@ saul.goodman@example.com
tel +372 555 0148
web saulgoodman.example.com
base Kalamaja, Tallinn
1 Problem
First-time founders in the Baltics raise too late and price rounds badly. I have watched 40+ do it since 2016 and coached 31 to do it better. After a while, watching got a bit boring, so I switched to advising full time.
Early teams show metrics to raise money and rarely use them to run the company.
gap I keep closing
4 Solution
Hands-on advisory: I sit in on board calls, rebuild the model, and coach the raise.
Fixed 12-week programs with a defined end date.
8 Key metrics
31 teams advised since 2019
EUR 54M raised across my portfolio
9 board / observer seats held
3 Unique value
An operator who has sold, hired, and run out of cash, now reading your board deck line by line.
I have been a founder (one exit, one shutdown), a VC associate, and a fractional COO. I know which numbers a partner will poke at before you do.
high-concept: the advisor who already made your mistakes
9 Unfair advantage
Direct intros to 26 Nordic and Baltic funds from 6 years of deal flow.
Estonian, Russian, and English at native level.
5 Channels
Referrals from prior founders (~70% of inbound)
"Raise Notes" newsletter, 3,800 subscribers
2 Who I serve
Pre-seed to Series A SaaS and fintech teams, 3 to 25 people.
Second-time founders who want honest pushback on the plan.
Angels and micro-funds who ask me to diligence a deal.
early adopters
7 Track record (cost side: where the hours went)
Goodman Advisory · Founder & principal2019 – now
- Advised 31 startups; 22 closed a follow-on round within 14 months.
- Ran the model and raise for a fintech that went from EUR 40k to EUR 610k MRR in 20 months.
- Coached 4 teams through down rounds without losing the founding team.
Põhjala Ventures · Investment associate2016 – 2019
- Screened ~900 decks a year; led diligence on 11 that closed.
- Sat as observer on 5 portfolio boards across SaaS and logistics.
Kaupmees (retail SaaS) · Co-founder & COO2012 – 2016
- Grew to 140 paying merchants and a 9-person team; sold to a strategic buyer in 2016.
- Owned hiring, ops, and the seed raise of EUR 750k.
6 Proof & credentials (revenue side: what it returns)
Education · BSc Economics, Tartu University (2008–2011). Founder Institute mentor since 2020.
Selected wins
2 acquisitions I advised · 1 IPO-track cap table I cleaned up · 6 first checks I unblocked
Speaking · 14 talks on lean fundraising at Baltic startup events, 2021–2025.
financial modeling
cap tables
SaaS metrics
term sheets
board ops
hiring
GTM