Bas Lustenhouwer recently joined Dexory as the company’s first CFO following its $165 million Series C round. His background spans investment banking, fundraising, and scaling venture-backed businesses, including helping grow Nivoda from an early stage startup into a global company with hundreds of employees across multiple countries.
At Dexory, he now oversees finance for a robotics and AI company focused on warehouse intelligence and automation during a period of rapid growth and international expansion.
In this conversation, he reflects on his path from investment banking into startups, the realities of scaling finance inside high growth businesses, and why modern CFOs are expected to become strategic partners rather than simply report historical figures.
You joined Dexory just after its $165m Series C. How did your path through investment banking and scale ups lead you to where you are today?
It has been a wild ride and an interesting one. I feel incredibly fortunate.
I started my career in investment banking, first at a Dutch boutique M&A firm in Amsterdam and later at Nomura. I worked on M&A and equity capital markets transactions, mostly IPOs, and gained a lot of technical finance experience. It was also an environment where I learned how to communicate professionally, work in a structured way, and develop strong finance skills.
After about seven years, I left investment banking and spent six months backpacking around South America. When I came back, I became very interested in startups and started speaking with venture capital firms and founders. I quickly realized I did not want to work in venture capital because I did not want to keep moving from project to project without ever becoming deeply involved in building a business.
I wanted to move into startups, but I found myself in a difficult position. I did not have in-house startup experience yet, but I also did not want to start in a junior finance role. So I started offering my services to very early stage startups for free and acted as an “intern CFO” for a few companies while also teaching corporate finance at a startup incubator and doing some private equity work on the side.
One of those startups was Nivoda. After helping them raise seed capital, the founders asked me to join the business. Over the next six years, we raised multiple funding rounds and grew the company to around 500 employees globally.
When Dexory came onto my path, I felt very fortunate again because I got to pick up where I left off around the Series C stage.
What changes occur within a finance function once a company closes a $165m round?
I think the biggest immediate change is attention. Once you raise a large round, you are suddenly much more visible to the media, customers, investors, and the broader market.
Most operational changes are more gradual. Around the Series C stage, companies start transitioning from startup to scaleup, and there are far greater expectations around how professionally the business operates internally.
A lot of startups focus heavily on customer-facing products while neglecting internal infrastructure. I always liked an analogy from one of the founders at my previous company, who compared startups to a swan. Above the water, the swan looks elegant and calm, but below the water its feet are moving wildly.
As businesses mature, they need to improve what is happening underneath the surface. That is especially true in finance. Around the Series C stage, companies really need to get their house in order and become more professional.
What excites you most about building and scaling finance at Dexory right now?
The thing that excites me most is that I genuinely believe Dexory is building something really big. We are developing technology that can completely transform how warehouses operate.
It’s also exciting to be in a leadership role where I’m part of the major strategic discussions and decisions shaping the business.
From a finance perspective, I know what good looks like from previous experience. There is already a lot that works very well at Dexory, but I also see many opportunities to make things more efficient. That is incredibly motivating because I know how much value these changes can add to the company and to individual teams.
You have been the first CFO in a scaling business before. What does that role demand that later stage CFO roles might not?
I think one of the biggest differences is the need to get your hands dirty and work alongside the team.
At Dexory, we talk about the idea of being a “run alongside manager,” meaning you are there in the trenches with the team rather than sitting in an ivory tower telling people what to do.
I like to fully understand every role within my team because I am constantly thinking about how processes can become more efficient and whether they will still work when the company becomes ten times larger.
In a more mature organization, that level of involvement could become unhealthy and turn into micromanagement. It is still incredibly important to empower people and give them the authority to make decisions. Otherwise, you cannot scale. But in an early stage environment, leaders need to stay very close to the details and operations.
What is one common mistake founders make when preparing for major funding or transactions?
The biggest mistake is simply not being prepared.
Investors often ask the same types of questions. They want to understand customer acquisition costs, payback periods, unit economics, gross margins, and exactly why the company is raising money.
You would be surprised how many founders cannot clearly explain why they are raising a certain amount or what the money will specifically be used for.
Companies should always have up to date financial models and due diligence materials ready. If an investor asks for a financial model, the answer should either be “we are not sharing that yet” or “here it is.” It should never be “we still need to prepare it.”
Good companies are often approached unexpectedly, so businesses need to stay prepared at all times.
Do you think automation will fundamentally change how finance teams operate over the next five years?
Massively. Finance is still pretty archaic. A huge amount of work is still done manually in Excel or Google Sheets.
Finance is one of the functions where AI and automation will have a very large impact. In high growth businesses, you are almost forced to adopt technology quickly because you cannot solve every problem simply by hiring more people.
There are still thousands of people manually doing tasks like bank reconciliations that technology can already automate today. The transformation has really only just started, and it is going to fundamentally change how finance teams operate.
What do CEOs expect from CFOs today that they did not expect ten years ago?
Historically, CFOs were often viewed mainly as accountants focused on reporting historical numbers.
Today, finance has become far more forward looking and strategic. Modern CFOs need to become thought partners across the entire business, helping leaders make decisions about growth, hiring, investment, and expansion.
Finance should not simply report what happened in the past. It should help shape what happens next.
I see finance as a support function that gives teams the information and guidance they need to make better decisions. The role has evolved from reporting historical figures into helping drive strategy and future performance.
How do you protect yourself from burnout during periods of rapid growth?
I think burnout is something people often don’t see coming, which is why setting boundaries is incredibly important.
For me, that means blocking out time for family and exercise. Twice a week I do the nursery run with my son, give him his bath, and put him to bed. I also go running during the week and cycling on weekends.
Exercise, good sleep, and time away from work are extremely important to me because they make me more effective professionally as well.
I also try to limit time spent endlessly scrolling on social media because I think always being switched on can become unhealthy over time.
Looking back on your career, what has been your proudest achievement as a CFO?
Building Nivoda from the ground up has definitely been the proudest part of my career so far.
There were a lot of moments that felt surreal. One that stands out was raising the Series B round. After signing the term sheet, one of the founders and I walked around London for hours just trying to process what had happened. It felt like a real “pinch me” moment.
Another proud moment came after COVID restrictions were lifted and I finally got to meet the finance team in India in person after working with many of them remotely for two years. Walking into the office and seeing everyone face to face for the first time was incredibly emotional because we had built that team together remotely during a very difficult period.
How do you see the CFO role evolving in an AI-driven, real-time data environment?
As automation reduces the amount of time finance teams spend on repetitive tasks, CFOs and finance teams will be able to focus far more on strategic work.
That means spending more time analyzing customer acquisition, understanding which investments are actually driving growth, and helping the business make smarter decisions.
Finance can evolve into a function that adds much more value to the business instead of being seen as a necessary back office operation focused mainly on compliance and reporting.
AI and real time data will allow finance teams to spend more time on more strategic work that helps companies grow.
Bas Lustenhouwer recently joined Dexory as the company’s first CFO following its $165 million Series C round. His background spans investment banking, fundraising, and scaling venture-backed businesses, including helping grow Nivoda from an early stage startup into a global company with hundreds of employees across multiple countries.
At Dexory, he now oversees finance for a robotics and AI company focused on warehouse intelligence and automation during a period of rapid growth and international expansion.
In this conversation, he reflects on his path from investment banking into startups, the realities of scaling finance inside high growth businesses, and why modern CFOs are expected to become strategic partners rather than simply report historical figures.
