Click here for Part I & Part III

With over 25 years’ financial experience, many in the Big Five accounting firms, Gene Godick has raised hundreds of millions in equity and debt financing, led over 50 M&A transactions and a $56 million initial public offering.

Clearly, he knows all there is to finance and then some. So when he set out for a second time on the path of entrepreneurship with  G-Squared Partners, he created what he calls a “finance team in a box,” now being used by about 30 startups in Greater Philadelphia.

“We provide outsourced accounting, CFO, controller, VP finance services, and we provide everything from helping companies raise money to budgeting and forecasting,” Godick, who started his career at Arthur Andersen, told citybizlist’s Edwin Warfield in an interview.

Godick’s first venture came in 2006 as cofounder of Tafford Uniforms, an online retailer of nursing uniforms. His firm bought the assets of Tafford Manufacturing in an Article Nine sale and in 2012 sold Tafford to a private equity-backed strategic buyer.

EDWIN WARFIELD: How does growth occur in early stage companies such as yours?

GENE GODICK: I think where companies struggle with budgeting is really understanding what drives the revenues. I think a lot of companies, like we have some 30 companies that we build budgets or forecasts for. I would say 90%-95% of them get their costs right, or they’re conservative with their costs, but most companies, I think, entrepreneurs by nature, and I am one as well, are overly optimistic about how much new revenue or sales they’re going to generate in a year, and I think they tend to overestimate their capacity to generate new revenues and how long it will take.

We see companies disappoint, whether it’s disappointing themselves or disappointing their investors. It’s because they’re not able to grow as fast as they promised they would be able to grow. I think people tend to overestimate, particularly very early in their development. What it’s going to take to get people over the hump and get contracts signed and get yourselves working?

I started the firm in the fall of 2012. At the end of 2013, we were two people. At the end of 2014, we were four people and we’re 19 people today. I know I probably skipped a year or two there. Last year, we did $2.5 million in revenue. In the last couple of years we’ve grown at about 60% a year, revenue growth. I mean the numbers are small. At some point in time the law of larger numbers will catch up on us.

EDWIN WARFIELD: What are your markets and where does further growth come from?

GENE GODICK: Right now, we are focused on D.C. to New York, particularly with a preference for Philly and New York. It’s easy to get to New York from where I live. From our office, it’s easy to get to New York and I’m a big believer in going fishing where the fish are. There are a lot of interesting things going on from a technology perspective in the Allentown, Bethlehem and Eastern area. We’re starting to also focus on the Lehigh Valley. It’s an easy ride for us there and we want to go where entrepreneurs need help. Could we be in Silicon Valley? Sure, we could be, because there are a million people like us in Silicon Valley. I used to ride on airplanes all the time and I don’t have a strong desire to do it other than when we’re going on vacation, so I don’t need to get on an airplane to do it. I mean could we be in Boston and stuff, but right now I think there are plenty of opportunities between the areas that are an hour’s drive or on the Amtrak/Acela corridor that we can really focus on and do well with without having to spread ourselves too thin.

I always think of the game of Risk. If you think of the game of Risk, when you get in trouble is when your armies are too spread out. One of the things I like seeing is, I get to see all my people in the office every day and it scares me a little bit of having multiple offices in multiple areas but right now we’re kind of focused on just doing a great job for our clients and if we do that I think the growth will come.

Connect with Gene on LinkedIn

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ABOUT NEWMARK GRUBB KNIGHT FRANK

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) is one of the world's leading commercial real estate advisory firms. Together with London-based partner Knight Frank and independently-owned offices, NGKF's 14,100 professionals operate from more than 400 offices in established and emerging property markets on six continents.

With roots dating back to 1929, NGKF's strong foundation makes it one of the most trusted names in commercial real estate. NGKF's full-service platform comprises BGC's real estate services segment, offering commercial real estate tenants, landlords, investors and developers a wide range of services including leasing; capital markets services, including investment sales, debt placement, appraisal, and valuation services; commercial mortgage brokerage services; as well as corporate advisory services, consulting, project and development management, and property and corporate facilities management services. For further information, visit www.ngkf.com.

NGKF is a part of BGC Partners, Inc., a leading global brokerage company servicing the financial and real estate markets. BGC's common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol (NASDAQ: BGCP). BGC also has an outstanding bond issuance of Senior Notes due June 15, 2042, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol (NYSE: BGCA). BGC Partners is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer  Howard W. Lutnick. For more information, please visit http://www.bgcpartners.com/.

Edwin Warfield, CEO of citybizlist, conducts the CEO Interviews.

If you're interested in reaching CEOs, please contact edwin.warfield@citybuzz.co

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