Course Description

About Simple Finance:

Simple Finance is a 4 week course designed to empower executives and entrepreneurs with nonfinancial backgrounds. After this course, you'll have an easy-to-use financial model specific to your business. If you don't have the budget to hire an accounting or finance team, after this course, you'll have the tools to do it yourself. If you outsource your accounting, this course will provide you with a strong foundation so you'll know that you're asking your accountants the right questions to determine what's best for your business.

Testimonials:

"Mackenzie is so skilled at explaining things in a clear and concise way. Finance is not my background and she makes it accessible. After sessions with her I always feel more empowered to take on new challenges and am so grateful to have her as a resource."

Chelsea Armstrong
Creative Director & Founder @ Jubilee Jones

"When potential investors started asking me for a model, I thought how could I afford one of those. I was told it would cost thousands and thousands of dollars to have someone build it for us. Thanks to Mackenzie’s "Simple Finance for Entrepreneurs" class, I learned how to build my own at a fraction of the cost. And in addition to a model, I have a better understanding of how to make my business profitable."

Joaquin Brown
Founder @ Yoga Wake Up

A great class - especially for first time founders! All of the finance questions you were afraid to ask, answered in one class"

Jenny Gallagher
Founder @ Help-Full

Course Takeaways:

  • After this course, you'll have an easy-to-use financial model for your business
  • A clear understanding of your financial statements & internal controls
  • How to use metrics (pricing, CPC, MAU) to grow your business
  • How to source capital (debt or equity) for your business

CFO

Mackenzie C

Mackenzie is a CPA-turned-entrepreneur. She is the founder and managing director of Square Root Financial (SRF), a financial services firm that provides CFO and accounting services to emerging growth companies. Mackenzie is also a Financial Advisor to the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Bixel Exchange and a Lead Mentor at Chapman University Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship. Mackenzie serves on the board of directors at imagine1day Foundation, the brainchild of Lululemon's founder, Chip Wilson, and his wife Shannon. imagine1day currently works in partnership with 487 schools in Ethiopia. Previously, Mackenzie was V.P. of Technology & Venture Banking at Grandpoint Bank where she sourced and structured venture financing deals between $500K - $3M and, before Grandpoint, was a co-founder of wmbly, inc., a social platform for live and on-demand video content. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Mackenzie audited public and emerging companies at Deloitte & Touche. Mackenzie has a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College and a Masters in Accounting and Business Taxation from USC Marshall School of Business.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Welcome!

    • Course Details
  • 2

    MODULE 1: What do you need to pay attention to?

    • 1.1 Methods of Accounting

    • 1.2 Financial Statements

    • 1.3 Streamlining Your Business

    • 1.4 How to Minimize Fraud

    • 1.5 Hiring Employees and Contractors
  • 3

    MODULE 2: How to build your Business Model

    • 2.1 If you don’t know how well your business will do in the future, how do you make a realistic model?

    • 2.2 Assumptions: what drives your model

    • 2.3 Construct and review your “Bottom-Up” Financial Model

  • 4

    MODULE 3: How to Make Decisions on Pricing & Costs to Maximize Profitability

    • 3.1 Profitability

    • 3.2 Pricing

    • 3.3 Costs
  • 5

    MODULE 4: Sources of Capital

    • 4.1 Equity Investors

    • 4.2 Debt Providers