Berlin · Est. 2026 · Operator-Grade Finance

Institutional
finance.
No bullshit.

Senior CFO advisory and independent assurance for VC-backed founders and growth-stage companies. From first financial model to pre-IPO IFRS conversion. From equity round to venture debt. From spreadsheet chaos to AI-enabled finance organisation.

If you're raising, scaling, or preparing for an exit — this is where we step in.

Book a 45-min diagnostic — no prep needed See services
nobs
50+
Portfolio companies
supported
€4bn
DAX IPO
Frankfurt 2017
30+
Countries
operated in
20+
Years institutional
finance
Where we get involved

Typical situations

"

The best founders don't need more dashboards. They need someone who's built the whole thing before — the finance org, the AI-native reporting stack, the fundraising process, the IPO readiness programme. Someone who has fixed the model at 2am and knows which shortcuts cost you the round. That person is now available to you.

nobs is built on 20+ years of actually running things — Global CFO of foodpanda across 30+ countries, Divisional CFO at Delivery Hero through the €4bn Frankfurt IPO, CFO & Operating Partner at FoodLabs, a pan-European VC investor and venture studio. Not an advisor who observed operators from the outside. An operator who now advises and independently verifies. WHU / Lancaster. Wirtschaftsprüfer (cand.).

Selected outcomes
01 / 02
Advisory
For VC-backed founders & growth-stage companies

Sparring partner.
Operator depth.
When the numbers actually matter.

Senior CFO capability — fractional, embedded, or project-based — for founders who need someone who's actually built this before. Not a generalist consultant. An operator who's run finance across 30+ countries, been through a DAX IPO process, and built AI-native finance organisations from scratch.


From the first financial model to pre-IPO IFRS conversion. From equity round structuring to venture debt. From a chaotic spreadsheet setup to a scalable, AI-enabled finance function. Primarily working with VC-backed and growth-stage companies — selectively also advising mid-cap and private equity situations.

01
Interim & Fractional CFO
The CFO seat — board prep, investor reporting, finance team leadership, the hard conversations — without the full-time hire you're not ready for. Senior from day one. In the room when it matters.
02
Financial Modelling & KPI Cockpit
Models built to think with and defend in a room. Cohort analysis, unit economics, contribution margins, scenario planning — the numbers that tell your actual story and survive a smart investor's 30 minutes.
03
Round Structuring & Capital Advisory
Cap table design, round structuring, term sheet review, deal mechanics — the CFO sparring most founders only get from their investors. Full capital stack: equity, venture debt, KfW/EIB instruments, non-dilutive financing. From first term sheet to close.
04
AI-Enabled Finance Organisation
Automated board reporting, real-time KPI dashboards, and finance workflows that scale beyond Excel — built and implemented, not just recommended.
05
Finance Function Build-Out
From first finance hire to a functioning team. Org design, tool stack (ERP, DATEV, reporting layer), chart of accounts, reporting cadence — the infrastructure that stops breaking every time you grow.
06
Exit & Pre-IPO Readiness
IFRS conversion, data room architecture, normalised financials, governance uplift, KPI narrative — everything that acquirers and underwriters will test. Built from the experience of having done it, not advised on it.
Focused engagements

Clear entry points for immediate impact — designed around the situations founders actually face.

2–3 weeks
Fundraising Readiness Sprint
We stress-test your financial model, clean up your KPIs, and align your numbers with your investor narrative.
You walk into fundraising with numbers you can defend — and a story that holds up under pressure.
~10 days
Board Pack Reset
We rebuild your reporting into a clear, structured board pack — with the right KPIs, narrative, and operating clarity.
You move from reactive updates to confident, structured board communication.
2–4 weeks
Debt Strategy Setup
We design your debt strategy, structure the instruments, and prepare you for lender conversations.
You unlock non-dilutive capital — without taking unnecessary risk.
02 / 02
Assurance
Independent review & verification

Numbers that
hold up.

Independent financial review from someone who has built and run the finance infrastructure being assessed. Not a checklist exercise — a senior operator who knows which assumptions break under scrutiny, and helps you fix them before investors or acquirers find them first.


Investor-grade rigour without Big 4 overhead. For the moments when the numbers need to hold up in a room you can't control.

01
Pre-Round Financial Review
We go through your financials and model the way a sharp investor will — identifying what won't hold up, fixing it, and making sure you control the narrative before anyone else gets to define it. You walk into the process with numbers that are clean, a story that's consistent, and no surprises.
02
Data Room Build & Management
End-to-end ownership of the data room process — structure, content sourcing from across the business, quality control, version management, and investor Q&A coordination. Most founders don't have bandwidth to run this properly while also running the company. We take it off your plate entirely.
03
M&A Process Management
Full transaction support — from first approach to close. Coordinating external advisors (legal, tax, banking), managing internal workstreams, preparing and owning the financial content, running the due diligence process, and keeping the deal on track when it gets complicated. Built on deep DD experience from both buy-side and sell-side mandates across multiple cycles.
04
Audit Preparation & Support
Getting your financials audit-ready before the auditors arrive — and managing the process through to sign-off. Most audit cost overruns come from poor preparation. A CFO who has managed Big 4 relationships across 30+ entities knows exactly what they need, and how to give it to them efficiently.
05
IFRS Conversion Support
Hands-on management of the HGB-to-IFRS conversion process — scoping the restatement, leading the workstream with your team, coordinating with auditors, and getting it done. Most finance teams have never done this before. Having someone in the room who has — in a live IPO context — compresses the timeline and prevents the expensive mistakes.
06
Reporting Infrastructure Rebuild
Assessment of what's broken, a concrete recommendation for what to fix and how, and hands-on implementation support if you want it. KPI definitions, accounting policies, management reporting templates, tool stack — rebuilt to reflect operational reality and hold up under investor scrutiny. You end up with a system that works, not a gap analysis to action yourself.
WP
Assurance work is delivered to Wirtschaftsprüfer (WP) standards — the German equivalent of a CPA. Drawing on years of professional WP practice and current requalification. None of the services offered constitute statutory audit engagements reserved for licensed WPs; they are advisory and review services available to any senior finance professional. The WP/CPA background is a quality signal, not a compliance claim.
Bastian Stöhr
The Principal

Bastian
Stöhr

Founder & MD · WP (cand.) · Berlin

20+ years at the intersection of global scale-ups, institutional venture capital, and public markets. Former Global CFO of foodpanda (Rocket Internet, 30+ countries), Divisional CFO at Delivery Hero during the €4bn Frankfurt IPO, and CFO & Operating Partner at FoodLabs, a pan-European VC investor and venture studio.

Co-author of the EIF Impact Reporting Handbook (InvestEU Advisory Hub). Wirtschaftsprüfer (cand.). WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management, Lancaster University.

2021–26
FoodLabs
CFO & Operating Partner · VC investor & venture studio
2018–20
CHRONEXT AG
Group CFO & Managing Director
2017–18
Delivery Hero AG
Divisional CFO, foodpanda & foodora · €4bn IPO
2014–16
foodpanda (Rocket Internet)
Global CFO · 30+ countries
2001–12
Ernst & Young / Arthur Andersen
Senior Manager, Transaction Advisory
By the numbers
€4bn
DAX IPO
Frankfurt 2017
50+
Portfolio companies
supported
30+
Countries
operated in
20+
Years institutional
finance
Seed–
DAX
Full company
lifecycle
CPA
Grade
WP-equivalent
audit standards
How we work

Fast to value.
No retainer theatre.

We start with a diagnostic, agree on scope, and move. Project-based, retainer, or interim — the format follows the mandate, not the other way around. No juniors learning on your clock. You always work with the person whose name is on the door.

01
Discovery Call
45 minutes. We understand your situation, your goals, and the gaps. No charge, no commitment.
02
Diagnostic & Scoping
We identify where the gaps actually are — in your model, your reporting, your finance infrastructure — not where a standard advisory pitch says they should be.
03
Engagement Design
Project mandate or ongoing retainer. Transparent pricing, clear deliverables, no surprises on invoice. Scope built around your next milestone, not our utilisation rate.
04
Execution
Senior involvement from first call to final deliverable. You get the CFO who's been in the room — not a team that's learning from your situation.
Research & Publications

Writing that
moves the field.

Published on startup finance infrastructure and venture capital governance with Europe's leading academic and institutional platforms.

Controlling & Management Review · WHU · 2025

Controlling-Instrumente für den Startup-Erfolg

Practitioner article on scalable finance and controlling infrastructure in high-growth startups — from pre-revenue KPIs to full BI integration at scale. Published in Springer CMR journal.

Startup Finance KPIs ERP
CMR Journal →
EIF / European Investment Fund · 2024

Impact Accountability in Venture Capital

Co-authored practitioner handbook on impact measurement and reporting frameworks for VC funds — funded by EU/EIB and InvestEU Advisory Hub. Reference document for institutional LP reporting standards in European VC.

VC Governance LP Reporting EIF
Download PDF →

Raising, scaling,
or preparing for an exit?

Book a 45-min diagnostic — no prep needed
Get in touch

Let's talk.

Preparing a round, fixing your reporting, or exploring debt — reach out directly. A 45-minute diagnostic call is the fastest way to see if and how we can work together. No prep needed — just bring your situation.

Email
bastian@nobsadvisory.com
LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/bastian-f-stöhr
Location
Berlin, Germany · Remote-capable
Entity
nobs Advisory GmbH · AG Charlottenburg

Direct access.
Senior from day one.

You're not submitting a form to a BD team. This reaches Bastian directly. Expect a response within 24 hours. Engagements currently open.

Advisory · Assurance
Engagements: Open
Response: < 24h
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