About Finative
About Finative: The Integrated Finance Team for Founder-Led Companies
The Origin
Built by a finance leader who's been in your shoes.
Mike Heller is the founder and CEO of Finative, a fractional finance and accounting practice built for early- and growth-stage companies. With over a decade of senior finance experience, he started Finative on a simple observation: most founders bring finance in too late, and when they do, it rarely fits how their business actually works.
Mike and his team embed directly into the businesses they support, tailoring their approach to each company's specific needs and stage. There's no one-size-fits-all playbook. He works best with founders who want a trusted partner they can rely on for the finance function and who value clear, honest insights over complexity.
Before founding Finative, Mike held senior finance leadership roles at Chief, Fortune, and General Assembly, giving him firsthand experience navigating the financial challenges that come with growth, fundraising, and organizational change. His clients don't just get better reporting. They get a partner who takes ownership.
Mike Heller, Founder & CEO
Partner Spotlight
The infrastructure behind every number.
Nemanja Plavsic is a Partner and Head of Accounting & Operations at Finative, where he focuses on building the financial infrastructure that allows businesses to scale, from designing accounting systems and integrations to establishing workflows aligned with U.S. GAAP and best practices.
Nemanja works closely with founders and finance teams to create tailored accounting environments that reflect how each business actually operates. Rather than forcing standardized processes, he designs solutions around the company's stage, tools, and operational complexity, ensuring accuracy, scalability, and clarity in financial reporting.
At Finative, he leads the accounting function end-to-end, including system architecture, month-end close processes, and team management. He is particularly focused on creating efficient, repeatable workflows and building teams that can deliver consistent, high-quality financials.
Before joining Finative, Nemanja spent four years at FIS Global as a Business Technology Consultant, working on capital markets products and advising clients on front- and back-office systems. Prior to that, he spent four years at Apex Group as a Private Equity Controller, progressing from Associate to Manager, where he managed fund structures, investor reporting, and complex reconciliations.
Nemanja Plavsic, Partner & Head of Accounting & Operations
Why We Exist
Because founders deserve better than a patchwork of providers.
The market gives founders two options: hire an expensive in-house team before you can afford it, or stitch together a bookkeeper, a fractional CFO, and a consulting firm that have never met each other.
We built a third option. One team that owns accounting execution, financial planning, and strategic leadership - integrated from day one, scaled to your stage, and operated with the rigor and urgency of people who've been in your shoes.
Our Team
Depth and reliability at every stage of growth.
The Finative team is made up of seasoned, fully vetted professionals who bring the right expertise to every engagement covering bookkeeping, payroll, financial systems, and FP&A to give clients the depth and reliability they need at every stage of growth.
Our Extended Network
One point of contact, no matter the need.
Some client needs go beyond our core scope and that's okay. We've built relationships with trusted tax attorneys, auditors, and banking and lending partners we can bring in when the situation calls for it. We stay involved throughout, so you have one point of contact and nothing gets lost in translation.
What We Believe
Principles, not platitudes.
Radical Ownership
We don't send deliverables and disappear. When something breaks, we own it. When a number doesn't tie, we find out why. Your finance function is our responsibility - not just our assignment.
Embedded, Not Outsourced
We join your Slack, attend your standups, and learn your business. The goal is to feel like your team, not a vendor you manage. The best compliment we get is when a new hire asks which department we sit in.
No Seams
The gaps between providers are where errors live. We eliminate those gaps by integrating accounting, FP&A, and CFO support into one team with shared context, shared systems, and a single source of truth.
Tools Over Ego
We use the best available technology - not because it's trendy, but because it makes our work faster and more accurate. We don't worship tools, and we don't resist them. We deploy them where they create real value.
Where We Work
Our Offices
US Office
Belgrade Office
We're Hiring
Come build with us.
We're growing our team in New York and Belgrade. See our open roles.
From Our Desk
How we think about finance for growth-stage companies.
A selection of frameworks and guides that reflect how we work with founders day to day.