In our clients' words

What I find useful about working with Max is that he looks at how the whole business works. We talk about the accounts and cash flow, but also why we are doing certain things and whether they make sense. Sometimes, as a business owner, you get used to doing things a certain way. Max is willing to question that and explain what he sees in the numbers. It doesn't mean we have to change everything, but it helps us understand where the problems might be and what we should work on first. That is where I find his CFO experience useful.

We approached Elev8te when we were looking at expanding the business into Australia. There were quite a few things to think about — where the sales should sit, how the Australian entity would work with Singapore and what the tax consequences might be. Max helped us work through the different options instead of looking at incorporation as a standalone exercise. That was useful because we could consider the structure in the context of how we actually intended to operate the business.

Our experience with Elev8te has been positive from the outset. From incorporation to ongoing corporate secretarial matters, their team has been professional, responsive and pragmatic in their approach. They communicate clearly, provide practical guidance and handle the necessary requirements efficiently, without introducing unnecessary complexity. As a growing business, we value working with partners who are dependable, accessible and straightforward to deal with. Elev8te has certainly delivered on these fronts.

As Maison grew, we needed to look at the business in a more structured financial way rather than relying only on historical results. Elev8te helped us build out forecasts and valuation scenarios around some of our plans. I found the process useful because it forced us to test our assumptions and look at the business through both a management and investor lens. Max also understands that a growing consumer brand does not always fit neatly into an accounting spreadsheet.

We involved Elev8te when we were assessing a potential acquisition. Max helped us work through the numbers, challenge some of the assumptions and think about how the deal would actually work commercially. What was useful was having someone outside the business who could look at the opportunity objectively and ask questions that we might otherwise have missed. It felt more like discussing the deal with another business owner and CFO than engaging someone simply to prepare an analysis.

What we like about Elev8te is that they are easy to reach and straightforward to deal with. When there is something we need to understand, they explain it in plain language and tell us what needs to be done. We do not need long technical explanations unless they are necessary. That responsiveness and willingness to understand the situation from our side has made the working relationship much easier.

Most accounting tells you what has already happened. What we needed was a better view of what could happen next. Elev8te helped us work through our forecasts, break-even point, cash flow and working-capital requirements, including how much future funding we might need under different scenarios. That gave us something much more useful for planning the business and discussing our options internally rather than simply relying on the latest set of accounts.