stores nothing. They are the fastest way to see how I think about AI startup finance.
12-Month Budget Planner
Operating budget with GPU and inference line items, plus CSV export.
Open →AI Startup Benchmarks 2026
Score your margin, burn multiple, NRR and ARR per employee against the 2026 bands.
Open →QSBS Qualifier
Section 1202 check with the 2025 OBBBA tiered exclusion and estimated tax saved.
Open →R&D Tax Credit Calculator
Federal Section 41 estimate via ASC, with QSB payroll-offset modeling.
Open →TRIZ for Finance
Resolve a business contradiction — growth vs. margin, speed vs. control.
Open →Sample deliverables
Real client-grade work: tech tree, market sizing, competitive intelligence.
Open →Engagements
Five ways to engage. Each built for a different moment in an AI startup's life.
02 — Raise
Fundraising & Investor Model Buildout
1–3 months
- Round sizing, dilution scenarios, and use of funds
- Driver-based investor model for usage-based revenue
- Data room, diligence package, and pitch financials
- Dry-run Q&A before the partner meeting
03 — Value
CFA Charterholder-Signed Valuation
2–4 weeks
- Company valuation for fundraising, term sheets and board reporting
- Signed by a Canadian CFA charterholder
- Investor- and auditor-ready methodology
04 — Comply
409A Valuation
1–3 weeks
- Independent 409A for equity compensation post-round
- Cap table and option grant support
- Safe harbor methodology for startups
05 — Operate
Fractional CFO for AI Startups
Monthly retainer
- Strategic finance partner to the founder between rounds
- Board prep, investor updates, monthly reporting, lender support
- Hiring plans tied to model, infra cost, and next-round milestones
A good fit
- AI-native product, seed through Series B
- Usage-based, token-based or hybrid pricing
- Raising now, or 6–18 months from your next round
- Preparing for VC diligence or a bridge extension
Not a fit
- Pre-product, pre-team, idea stage
- Bookkeeping or tax filing only
- Non-technical, non-AI businesses
About
The CFO AI founders call when the round has to close.
Canadian CFA charterholder. 300+ engagements across SaaS, AI, and venture-backed operators, much of it fundraising work. I focus exclusively on AI-native startups because the questions investors ask — compute, margin, usage — deserve a CFO who has answered them in a diligence call before.
300+
Engagements completed — with a Top Rated Plus, 100% Job Success record on Upwork.
CFA
Canadian Chartered Financial Analyst — the global standard for financial rigor.
AI-only
Sector-focused practice. Every engagement is an AI-native startup, seed through Series B — most of them raising.
How I Work
A four-step path from chaos to a closed round.
01
Diagnose
Forensic review of cash, infra spend, and unit economics — the way an AI investor will read them in diligence.
02
Stabilize
Cut leaky compute, tighten controls, and lock down enough runway to raise from strength, not desperation.
03
Systemize
Install reporting, forecasting, a data room, and a model that survives investor diligence.
04
Raise & Scale
Size the round, tell the numbers story, sit in the diligence calls, and close — then run the plan you raised against.
Let's talk
Build the financial story your next investor says yes to.
A 30-minute intro call. We'll talk through your stage, your stack, your next round, and whether a fractional CFO who lives in AI startup fundraising can move the needle for yours.