CASE STUDYHow Freestyle built a resilient finance function across 11 funds without hiring a full-time CFO
THE CHALLENGE
Founded in 2009, San Francisco-based Freestyle Capital has backed companies including Intercom, Patreon, and Airtable. Today, the firm manages approximately $590 million in committed capital across 11 funds, 22 entities, and more than 120 portfolio positions.
When Freestyle's CFO transitioned into a different role in mid-2024, Co-Founder and General Partner Dave Samuel found himself managing the firm's finance function alongside his investing responsibilities.
That workload spanned capital calls, quarterly management fees, portfolio valuations, audits, and tax filings, all on fixed deadlines. More than a decade of portfolio data also sat in an Airtable system the firm had outgrown, with audit season approaching.
Freestyle needed experienced financial leadership and a partner who could anticipate what was coming next. A full-time CFO hire would have meant a long search, added overhead, and the same dependence on one person, so Freestyle brought on Strut in December 2024 instead.
When our CFO shifted into a new role, a lot of the finance work landed on me. Strut jumped in, organized past messes, and is proactive about everything that needs to get done.
Dave Samuel,
Co-Founder & General Partner
How We Helped
Took ownership of the FY2025 audit and tax cycle, overhauling valuation templates and coordinating fund administrators, auditors, and tax preparers through review and approval across all 22 entities.
Migrated more than 10 years of portfolio data from Airtable into Totem, consolidating historical valuations, pricing, and investment information into a system that reconciles with quarterly financials.
Built a master cash flow and capital call tracker across all entities, connecting upcoming investments, management fees, and line-of-credit activity.
Standardized the quarterly reporting process, from management fee calculations and financial statement reviews to fund performance reporting and LP communications.
Prepared documentation for a same-day QSBS decision when the question surfaced one day before a portfolio company's acquisition closed.
Established a forward-looking calendar for maturing funds to manage extensions, LPAC approvals, wind-downs, and final distributions, often flagging decisions months ahead.
Replaced standing meetings with a weekly agenda of outstanding items, upcoming deadlines, and required decisions, without adding meetings to the partners' calendars.
Within its first year, Freestyle completed a full audit and tax cycle on schedule, with audited financial statements, K-1s, and tax returns reviewed and approved across every entity by late April. The migration to Totem took about six months and replaced an aging Airtable system with a single source of truth that reconciles to the firm's financial reporting each quarter.
When a Freestyle team member responsible for part of the process left in 2026, Strut managed the handoff alongside General Partner Jenny Lefcourt, and the work kept moving without disruption.
The relationship now runs largely asynchronously, with no recurring status meetings. Strut brings decisions forward only when partner input is required, which frees Samuel and Lefcourt to focus on exits and liquidity across the firm's older funds, follow-on investment decisions, and Freestyle's next chapter.
Freestyle now runs 11 funds and 22 entities with the financial rigor and continuity its partners need, at less than half the fully loaded cost of a full-time CFO, and their time stays focused on investing.
I'm 11 out of 10 happy with Strut, and I mean that. They never let anything drop. They're proactive, they take complete ownership, and I rarely have to think about our finance function anymore. We get the benefit of an experienced finance team at less than half the cost of a full-time CFO. For a venture firm like ours, it's a no-brainer.
— Dave Samuel,
Co-Founder & General Partner