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New Quarter, New Team and Masterclasses
New connections, fresh talent, and a strong Q1 wrap.
London | New York | Manchester
Welcome to the March Edition of the Zanda Newsletter!
This month officially marks not only the beginning of Spring, but also the end of Q1…
In March, we successfully hosted 6 roundtables across London, Manchester and New York and we are pumped to tell you all about it!
This month, we also welcomed a new team member who will be leading our interim practice, scroll down to find out more about our newest recruit.
The first quarter might be over but we are just getting started… Zanda had the most ambitious quarter to date and we have so much more planned for the coming months.
Make sure to follow us on LinkedIn so you can be the first one notified for any future events that may be happening very soon 👀
We’d be super grateful, if you find these newsletters insightful to share them with your network. Also, remember to reach out if you have a Finance leader requirement or need any advice on how to elevate your finance function.
Enjoy this month’s edition and if there is anything you would like to see included, get in touch with [email protected]
What's included in this Edition?
Roundtables | Connecting and supporting
At Zanda, we’re dedicated to building communities and creating opportunities where our network can connect, share insights, and tackle the challenges of scaling their businesses.
From startup fundamentals to the evolving role of CFOs, our latest roundtables across London, Manchester and New York have been designed with invaluable takeaways for our Founder and CFO network.
Founder Roundtables
Manhattan saw our first ever Founders roundtables, an exciting new event that brought together a full room of startup founders for insightful, high-impact discussions, which were made possible with the support of our partner VCs. A huge thank you to Armory Ventures and 25madison, as well as to Lauren Elizabeth Pearl and Carl Pombar for being pioneers in joining us on this journey and helping make these roundtables a reality.
CFO Roundtables
Alongside launching our Founders roundtables in March, we continued to develop our CFO roundtables.
Being a CFO, whether in a startup or scaling tech company, can be a lonely role. That’s why our CFO roundtables are a dedicated space where finance leaders can connect, exchange ideas, and support each other.
Our recent CFO roundtables were powered by incredible partners from VantagePoint who have helped ignite and guide these important conversations. This session also featured Carl Tishler, who guided our guests through an enlightening workshop on how to become the CEO of your self.
If you’re a VC looking to provide your portfolio Founders or CFOs with engaging, finance-focused discussions, we’d love to collaborate. Reach out to us, and we’ll bring in an expert guest to answer all those burning questions!
Introducing our newest Zanda team-member
Due to the success of the interim market in recent months, we’re thrilled to announce that Lorna Wilson is joining the Zanda team as our new Director of Interim Finance!
Lorna will be utilising her deep expertise and specialist focus to build out and scale our existing interim market offering. This growth allows us to have dedicated consultants leading our interim and fractional CFO placements, with Liz continuing to lead fractional support and Lorna spearheading the interim practice.
Both of our Co-Founders have worked with some incredible recruiters over the years, but in the last 20 years Lorna stood out to them as one of the strongest interim finance recruiters they've ever worked with.
Lorna will be a huge asset to our team and our clients, and we can’t wait to see the impact she’ll make in helping startups and scaleups secure top-tier interim finance talent.
Whether you are a candidate that is looking for interim opportunities or a founder who is looking for an interim finance professional, reach out to Lorna to discuss your needs.
International Women’s Day | Gender Pay Gap
During the month of March, we celebrated International Women’s Day, during which we we wanted to bring focus to the real data that drives change.
In European tech, the unadjusted gender pay gap is 25% in favour of men but when adjusted for factors like job level and country, it shrinks to 2.5%.
The real issue? Too few women in senior, high-paying roles.
As Vaso Parisinou, expert CPO from Ravio highlighted in our CFO Hiring Playbook, women’s career progression is often interrupted by caregiving responsibilities and companies can drive real change by offering:
✅ Equal parental leave
✅ Return-to-work incentives
✅ Childcare support & flexibility
Ravio’s work tracking this data is crucial in helping companies close the gap.
Download our CFO Hiring Playbook to understand how you can build an inclusive hiring process and ensure lack of representation doesn't stop you from meeting exceptional talent!
CFO Masterclasses Series | Coming soon
Due to the amazing response from our CFO roundtables guests, we have been busy this month building our next project which will be our CFO masterclasses.
We understand that in today’s fast-evolving finance landscape, staying ahead means continuously upskilling. Our CFO Masterclass Series is designed to equip finance leaders with the latest insights, strategies, and tools to confidently navigate emerging trends.
Each month, we plan to bring together a select group of CFOs for a focused, high-impact masterclass led by an industry expert. These small-group sessions allow for deeper discussions, interactive learning, and meaningful connections with peers who share your challenges and ambitions.
Check out the dates and discussion topics for our upcoming masterclasses:
07/05 | The future of Finance data and AI - How to structure and streamline data flows to create a foundation to build on AI capabilities upon
19/06 | The Art of Fast Close - How to accelerate your working day timetable so your business closes between day 3 – 5.
24/07 | Shaping the Next Era of FP&A - What does the future of FP&A look like, what are the key people, process and technologies required.
Stay ahead in the finance world by joining our exclusive CFO Masterclass Series—where knowledge meets strategy. Sign up using the link below to secure your spot today and elevate your leadership in the ever-evolving financial landscape.
March Fundraising Report | UK and New York
In the UK, March saw 39 companies close funding deals from 122 investors, with the total capital invested this month being nearly £335M.
This month, FinTech received the most invested capital - nearly £88M was alocated towards the industry. HealthTech secured the second highest amount of funding, just under £87M.
Life Sciences, SaaS and B2B Payments made it to the top 5 most invested industries this month, each industry securing £60M, £52M and £49M respectively.
The rest of the invested capital was equally spread within the rest of the industries, capturing growth opportunities across all emerging markets.
New York’s startup environment saw 44 deals being completed with the help of nearly 200 investors who invested nearly £560M into startups in the Seed - Series B stages.
AI & Machine learning was the clear industry winner when it comes to the allocated capital this month, securing a whopping £430M. The second most invested industry was SaaS, having been allocated nearly £280M in funding.
Big Data, HealthTech and Mobile feature the top 5 industries, each industry securing £160M, £93M and £60M respectively.
From this month it’s clear that as AI continues to integrate into SaaS platforms, the synergy between the two sectors presents opportunities for innovation and long-term profitability, making them a compelling choice for forward-thinking investors.
The startup world is a constantly shifting landscape, as trends evolve and investment preferences change at lightning speed. In this unpredictable environment, adaptability is key, and those who stay ahead of the curve reap the biggest rewards.
Current Opportunities
In this episode we have highlighted just a handful of our newest jobs, if you would like to apply for any of these roles please send an email to [email protected]
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If you have a similar role you are currently recruiting for, register your vacancy here!
