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Sébastien Doat

Sébastien Doat

Co-founder, fractional CFO and CFO

Sébastien Doat is Co-founder, fractional CFO and CFO at Iter Advisors, which he founded in 2021 with Benjamin Ziza and Guillaume Rostand. He leads a team of 15 finance professionals and heads the firm's M&A and Transaction Services practice with Benjamin Ziza.

He began his career in Transaction Services at ACA Nexia in Paris. He carried out buy-side and sell-side financial due diligence, mainly on technology and telecommunications companies, and supported acquisitions and disposals: analytical reviews of income statements and balance sheets, budget and business plan analysis, and cash flow reviews. He supervised teams of two to four auditors alongside financial audit engagements.

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Professional background

He then joined the Mama Shelter hospitality group, where he led the holding company's acquisition strategy alongside its CFO, including target sourcing, due diligence and negotiations. Three transactions were completed in 18 months.

He subsequently moved into operational finance leadership. As the first CFO of Terres de Café, a speciality coffee brand operating in France and the United States, he raised €1.3 million and supported store openings in Paris and Los Angeles. At Carts Guru, a SaaS marketing automation platform, he was CFO and General Manager Europe, working between Barcelona and San Francisco. He supported the company as it grew to $7.4 million in ARR and more than 65 employees, raised $7.2 million, and managed finance, legal, tax and human resources, including the stock option plan.

Since founding Iter Advisors, he has worked as a fractional CFO for technology scale-ups in Spain and France. At SolarMente, he supported a €50 million funding round and then led the acquisition of Eltex, bringing the headcount to 110. He has also been CFO of Happy Scribe, a profitable, bootstrapped AI transcription platform with €7 million in ARR; Equito, with more than €3 million raised in equity and non-dilutive financing; Impact Plus, with €2.2 million raised from ECP; and NuuBB, with €2.5 million in bank financing. In total, he has contributed to more than €65 million in fundraising and financing.

This dual perspective, from the auditor who challenges the figures and the CFO who produces them, is what he brings to founders and investors: a business ready for scrutiny, whether for a funding round, an acquisition or a sale.

Sébastien is active in the startup ecosystem. He mentors at Wilco in Paris, Pôle Action Média in Perpignan, IDEM and the Netmentora network in Catalonia, and regularly contributes to Barcelona Finance Hub.

He holds the DCG and DSCG qualifications and graduated from ISEM Montpellier with a master's in Accounting, Finance and Audit and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid with a master's in Business and Finance, through a double-degree programme.

His role at Iter Advisors

Sébastien leads a team of 15 finance professionals, including fractional CFOs, finance managers and analysts, working across Barcelona, Paris and Toulouse. With Benjamin Ziza, he co-leads the M&A and Transaction Services practice: buy-side and sell-side financial due diligence, sale preparation, acquisition support and reviews for investment funds.

He remains directly involved in a portfolio of CFO engagements, setting financial priorities, structuring reporting and preparing decisions for management and the board.

Areas of experience

Cash flow and forecasts

Connecting receipts, expenditure and payment deadlines helps explain the resources available and the needs to anticipate. This monitoring helps leaders prepare trade-offs and discussions with funders.

Reporting and financial modelling

Budgets, indicators and financial models should explain the company’s situation. Assumptions, how they change and their limitations are part of the discussion, alongside results.

M&A, due diligence and financing

Sébastien works on the financial preparation of transactions and the discussions they require. His interview on the Le Nerf de la Guerre podcast covers, in particular, his experience of the financial aspects of subsidiary acquisitions.

Tools, automation and AI in finance

These subjects start with processes, data quality and the controls required. The finance role is to determine what needs to be measured and verified before selecting a technical solution.

Published articles (8)

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