Reaching $1.5 billion in a year with Veriff CFO Amish Moody

Amish was shortlisted for Estonia’s CFO of the Year Award for his work during the past year with us, and was recognized with an Impactful CFO Award due to widespread acclaim from both Veriff’s team and the public.

We had a chat with Amish to learn more about his time at Veriff so far, what have been his highlights during the first 12 months, and plans for the time ahead.

How has the first year at Veriff been for you and for your team?

It’s been an exciting and extremely interesting year. We have managed to grow our team and company thanks to all team members' hard work and dedication, plus some luck as well. We are expanding our business in the U.S., U.K., Estonia and beyond.

Last October we launched our new Tech Hub in Barcelona, which has since grown to over 30 team members and an office our global team visits often. It has definitely been an interesting year, but there is also a lot that we are still working on.

Did you manage to achieve the goals you and your team set?

When I joined Veriff a year ago, we had a very clear plan. Veriff had reached an interesting phase where the technology had proven itself for businesses on one hand and as a company,  we had a demand for the product with new clients coming in. To continue supporting the growth, we needed to focus on strengthening our business operations, which hadn’t been a priority in earlier stages. 

We decided to raise additional capital to support this effort. My personal focus is the financial organization and working on how financial planning and analysis, as well as accounting, supports the hyper growth that we are experiencing at the moment.

Soon after you joined the team, Veriff raised its Series B which was the largest the IDV industry had seen. Just 9 months, later the company crossed the magical $1 billion dollar evaluation line after the Series C. How did you do it? 

Raising capital or funding shouldn’t be and never was a goal on its own for us at Veriff. We raised additional funds to support our growth - and we are looking to grow more and do it well. I’m glad to say that both of our funding rounds have been rather quick and smooth processes, and we have had the luxury of choosing who we would like to work with. 

Raising additional funding has accelerated our growth and it gives our clients a certain assurance and a clear signal to the market that we are a partner who can be trusted. Becoming a unicorn supports the growth of a company, as it creates a reputation and reassurance to clients that you are of a certain size. However, looking at the bigger picture, it is not a goal on its own, but rather a mid-term evaluation made by someone else.

Additionally, as all Veriffians are owners of the company through our stock options program, these two funding rounds have been a testament to their dedication and work as well. This helps to build ownership within the company.

You’ve been awarded for your work at Veriff in recognition of the impact you’ve made. In your opinion, what makes a good CFO?

There are many different types of CFOs, but there is no one thing that makes you excellent - being a good CFO involves a variety of things. I think a good CFO has a broad vision of what a company needs. 

They know more generally the business logic and the business model, but also have the basics of accounting, the risks. Having a good understanding of how the product works is also crucial. However, above all, they care a lot about people - their team, people and customers.

What is your focus on the next 12 months?

Our focus for the next 12 months is on growth. The company is currently expanding to Barcelona and the U.K., as well as expanding our operations in Estonia and the U.S. That's our main focus. The biggest challenge is finding people and maintaining our incredible company culture. It should be just as enjoyable for everyone to work in a company when there are 100 people as well as when there are 500 people.

--------

Before joining Veriff, Amish spent over 5 years in a U.K,-based fintech, Monese, as VP of Finance, responsible for the accounting, financial planning and analysis, business intelligence and treasury functions. 

He oversaw the company’s rapid development from pre-launch to a headcount of several hundred, with operations in 4 countries. Prior to Monese, Amish had 10 years experience as an investment banker, working on mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and strategic advisory projects in Central and Eastern Europe.