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How SmartTab Broke the Capital Bottleneck, Unified Hardware and SaaS, and Freed the Founder to Scale

SmartTab White

Industry

Technology

Challenge

SmartTab’s founder was stuck as the finance bottleneck, constantly putting out cash flow fires and unable to scale hardware fast enough to match SaaS demand. The lack of real-time visibility and a clear capital plan meant missed opportunities and constant anxiety.

Results

With a unified financial model, scenario planning, and a new growth equity partner, SmartTab eliminated cash crunches, accelerated hardware fulfillment, and boosted valuation by moving to a recurring-revenue model—freeing the founder to focus on growth, not firefighting.

Funding Profile

Non-institutional, Growth equity

www.smarttab.com
+35%
Valuation
2x
Faster Decision Making
1.5x
EBITDA
Zero
Cash Crunches 14 Months Running

“Russell helped me get out of ‘firefighter’ mode and finally lead with confidence. His strategic insight and practical systems brought clarity to our numbers, unlocked new capital, and enabled us to scale SmartTab far beyond what I thought possible. Our valuation and profitability have never been stronger—he’s an invaluable partner in our growth.”

Daniel Baron

CEO @ SmartTab

SmartTab Product

Company Overview

SmartTab is a San Francisco-based provider of point-of-sale (POS) systems tailored for high-volume bars, nightclubs, and restaurants. Their hybrid cloud-based platform combines lightning-fast transactions with intuitive interfaces, offering features like biometric staff tracking, real-time reporting, and offline payment processing. Designed by industry professionals, SmartTab empowers hospitality operators to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive profitability without the constraints of traditional POS systems. 

The Challenge

SmartTab was winning their niche—fast growth, a beloved product, and raving customers. But behind the scenes, the founder was constantly in “fire drill mode”—juggling cash flow, supply chain headaches, payroll, and fundraising.

The company’s capital constraints meant they couldn’t manufacture or deliver enough POS hardware to keep up with SaaS demand, forcing painful choices and bottlenecking growth.

Despite strong recurring revenue, they faced a feast-or-famine cycle, and the CEO was the single point of failure for all strategic finance, planning, and board/investor updates.

The Solution

Partnering with Puget Sound CFO, SmartTab’s leadership team:

  • Implemented real-time, rolling cash flow forecasting to see trouble before it hit and plan ahead with confidence.

  • Aligned leadership around a unified set of financial and operational metrics—bridging the gap between finance, sales, ops, and supply chain.

  • Built inventory and demand planning models to anticipate and fund hardware needs, smoothing production and fulfillment.

  • Clarified capital strategy and scenario planning—exploring debt, equity, and hybrid options to fund growth without losing strategic control.

  • Secured a growth equity partner (family office/strategic investor) to fuel expansion, upgrade systems, and unlock the Hardware-as-a-Service model.

  • Offloaded routine finance and reporting tasks from the founder—giving them time and bandwidth to focus on vision, not just survival.

 

“Russell and his team helped us break the cycle and unlock real growth. We finally have the systems and partners to scale with confidence—and I’m no longer the bottleneck.”

The Results

  • No more cash scrambles—payroll and supplier anxiety replaced by visibility and confidence.

  • Seamless scaling: Hardware, SaaS, and payments now grow together, supported by capital and clear data.

  • Stronger valuation: Shifting to HaaS (recurring model) boosted predictability, margin, and multiple—positioning for the next round or an eventual exit.

  • Leadership team alignment: Weekly rhythm, faster decisions, and no more “is this the right number?” debates.

  • Founder out of the weeds: Strategic finance, capital raising, and scenario planning run as a team sport—not a solo act.

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