​Founders: what's the financial question you're hoping nobody asks you?

​From pricing and hiring to cash runway, funding and whether your business can afford to grow, this interactive session gives founders the chance to bring a real financial question to experienced CFOs. Together, we'll work through selected questions, unpack the numbers and assumptions that matter, and identify practical next steps.

​Come with a decision you're facing and leave with a clearer way to approach it. No finance background or polished spreadsheet required.

​Questions might include:

• ​Can I afford my next hire, and what would need to be true to make it work?

• ​Are we making money on each sale, or getting busier without getting better off?

• ​How much runway do we really have?

• ​Are we charging enough for the value we deliver?

• ​Do we need investment, or is there another way to fund the next stage?

• ​What would an investor question in our financial model?

​You'll hear how experienced finance leaders approach these decisions and learn from the challenges other founders are working through. You don't need a polished spreadsheet or a finance background. Come with a question you want to make progress on.

​What you'll leave with

• ​A clearer understanding of the financial question that matters most to your business

• ​A practical way to work through it, including the numbers and assumptions to check

• ​Specific next steps to help you make your next pricing, spending, hiring or funding decision with greater confidence

​Format
Interactive founder finance workshop and CFO Q&A, led by Wayne Wanders, with Amit Shah and Michelle Kvello.

​Bring the question you've been putting off. Leave knowing how to start answering it.

​Who it's for
Founders and startup operators making decisions about launching, growing, hiring or raising capital, particularly those who would value an experienced CFO's perspective.

​Meet the CFOs

​Wayne Wanders, Outsourced CFO & Business Advisor, A Real CFO

​Wayne is a Chartered Accountant who has spent more than 25 years working directly with startup founders and business owners as an outsourced CFO and trusted advisor. He helps businesses understand what drives their financial performance, manage cash flow and make better decisions about growth. His Finance for Founders workshop series turns questions about pricing, hiring, funding and business viability into practical frameworks founders can use before committing time or money.

​Muhilan Sriravindrarajah, CFO, Lantern Partners

​Amit Shah, Partner at Gild Group
Amit is one of Australia’s leading advisers to start-up and scale-up businesses in Australia. With a keen interest in early-stage businesses, Amit's focus has been working with founders to plan and strategize the optimal business structure, capital funding and commercialisation options. He works with founders to build out these fundamentals as they scale their businesses, leading to the practical implementation of tax, accounting and government Incentives procedures and workflows that set a business up for success.

​Amit previously founded The Startup Shop and Get Grants, which together worked with over 350 startups and offered mentoring to many more through programs such as UTS Startups, H2 Accelerator, Westpac Fueld, UNSW and co-working spaces Fishburners and Stone & Chalk.

​The Startup Growth Lab is 2-days of practical workshops, live demos and real conversations, part of Spark Festival at UTS, 23-24 September 2026.