Scholarcy, an EdTech startup worked with The CFO Centre until its successful acquisition by Texthelp in October 2024. The experience was one of faith, support, and expertise which delivered clarity, confidence, and strategic insight.
The co-founders of Scholarcy instinctively knew the business would be in a better position to transform academic study if it was backed an established industry player. Since the co-founders had no previous mergers and acquisitions experience they looked to The CFO Centre for guidance and support in taking the business to the next level of its evolution.
An initial strategic review was undertaken to explore the growth plan for the business and to understand the extent to which the business was prepared for the external scrutiny and demands of an exit event.
Working as one team, the CFO and co-founders agreed a detailed plan of action to ensure the business was well prepared. This action plan was initially focused on upgrading financial reporting and planning tools.
Scholarcy’s reporting and planning framework was designed with investors in mind and from day-1 the co-founders were able to view the business in the eyes of a potential investor. This provided a higher level of clarity and helped the co-founders to assess the value implications of their decisions.
Over the next 12 months the co-founders worked closely with The CFO Centre to prepare all the materials needed to support an exit event, including an Information Memorandum and a data room with supporting documentation, anticipating the needs of potential investors.
After 12 months of work, Scholarcy was well prepared for an M&A process. With the business already on a highly successful trajectory, the co-founders felt confident in initiating the sale process.
Our London-based CFO, Marcos Theodosiou, was the perfect candidate for this client with experience of multiple mergers, acquisitions and exits across many sectors, including tech startups.
Marcos was able to give the client confidence in the potential of their business, something that was instrumental to them determining the next stage of their journey. He combined his pragmatism and energy to help explore opportunities and goals and, eventually, laid out a structured, step-by-step process for exit which meant progress could be made.
Scholarcy’s founders felt reassured throughout the complex process and, following a successful introduction to an M&A advisory firm by The CFO Centre, were ready to pitch to prospective buyers. Scholarcy’s robust exit preparation was key in helping the selected buyer to complete due diligence and execute the deal in record time.
The value we provide to our clients doesn’t always take the form of reports or forecasts, something that was highlighted here as they described their quiet confidence in the knowledge that their historical and projected financial plans were detailed, solid, and ready to be scrutinised.
The CFO’s Centre’s journey with Scholarcy proves that a business doesn’t need to be struggling or experiencing pain to benefit from bringing in a fractional CFO. Scholarcy was a very successful business facing continually changing circumstances and challenges, which required a different level of experience and financial leadership. We were able to provide this at a critical time and this proved to be transformational for the co-founders.
We wouldn’t have got there without the faith that The CFO Centre had in us and the impeccable service they provided.”
Emma Warren-Jones – Co-Founder of Scholarcy
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