Campfire Raised $1.25 Million With The Help Of Zeni’s Real-Time Accounting And Investor Reporting

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Closing a connection gap one leader at a time

Steve Arntz created Campfire in 2020 with a specific goal in mind: Help every human on the planet experience work in a more connected way. 

Campfire, a startup that focuses on developing managers, helps change how managers lead their teams. Their interactive training program is unique because it covers all areas of growth and works to build long-lasting internal connections. 

Campfire’s program includes an assessment, live training sessions (also known as Campfires), coaching, and prompt decks to drive personal reflection.

The team at Campfire is small but mighty. With only ten team members, they have shown how quality connections make a huge impact.

“Our big hairy audacious goal is to help every human on the planet experience work in a more connected way. We want them to feel fully connected to themselves, understand how they're feeling, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and how they can go about making progress in work and in the world.” – Steve Arntz, CEO at Campfire

The challenge

When Campfire came to Zeni, Steve was handling all of the company finances. 

Previously, Campfire had an employee that was managing all of their books in spreadsheets. It was working for the team at the time until he decided to leave. No one else at Campfire had the experience to effectively manage the books manually, leaving them in a state of panic.

Additionally, Campfire needed to put together financial reports for their investors. It made both investment pitches and board meetings stressful.

Campfire needed a financial operations platform that could:

• Take over the day-to-day bookkeeping activities
• Provide financial advice and support 
• Curate investor-ready reports 

“When we lost our generalist who wore all the financial hats, we didn’t know what to do. He managed all of the books in spreadsheets and did a very good job. But once he left, it all fell apart. We got so lucky when we stumbled upon Zeni.” – Steve Arntz, CEO at Campfire

The solution

Zeni provided Campfire with a dedicated fractional CFO, Controller and a financial dashboard at a fraction of the cost for a full-time internal team member. 

Zeni’s Controller and Dashboard helped Campfire:

• Manage their day-to-day bookkeeping and accounting 
• Provide all financials in an easy-to-read dashboard 
• Dedicated controller to translate the data and offer financial discipline
• Create board ready reports and presentations

“Before we were working with Zeni, we were operating out of spreadsheets. Our lead investor told me that I needed better instrumentation to fly this plane - the plane being our business. He told me that with the right instruments we would be able to point things in the right direction. We would also be able to know how to take appropriate risks to grow our business. He recommended some different experts and approaches, but was delighted when we found Zeni. We all have the things we need to operate the business and we have never looked back." – Steve Arntz, CEO at Campfire

The impact

1. Peace Of Mind: Steve could now sleep at night knowing Campfire’s finances were taken care of. No more relying on a single team member to manage their accounting and bookkeeping. With just the click of a button or a quick phone call, Campfire could get the financial support they needed.
2. Real-Time Financial Visibility: Campfire needed a real-time picture of their entire financial operations. With Zeni’s dashboard and instant downloadable investor reports, they were ready to communicate their finances to investors with ease.
3. Trusted Partnership: Traditional consultant partnerships have a sense of formality about them. With Zeni, the relationship is less about business and more about building relationships. Campfire and Zeni march to the beat of the same dum, which made Campfire feel like Zeni was on their team rather than working for their team.

“We’re no longer reliant on an internal member to handle our finances. With Zeni, we have peace of mind that our finances are being taken care of. Our dedicated Controller truly feels like they are on the Campfire team, rather than operating as a traditional financial consultant. This trusted relationship helps us make the right decisions faster.” – Steve Arntz, CEO at Campfire

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You too can get real-time accounting, investor reporting, and dedicated controller support to effectively manage your finances. Talk with a financial advisor here.