Isaac Zaetz CFO & Strategic Finance Executive For Founder-led Businesses
I help founder-led businesses build the financial systems and reporting frameworks they need to gain strategic focus. My work spans — M&A due diligence, deal structuring, capital raises, and operational optimization.
Background
My career began in hedge fund operations at Longacre Fund Management, where I sourced and closed trade claim transactions across high-profile bankruptcies including Lehman Brothers, General Motors, and Circuit City.
I transitioned into operational finance, serving as Controller at KMG Direct and then CFO at Lights.com — building reporting systems and supporting strategic growth from the inside.
In 2016 I founded Gelos to deliver embedded CFO leadership to founder-led businesses. Over the past 10 years I've led finance functions across 10+ companies, presented to investors and lenders, and taken personal equity stakes in opportunities I believed in.
The GELOS Methodology
Every engagement starts with the same question: where is this business ready to grow, and what's holding it back? The Scalable Stack is the framework I use to assess and prioritize — five interconnected layers that determine whether a business has the foundation to scale confidently.
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Bookkeeping
Without accurate books, you're flying blind — unable to understand true profitability, make confident decisions, or answer basic questions about your business. I establish complete, accurate financial records that transform chaos into clarity.
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Structure
Growing businesses break when they outgrow manual processes and fragmented systems. I formalize your organizational structure and software stack to eliminate bottlenecks and create scalable operations.
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Cashflow
Cash surprises kill businesses. I build rolling 13-week cash forecasts that give you complete visibility into upcoming needs and obligations, enabling confident planning for payroll, inventory, and investments.
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Strategic Focus
Without clear direction, resources get scattered across competing priorities. I define short and long-term objectives that align your team and create measurable milestones that drive accountability.
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Capital Allocation
Every dollar deployed should generate maximum impact. I help you strategically budget and allocate capital to the initiatives that drive the greatest returns on growth and profitability.
Recent Projects
- Rebuilt multi-year financial records for an eight-figure wholesale business from the ground up; developed custom software for sales pipeline tracking; hired and trained bookkeeper — restoring full financial clarity and operational visibility.
- Served as finance lead on an SMB acquisition team; evaluated 10+ opportunities, led due diligence, and structured deal terms — driving one transaction to close while ensuring investors had full confidence in the financial risk assessment.
- Led finance function for a 7-property Mobile Home Park portfolio; drove transition from cash to accrual accounting; built reporting infrastructure including monthly, quarterly, and annual reports with forward outlook for investors and lenders.
- Conducted due diligence for a $1MM equity investment in a fleet video monitoring company; identified critical gaps in financial records and rebuilt infrastructure and controls from scratch — retained as ongoing financial monitor.
- Secured SBA financing to acquire a manufacturing facility for a bespoke lighting manufacturer; hired and oversaw controller; built consolidated cash visibility tools and systematized inventory management.
- Conducted due diligence on a minority equity investment in a license plate recognition security systems company; served as fractional CFO for one year and remained as financial monitor post-close — with personal equity stake in the investment.
Services
- Accounting Systems & Financial Controls — Select and set up financial and operational software systems. Design the chart of accounts and accounting policies, then oversee ongoing bookkeeping activity so the data accurately captures and represents the business.
- Cash Flow Forecasting & Multi-Account Visibility — Build rolling short-term cash flow forecasts and consolidate visibility across bank accounts and entities to support liquidity planning and near-term resource allocation.
- Custom KPI Development & Reporting — Design and maintain business-specific metrics and dashboards that track performance against strategic goals.
- Strategic Financial Planning — Identify which activities, products, or markets generate the greatest financial return — including flagging top-line growth that's economically net-negative — and build realistic multi-year plans for growth, contraction, or stabilization, grounded in actual resource constraints and cash flow capacity.
- Capital Sourcing & Stakeholder Management — Source and pitch lenders and investors, manage ongoing reporting and covenant compliance, and oversee financial communication with business partners, co-owners, and other stakeholders.
- M&A Advisory & Deal Execution — Source and screen acquisition targets, lead valuation analysis, negotiate LOI terms, manage buy-side and sell-side due diligence, structure deal terms including purchase price, earnouts, seller notes, and financing, and coordinate with attorneys, lenders, and other advisors through close.
