From Big Corporate to Back of House: Amy Spandau’s Case for Building Small Businesses Right

🎙️ From Startup Rebuild to Boutique CFO: Amy Spandau’s Path to Ablaze FinancialAmy Spandau, founder of Ablaze Financial, has spent 25 years solving problems most small business owners don’t even know they have. She rebuilt a company that was about to implode, got promoted to CFO mid-crisis at Tendril, endured the verbal culture of EchoStar, lost everything on a swindled ranch deal, and came out the other side with a clear mission: build back-of-house infrastructure for founders at the one-to-five million revenue mark before it’s too late to do it right.✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:Promoted from controller to CFO mid-restructuring — how she learned on the job and led through itDecember 6, 2012: the mass layoff that cost 135 jobs and created a company worth exitingWhy the CFO seat at EchoStar taught her what abuse of power looks like at the highest levelsWalking away from MediaKind when the board wouldn’t do the right thingThe ranch deal that drained her savings, retirement accounts, and nearly everything she had builtHow a Craigslist sale became her first Ablaze clientWhy fractional CFO paired with a bookkeeper is not enough — and what the gap actually costs foundersThe back-of-house suite: accounting, finance, tax coordination, HR structure, insurance, and legal translationPersonal books for every client — because commingled finances are the default at this stageThe alligator closest to the boat: how Amy helps founders prioritize the right fights🌟 Amy’s Key Mentors:Chip (CEO at Tendril): Backed Amy’s CFO promotion when she had never done it before, threw out her first board deck, and taught her through every revisionHer CFO Mentor (Who Went to EchoStar): Spotted her readiness before she did and gave her the platform to prove itHer Head of HR at Tendril: Co-architect of the five values — led with ‘do the right thing’ — that still guide Amy todayHer Partner During the Ranch Years: Steady support through the most devastating financial and personal loss of her careerHer College-Aged Team Members: The living proof that the next generation of accountants, given the right environment, can punch well above their weight👉 Don’t miss this conversation about what it costs to do the right thing, why the smallest businesses deserve the most rigorous financial infrastructure, and how someone who lost everything built a firm that has grown to over a million in revenue without a single dollar of marketing.🔗 Connect with Amy Spandau:Website: ablazefinancial.comLinkedIn: Amy J. SpandauInstagram: @amyjspandau📎 Transcript Available: From Big Corporate to Back of House: Amy Spandau’s Case for Building Small Businesses Right📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📎 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com