Finance is central to enterprise decision-making, but many mid-market firms nonetheless depend on outdated instruments that decelerate forecasting, budgeting and monetary planning. Whereas different departments have moved to fashionable software program, finance groups nonetheless depend on spreadsheets, which makes collaboration and effectivity tougher to attain.
Abacum was based to vary that. The corporate gives mid-market corporations with a extra intuitive platform for real-time monetary insights.
To be taught extra about Abacum’s journey and imaginative and prescient, we spoke with Jorge Lluch, co-founder and COO.
Inform us extra about your organization and its providing
Abacum is a monetary planning and evaluation (FP&A) answer for mid-market corporations. We allow firms to entry a lot quicker reporting, extra correct forecasting and higher budgeting.
Our platform signifies that finance groups could be far more impactful throughout their organisation as they will ship quicker and extra dependable data and insights seamlessly. They will additionally collaborate extra successfully internally and luxuriate in a a lot friendlier consumer expertise, moderately than being compelled to depend on spreadsheets like Excel or Google Sheets.
We’re concentrating on firms between 200 and a couple of,000 staff – i.e. correct mid-market companies throughout the globe. We don’t have any issues with localisation as finance is a global language and we will help corporations all around the world.
Abacum works with a few of the world’s main high-growth, mid-market firms, together with the likes of Strava, ezCater, JG Wentworth, RapidSOS, Lendable, Cabify, Freepik, Aiven and Rippling, amongst others.
What drawback was your organization set as much as clear up?
In the summertime of 2019, my buddy Julio from my MBA reached out and mentioned that he wished to start out his personal firm by constructing software program for finance groups. I acquired actually excited by the concept of constructing the answer that I needed I’d had for a few years. Being compelled to work manually from spreadsheets for years had been a specific level of frustration all through my time as a CFO, particularly whereas different firms and groups had embraced the SaaS revolution. From there, Abacum was born.
We launched Abacum as a result of we wished to create a product that we really wished we had ourselves. Having been so near the issues skilled by finance groups for thus lengthy, we actually understood the ache factors. It didn’t make any sense to us that the finance division was caught up to now, whereas different groups had already embraced the SaaS revolution.
Since launch, how has your organization advanced?
Since our launch, the corporate has advanced tremendously. Julio and I co-founded the enterprise, and inside our first few months, we quickly expanded – rising our staff to almost 12 individuals in beneath six months and buying clients throughout Europe and the US.
This momentum accelerated once we joined Y Combinator within the winter of 2021, which validated our imaginative and prescient and execution. By the top of YC, we had secured our Collection C with Creandum, additional fuelling our progress.
Initially of 2021, we have been a staff of 10; by yr’s finish, after closing our Collection A with Atomico, we had almost 60 staff. That progress continued into 2022, reaching 120 staff members by June – proper as international markets shifted, with rising rates of interest reshaping the financial panorama.
Wanting again at that first section of the corporate, our fast ARR progress drove two consecutive funding rounds in 2021, propelled by beneficial market circumstances and a prevailing ‘growth-at-all-costs’ mindset. By 2022, we had established workplaces in New York and Barcelona. Nonetheless, as public markets reacted to rising rates of interest and the ensuing funding crunch, we needed to pivot in the direction of a method of environment friendly progress. This meant resizing the corporate and refining our execution, however we by no means stopped rising.
Regardless of the shifting market dynamics, we continued to scale yr over yr. In 2024 – a pivotal yr for us – we noticed a major acceleration in gross sales whereas changing into extra environment friendly than ever. Now, as we look forward to 2025, there’s a robust sense of optimism and pleasure. With a mature product and a stable basis, we’re poised for a fantastic yr forward.
What has been the most important problem or most ‘tough second’ to beat?
At each stage, there was a significant problem to beat. Why? As a result of in hypergrowth, every quarter presents one thing totally new. You begin the quarter dealing with a aim you’ve by no means tackled earlier than and sustaining that degree of progress means the following quarter will demand much more. That inherently requires doing stuff you haven’t accomplished earlier than.
Each time a brand new quarter begins, it seems like opening the doorways to a retailer that must be restocked from scratch. You need to push the boundaries – creating the product additional, scaling the enterprise, and discovering new methods to execute. So, whereas it usually seems like the current second is probably the most difficult, that feeling comes from constantly getting into the unknown and pushing ahead.
Wanting on the greater image, some may say the early years have been simpler, given the plentiful capital flowing into tech firms on the time. I’d agree that fundraising wasn’t the problem it’s right this moment. However as market circumstances shifted, so did our mindset. Transitioning to environment friendly progress wasn’t only a necessity; it additionally created alternatives. At the moment, our unit economics are extraordinarily stable, unlocking new funding choices and strategic decisions that wouldn’t have been obtainable to us within the early days.
What are your largest achievements or ‘proudest second’ thus far?
There are two issues I’m most pleased with. First, the chance to work with unbelievable, extremely proficient people. It’s really fulfilling to construct one thing alongside my buddy Julio and to create an organization the place individuals genuinely take pleasure in working. As a founder, that’s probably the most rewarding emotions – fostering an atmosphere the place proficient individuals thrive.
Second, the constructive suggestions we obtain from our clients. We constructed this software with a transparent imaginative and prescient: to make finance groups the heroes of their organisations. Our mission is to assist firms make higher choices by giving them entry to quicker, extra correct data. Each time we see that imaginative and prescient and mission come to life; it’s an extremely rewarding second.
How would you describe the tradition of your organization?
At Abacum, our tradition is deeply rooted in our core values – they’re elementary to who we’re and the way we function. From the very starting, in my early conversations with Julio, defining the kind of firm we wished to construct, we positioned a robust emphasis on values, comparable to:
Buyer obsession – We would like individuals who care deeply about our clients’ success and satisfaction. Their happiness is our precedence.Ambition – We search people who see Abacum as a possibility to develop, make an influence, and push themselves to attain nice issues.Good individuals – We consider that success comes from surrounding ourselves with not simply proficient professionals however genuinely good individuals. This journey is difficult, and having the appropriate individuals makes it extra pleasurable and significant. For us, the top by no means justifies the means – we do issues the appropriate approach.Powerful love – We foster an atmosphere the place individuals help one another’s progress by trustworthy suggestions and encouragement. It’s about pushing one another ahead, whereas additionally genuinely caring about our teammates’ success.
Past values, we additionally embrace key working rules that outline how we function:
Embracing uncertainty – Early-stage startups aren’t for everybody. They require adaptability, resilience, and the power to navigate uncertainty whereas pushing ahead, even with restricted sources.100 per cent effort and excessive requirements – We count on everybody to carry their greatest, holding themselves and their friends to excessive requirements of excellence.Teamwork and collective success – We transfer ahead collectively. Because the saying goes, ‘If you wish to go quick, go alone. If you wish to go far, go collectively’.Dedication to profitable – We would like people who find themselves totally invested in our mission, able to make issues occur and drive actual influence.
At Abacum, tradition is not only a set of concepts – it’s the muse of the whole lot we do.
What’s in retailer for the longer term?
The subsequent few years are going to be actually fascinating because the prominence of AI within the fintech area grows. Consequently, it’s going to be actually troublesome for regulation to maintain up with innovation.
As AI continues to evolve, it’ll end in transformative adjustments in fintech, together with extra personalised monetary providers, superior fraud detection, and streamlined buyer experiences. Nonetheless, this fast innovation additionally raises vital challenges for regulators, comparable to guaranteeing knowledge privateness, stopping algorithmic bias, and sustaining transparency within the decision-making course of.
Placing the appropriate steadiness between fostering innovation and defending customers might be crucial. Fintech firms might want to work intently with regulators to ascertain frameworks that adapt to the fast-paced adjustments, whereas additionally sustaining belief and equity within the monetary ecosystem. The subsequent 36 months or so will undoubtedly outline the way forward for coexistence between AI and fintech in a sustainable and moral method.
