Authors: Rachel Tavana & Steve Nathan

Bastion is a web3 infrastructure company that creates custodial wallets and provides a regulated infrastructure for businesses to build web3 products on the blockchain. The company’s smart transaction routing system sorts transactions onto the blockchain or off-chain, depending on what is most appropriate. Bastion leverages its next-level understanding of web3 to provide its customers with data analytics on how its customer’s end users utilize their wallets. 

“Genuine partnership from the beginning”

Founders and early-stage leadership teams are tasked with a wide range of business, R&D, marketing, sales, and people functions that must be built out simultaneously. Consequently, finance and accounting systems are not always prioritized. Having a trusted finance partner early in a company’s lifecycle lays the groundwork for healthy, trusted finance and accounting systems, improved quality of data and reporting, and ultimately better decision-making in the present and future. 

“It was very apparent that [Attivo] genuinely wanted to help us succeed – from the number of people that were on the intro call to walk us through the products and services to how thoughtful the team was about what our needs were at our early stage, to how adeptly they suggested what those needs might be in the future…they were honest and straightforward. It was a genuine partnership from the beginning.”  

More than finance and accounting implementation 

Attivo tailored its approach to meet Bastion’s needs as an early-stage company that recently closed its first round of funding. The focus was on setting up key accounting tooling that met current needs and could grow with the company. 

The engagement between Attivo and Bastion grew over time. After the appropriate finance and accounting foundations were set, Attivo’s team pivoted to diagnosing additional functions where the team could add value. Payroll, HR, and similar administrative functions made sense within Bastion’s needs. 

Caroline shares, “Attivo was helpful in building systems that lay just beyond traditional finance and accounting– essential back office support functions, including our business licenses and registrations throughout the country. As we’ve grown as a business, the complexities of our business have grown. Attivo has been able to help us build and scale appropriately.”

Measured, thoughtful, and timely advice paired with quality execution has fostered real trust between the teams, “As we’ve grown, we’ve been able to carefully consider each step– and trust Attivo will offer us guidance on what’s best for our business. The team was proactive in offering to own tasks that needed to be handled, and set a clear plan for a seamless transition when we are ready to own that work for ourselves.” 

Working through the SVB crash and Bastion’s first audit 

“We are a regulated money service business with many compliance requirements, and we deal in complicated financial work streams that we had not fully articulated when we signed up to work with Attivo. It’s not easy to navigate individual state financial and reporting requirements on tight deadlines, but these licensing approvals are essential to our functioning as a business. Attivo handled everything we threw at them and helped us achieve our goals..”
 

“The Silicon Valley Bank meltdown happened when we were just starting. As an early stage company, this event was incredibly stressful. Attivo’s team was attentive, supportive, and helpful in the resources and insights they provided during an unprecedented time.”

Bastion also underwent a financial audit in its first year of operation. Audits are difficult tasks at any stage of a business. Caroline shares, “It was daunting, and we were not familiar with the support required for the audit process. Attivo was truly our partner through that time. ” 

Rachel Tavana, Controller and Attivo’s Account Manager with Bastion, shares about Attivo’s experience of the audit process, “There was an accelerated audit timeline that was needed to meet Bastion’s timeline for applying for Money Transmitter Licenses, which meant completing two audits in a month. Attivo worked with the audit firm to meet the audit timeline deliverables. We provided information and answered questions about the business, transactions, and financial statements. Our team has extensive professional audit backgrounds, and we were able to bring our understanding of accounting and auditing to help the process run smoothly.” 
 

Integrating a fractional CFO to level up strategic financial planning

Bastion eventually brought on Steve Nathan through Attivo’s fractional CFO services to continue scaling and developing the company’s strategic planning and forecasting. “It’s such an amazing value add. Steve has been a critical advisor and thought partner,” Caroline says. 

A major milestone that Steve worked with Bastion through was the company’s first board meeting. “Steve and Rachel put together a roadmap to help us think about strategic planning for 2024 from a financial perspective. We knew we wanted to have an in-person board meeting where we presented all this information. We wanted our plans, objectives, and goals for 2024 to be solid– to have numbers behind each decision, and we couldn’t have done that without Attivo.”

Caroline continues, “Those resources are hard to find with early-stage startups. Making decisions based on sound financial rationale and forecasting is critical… And our board loved it.”

“Caroline and the team opened access early to Attivo.” Steve says, “They gave us a seat at the table to help advise and leaned on our expertise in preparing a sufficient financial plan to meet external and internal operational requirements.”

Rachel adds, “Bastion’s openness and willingness to work with us was critical. Bastion was not shy about sharing  information, and it has made for a stronger working  relationship.”

Trust is demonstrated in results

Attivo really feels like an extension of our team. We’ve had real, tangible goals that we needed to meet and that we’ve met because of Attivo. We needed to get a financial audit done quickly to submit regulatory license applications. Attivo was able to partner with us to get it done. Attivo was also critical in preparing for our first board meeting and in our 2024 strategic planning– all important milestones for any company.”