Next Exit
Bringing stories and advice from industry leaders, on running a business to maximise your next exit.
Next Exit
#07: Shifting Gears From VC to PE with CFO Michael Vigario
In this episode, Dan speaks with Michael Vigario, CFO of ACT Group (North America), about what it takes to scale as a finance leader across startups, fintech, and PE-backed billion-dollar enterprises. Michael shares how he built world-class finance and operations teams from scratch, the discipline needed to earn investor trust, and how to balance growth ambitions with rigorous controls. From his leap into a six-person fintech startup to leading a $3B SaaS business, Michael’s lessons cut through theory and focus on execution, communication, and credibility with investors.
Key Takeaways:
- Build finance teams in the right order: accounting first, operations second, FP&A third.
- In VC-backed startups, growth is king, while in PE-backed firms, discipline and reporting rigour rule.
- Data integrity and system integrations make or break exit events.
- Technical control and crisp communication separate successful PE CFOs from the rest.
- Environmental markets are scaling fast, with ACT Group positioned at the forefront of carbon, renewables, and digital climate solutions.
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Check out Dan’s Private Equity-Grade Forecasting software, Kluster, here: https://www.kluster.com/
Send podcast guest pitches to: dan.thompson@kluster.com
Check out Dan’s Private Equity-Grade Forecasting software, Kluster, here: https://www.kluster.com/
Send podcast guest pitches to: dan.thompson@kluster.com