Finance is central to business decision-making, yet many mid-market companies still rely on outdated tools that slow down forecasting, budgeting and financial planning. While other departments have moved to modern software, finance teams still rely on spreadsheets, which makes collaboration and efficiency harder to achieve.
Abacum was founded to change that. The company provides mid-market firms with a more intuitive platform for real-time financial insights.
To learn more about Abacum’s journey and vision, we spoke with Jorge Lluch, co-founder and COO.
Tell us more about your company and its offering
Abacum is a financial planning and analysis (FP&A) solution for mid-market firms. We enable companies to access much faster reporting, more accurate forecasting and better budgeting.
Our platform means that finance teams can be much more impactful across their organisation as they can deliver faster and more reliable information and insights seamlessly. They can also collaborate more effectively internally and enjoy a much friendlier user experience, rather than being forced to rely on spreadsheets like Excel or Google Sheets.
We are targeting companies between 200 and 2,000 employees – i.e. proper mid-market businesses across the globe. We don’t have any problems with localisation as finance is an international language and we can support firms all over the world.
Abacum works with some of the world’s leading high-growth, mid-market companies, including the likes of Strava, ezCater, JG Wentworth, RapidSOS, Lendable, Cabify, Freepik, Aiven and Rippling, among others.
What problem was your company set up to solve?
In the summer of 2019, my friend Julio from my MBA reached out and said that he wanted to start his own company by building software for finance teams. I got really excited by the idea of building the solution that I wished I’d had for many years. Being forced to work manually from spreadsheets for years had been a particular point of frustration throughout my time as a CFO, especially while other companies and teams had embraced the SaaS revolution. From there, Abacum was born.
We launched Abacum because we wanted to create a product that we truly wished we had ourselves. Having been so close to the problems experienced by finance teams for so long, we really understood the pain points. It didn’t make any sense to us that the finance department was stuck in the past, while other teams had already embraced the SaaS revolution.
Since launch, how has your company evolved?
Since our launch, the company has evolved tremendously. Julio and I co-founded the business, and within our first few months, we rapidly expanded – growing our team to nearly 12 people in under six months and acquiring customers across Europe and the US.
This momentum accelerated when we joined Y Combinator in the winter of 2021, which validated our vision and execution. By the end of YC, we had secured our Series C with Creandum, further fuelling our growth.
At the start of 2021, we were a team of 10; by year’s end, after closing our Series A with Atomico, we had nearly 60 employees. That growth continued into 2022, reaching 120 team members by June – right as global markets shifted, with rising interest rates reshaping the economic landscape.
Looking back at that first phase of the company, our rapid ARR growth drove two consecutive funding rounds in 2021, propelled by favourable market conditions and a prevailing ‘growth-at-all-costs’ mindset. By 2022, we had established offices in New York and Barcelona. However, as public markets reacted to rising interest rates and the resulting funding crunch, we had to pivot towards a strategy of efficient growth. This meant resizing the company and refining our execution, but we never stopped growing.
Despite the shifting market dynamics, we continued to scale year over year. In 2024 – a pivotal year for us – we saw a significant acceleration in sales while becoming more efficient than ever. Now, as we look ahead to 2025, there’s a strong sense of optimism and excitement. With a mature product and a solid foundation, we are poised for a great year ahead.
What has been the biggest challenge or most ‘tricky moment’ to overcome?
At every stage, there has been a major challenge to overcome. Why? Because in hypergrowth, each quarter presents something entirely new. You start the quarter facing a goal you’ve never tackled before and sustaining that level of growth means the next quarter will demand even more. That inherently requires doing things you haven’t done before.
Every time a new quarter begins, it feels like opening the doors to a store that needs to be restocked from scratch. You have to push the boundaries – developing the product further, scaling the business, and finding new ways to execute. So, while it often feels like the present moment is the most challenging, that feeling comes from continuously stepping into the unknown and pushing forward.
Looking at the bigger picture, some might say the early years were easier, given the abundant capital flowing into tech companies at the time. I’d agree that fundraising wasn’t the challenge it is today. But as market conditions shifted, so did our mindset. Transitioning to efficient growth wasn’t just a necessity; it also created opportunities. Today, our unit economics are extremely solid, unlocking new funding options and strategic choices that wouldn’t have been available to us in the early days.
What are your biggest achievements or ‘proudest moment’ so far?
There are two things I’m most proud of. First, the opportunity to work with incredible, highly talented individuals. It’s truly fulfilling to build something alongside my friend Julio and to create a company where people genuinely enjoy working. As a founder, that’s one of the most rewarding feelings – fostering an environment where talented people thrive.
Second, the positive feedback we receive from our customers. We built this tool with a clear vision: to make finance teams the heroes of their organisations. Our mission is to help companies make better decisions by giving them access to faster, more accurate information. Every time we see that vision and mission come to life; it’s an incredibly rewarding moment.
How would you describe the culture of your company?
At Abacum, our culture is deeply rooted in our core values – they are fundamental to who we are and how we operate. From the very beginning, in my early conversations with Julio, defining the type of company we wanted to build, we placed a strong emphasis on values, such as:
- Customer obsession – We want people who care deeply about our customers’ success and satisfaction. Their happiness is our priority.
- Ambition – We seek individuals who see Abacum as an opportunity to grow, make an impact, and push themselves to achieve great things.
- Good people – We believe that success comes from surrounding ourselves with not just talented professionals but genuinely good people. This journey is challenging, and having the right people makes it more enjoyable and meaningful. For us, the end never justifies the means – we do things the right way.
- Tough love – We foster an environment where people support each other’s growth through honest feedback and encouragement. It’s about pushing each other forward, while also genuinely caring about our teammates’ success.
Beyond values, we also embrace key working principles that define how we operate:
- Embracing uncertainty – Early-stage startups aren’t for everyone. They require adaptability, resilience, and the ability to navigate uncertainty while pushing forward, even with limited resources.
- 100 per cent effort and high standards – We expect everyone to bring their best, holding themselves and their peers to high standards of excellence.
- Teamwork and collective success – We move forward together. As the saying goes, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together’.
- Commitment to winning – We want people who are fully invested in our mission, ready to make things happen and drive real impact.
At Abacum, culture is not just a set of ideas – it’s the foundation of everything we do.
What’s in store for the future?
The next few years are going to be really interesting as the prominence of AI in the fintech space grows. Consequently, it’s going to be really difficult for regulation to keep up with innovation.
As AI continues to evolve, it will result in transformative changes in fintech, including more personalised financial services, advanced fraud detection, and streamlined customer experiences. However, this rapid innovation also raises significant challenges for regulators, such as ensuring data privacy, preventing algorithmic bias, and maintaining transparency in the decision-making process.
Striking the right balance between fostering innovation and protecting consumers will be critical. Fintech companies will need to work closely with regulators to establish frameworks that adapt to the fast-paced changes, while also maintaining trust and fairness in the financial ecosystem. The next 36 months or so will undoubtedly define the future of coexistence between AI and fintech in a sustainable and ethical manner.
