Get on the fast track
to a flawless raise.
Getting funders interested in your pitch deck isn't about what's on it.
It's what's behind it that seals the deal.
Raising money is a thankless task:
Endless outreaches to deafening silence
Disengaged attention to your impassioned pitch
Polite but superficial questions but no cigar.
Few first time founders are aware of the biggest danger in their pitch:
The lack of a credible financial story.
Without it, your pitch is just vaporware for serious investors.
ANNOUNCING
Achiiv Financial Storytelling Interactive
The only financial story-focused, no-frills program to prepare you for a flawless raise.
A great financial story helps you:
Showcase your provable business model
Bring rock solid "receipts" that gain investor trust
Pressure test your narrative so you're battle-tested
Gain unshakeable confidence.
Build your foundation on our tested SPARC (TM) Sequence, with every critical element investors look for.
Craft your story step-by-step at your own pace, with access to:
Sharp, on-point video guides
Examples, do’s and don’ts
Tools and worksheets
Yardsticks to pressure test your story
Crack your thorny problems in our regular office hours with financial story experts
Test your story in “Champion Challenger” sessions. Present and defend every aspect of your financial story. Find your flaws before investors do.
Have more questions? Send them through our Story Hotline to get exclusive access to our expert answers. Not just to your questions, but to the entire database.
Make even faster progress with our AMA sessions, featuring investors, subject matter experts and experienced founders.
Top up your tank and recharge your batteries with new snack-sized videos, tips and more - our stockpile is expanding!
Get in the zone. Get focused. Get it together.
Achiiv Financial Storytelling Interactive
An unbeatable investment in your startup's future!
Grab this limited-time offer for the waitlist only!
Starter
All the great benefits
Month-to-month flexiblity
$99 $49
per month
Pro
Get support for the long haul
Enjoy two months off!
$990 $490
per year
Running an accelerator or startup program?
Get in touch for custom packages!
Get complimentary access to more benefits !
Achiiv Founder Finance Institute
A continuously growing collection of snackable, sharp and concise insights on every aspect of your financial story
A community of like-minded peers and founders you can access by industry, geography or topic
Discussions, round tables, and more
Here's what founders have to say
Without doubt this is one of the most sophisticated sources for the knowledge a founder needs to build their financial story.
I'd easily trade a majority of my time in any traditional accelerator program only to focus on the contents you provided. Every minute I get to learn from you is a big gain.
H.Heidari, Ph.D | Founder & CEO, C+UP
Resurgence Cleantech Accelerator | University of Chicago
Shubha is one of the most phenomenal mentors I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and learning from.
Her disciplined, step-by-step approach transformed abstract and complex concepts into tangible and concrete insights.
She is hands down the best financial mentor and advisor one could hope for in a startup! Highly highly recommend her!
Longsha Liu, Co Founder | Vita Innovations (Techstars ‘24)
Knight Hennessy Scholar and MD Candidate, Stanford Univ.
I appreciate how knowledgeable and insightful Shubha's approach is in helping founders with their financial storytelling. I was able to develop key financial metrics for my pitch which was extremely beneficial since we are pre-revenue. It also instilled confidence in my ability to tell our financial story.
I really appreciate Shubha's direct and disciplined approach and her ability to break down generalized financial metrics into specific examples for your particular situation.
Christine Schwartz, Cofounder
Virtual Round Ballers
Saved me wasted effort. Helped me tie the pitch deck, business model, fundraising goals, future steps together.
I had it all in my head but was not transferring it to be reflected in my pitch deck. You showed me how to do this.
Amna Zeb, Founder
InterJad
A perfect match for startup programs!
Shubha is a force of nature! When she introduced me to financial storytelling and financial fidelity concepts, I was quite impressed with her approach, but nothing could have quite prepared me for the 6-week workshop that she offered to the cleantech founders in our inaugural cohort!
She challenged our founders to think critically about each and every slide, how to look at everything from top-down and bottom-up, how to evaluate the market opportunity realistically, how to present their business strategy and value proposition sensibly, and most importantly how to look at all these concepts through a financial lens as they present them.
Financial storytelling is the universal language all stakeholders, from investors to customers, will understand and respond to. Thanks to Shubha, our entrepreneurs have a solid foundation to get it right!
Ozge Guney Altay, Ph.D.
Director, Resurgence Cleantech Accelerator, Polsky Deep Tech Ventures
Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation | THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Shubha is a phenomenal coach and speaker. Her financial storytelling concepts are spot on for early stage startups.
I appreciate her delivery of complex financial models in very simplified concepts that can be learned and understood by a STEM founder with no financial background and training.
Tanu Chatterji, PhD.
Associate Director of Startup Development | Adjunct Faculty, Bauer College of Business
Division of Energy and Innovation | University of Houston Technology Bridge
Shubha provides insights into financial storytelling that are clear, concise and actionable. Her perspective is one I have learned from and now teach to my students.
Nik Rokop
Coleman Foundation Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship
Program Director - Master of Technological Entrepreneurship
Director - Center for Sports Innovation
Stuart School of Business | Illinois Institute of Technology
Shubha Chakravarthy's keynote on financial storytelling was a resounding success with the entrepreneurs in attendance at the "Raising Capital" forum in the Cayman Islands. Her presentation was clear, engaging and actionable, offering practical advice and key takeaways on starting and growing a business.
I was particularly impressed by how Shubha's expertise and clear explanations made complex financial concepts accessible to everyone in the room.
Overall, the 150+ strong audience appreciated her presentation for its relevance, insightful examples, and the simplicity and honesty of her approach. We would definitely love to have her back to work with our entrepreneurs again.
Althea West-Myers I Director
Cayman Islands Centre for Business Development
Ministry of Investment, Innovation and Social Development
Cayman Islands Government
Shubha delivered an insightful Financial Storytelling lecture for our Startup Accelerator at Illinois Tech. In the startup world, aspiring entrepreneurs are often bombarded with conflicting advice from self-proclaimed “gurus.”
Shubha is different. She cut through the noise, emphasizing the often-overlooked power of financial storytelling in shaping a business. Her structured framework helped our teams align their startup narratives with solid, backable proof—boosting their credibility with both customers and investors.
Her approach resonated deeply, sparking meaningful discussions that continued well beyond the session. I wholeheartedly recommend Shubha for anything related to financial storytelling—she’s truly brilliant..
Shivani Bhojwani
Startup Incubation Manager & Adjunct Faculty
Illinois Institute of Technology
Want in?
Get in touch for a chat on custom packages
FAQ
Your questions answered
Find quick answers to common queries about Achiiv Financial Storytelling Interactive
Yes! This is a great question. It's a common misconception that the financial story is just about the "numbers slide" and something you don't have to worry about in the beginning.
This view couldn't be more wrong! Financial storytelling is at the heart of any new venture and will significantly improve your odds of building a more viable, healthy venture. It doesn't matter if you don't have financial data yet - the Interactive program will help you figure out the big numbers that matter!
We designed the Interactive specifically for busy founders like you. We slimmed down the process to the essentials, and threaded it into a logical sequence that you can tackle when you have time - easy as pie.
You can pay on a monthly basis so you only pay for the time you need it. Or you can go all in and commit to a full year because the program grows with you - you get two months free when you sign up for the annual plan!
Great question! Accelerator programs are extremely important to help founders like you get comprehensive support across all parts of building your startup. Financial storytelling provides the framework on which you build all these pieces so they make economic and financial sense.
Financial modeling courses take all your assumptions about how you're going to build your startup and then translate it into an excel spreadsheet. But financial storytelling is what helps you come up with solid and credible assumptions in the first place!
In other words, your financial story is the steel structure that brings all the parts of your startup together and connects them to a credible financial model.
Absolutely ! We built this program for founders like you. One of our most deeply held beliefs is that finance is necessary but shouldn't become an all-consuming source of pain.
We think it should be relevant and actionable, and tightly focused only on what you need to achieve your goals and make progress.
Every part of the program is built with your bandwidth and clarity in mind.
Yes! Every business, regardless of the industry, is built on a few key foundational pillars. The principles underlying a great business are the same. In the Interactive, you'll learn what these pillars are and how to apply them to your specific company and industry. So you'll never have to be confused about conflicting advice or opinions you get from different investors.
Great question! Good investors care greatly about whether you will be a be a good steward of the money they invest in your startup. They also want to know if you have a credible plan to build value in your company. A strong financial story is the strongest and clearest positive signal you can send to them on both these important questions, hands down!
ABOUT
Shubha K. Chakravarthy
FOUNDER & CHIEF FINANCIAL STORYTELLER
I've spent my entire career in financial services, understanding the impact of finance and financial storytelling on every aspect of life. Leadership positions in the banking industry in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008 helped me appreciate the immense power that financial storytelling wields at every level – from the individual and the organization, all the way to society, government, and the world.
As I transitioned from corporate life, I was dismayed by the dearth of credible, effective and structured support and financial guidance for entrepreneurs. But finance isn’t optional for founders – it’s oxygen and food combined.
I founded Achiiv with the resolve to help visionary founders, especially in STEM, build startups with a rock-solid financial foundation.
I wholeheartedly believe that helping founders craft a strong strategy backed by a compelling financial story is a game changer in enabling talented founders to actualize their vision.
THERE IS STILL TIME!
MAKE 2025 MATTER!
Studies show that having a strong business plan (aka your financial story) creates as much as 30% greater growth than winging it. The Financial Storytelling Interactive is your easiest path to creating a strong plan for your startup without the stress and hassle. Can you afford to miss out?
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