THE BISON WAY
I’m Kurtis. This is Bison CFO.
And the way we work starts in a field in Yellowstone.
A few years back I stood in that field watching bison graze. At first glance they’re intimidating: big, powerful, horns the size of your forearm. But watch long enough and something else stands out. The calm.
Curious, I started reading about them. Bison are steady, smart, and strong. One trait in particular stood out, and it changed how I built this firm. Here it is in one picture.
$ bison storm --plot
same storm, same starting point. two paths:
[1] CATTLE · DRIFT
wk 2turn away. move with it.
wk 5still raining. report says 'fine.'
wk 9margin compressing, unpriced.
wk 13cash crunch. deciding blind.
wk 17storm still overhead.
wk 21weather passes. damage doesn't.
↳ 19 wk exposed · drained
[2] BISON · WALK IN
wk 1turn toward it. open the books.
wk 2worst of it: everything priced.
wk 4through. plan in writing.
wk 6rebuild starts. modules connect.
wk 12first dollars back.
wk 20compounding. next storm, forecast first.
↳ 4 wk exposed · stronger
same storm. same starting point. the only variable was direction.
we’re named after the one that walks in.▌
Cattle drift with the weather, so the weather keeps pace with them. Bison turn and walk straight in. They suffer less because they refuse to avoid the hard thing.
Here’s the thing: your business is on that prairie too.
YOUR PRAIRIE, YOUR WEATHER
Storms come in all shapes.
›a margin quietly compressing
›a key customer leaving
›a year going the wrong direction
›a growth surge straining your systems
›an opportunity demanding more capital than you have
›a hire that changes the company's shape
Both are storms. Both feel like the ground moving.
Bison walk into both.
So I built the firm that turns and walks in.
WALKING IN, IN PRACTICE
What head-on looks like with your numbers.
We walk in first.
Four weeks inside your numbers before anyone talks about a retainer. Every leak found, priced, put in writing. Guaranteed to find more than it costs.
We fix what the storm exposed.
Books, cash, forecast: the taped-together pieces become one connected system while the first dollars come back.
We stay for the weather after.
Someone senior runs the system with you, week after week. The next storm shows up on the forecast before it shows up in the bank.
I spent fifteen years watching finance functions drift and call it reporting. None of what we do instead is technique. It comes from what we believe.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Four of thirteen, to give you the flavor.
Most tell you what you want to hear.
Most fractional CFOs aren’t CFOs.
Too many people carry the title without the ability to sit across from a business owner and deliver news they don’t want to hear.
Most treat the symptoms inside the spreadsheet.
Financial problems are almost always operational problems.
The numbers don’t create problems, they reveal them. The real issues are in pricing, staffing, process, and execution. If your finance team only works inside the spreadsheet, they’re treating symptoms and not the real problems.
Most anchor you on revenue and net income.
Your P&L can lie. Your bank account can’t.
Revenue is a story. Profit is an opinion. Cash is a fact.
Most lock you in and hope you forget.
Get results and give an exit door.
No one should be trapped. By doing Cash & Profit Diagnostic first, we’ve built in an off-ramp. If you don’t need our help on an ongoing basis, we’ll give you the plan and let you do it yourself.
$ bison start --instinct=walk-in