Case study · Robotics
A $2.6m seed extension, closed in nine weeks.
A 24-person robotics company with 7 months of runway. We fixed the unit costs, rebuilt the plan and closed a $2.6m extension in nine weeks.
Results
$2.6m
seed extension, closed in nine weeks
Source: signed SAFEs, Jun 2025
14 mo
runway after the raise, up from 7
Source: 13-week cash forecast, Jul 2025
38%
gross margin per robot, up from 22%
Source: unit cost model, Q4 2025
Mara found the hole in our unit costs in her second week. After that, every investor question had a number behind it, and the number held.
Idris Calloway
CEO and co-founder, Brindle Robotics
Client
Brindle Robotics
Industry
Robotics
Stage
Seed
Team size
24
Engagement
Fractional CFO · 4 days/month · 6-month term, renewed
The challenge
Brindle builds case-packing robots for mid-size food plants. In January 2025 it had 24 people, $2.2m in the bank and a burn of $310,000 a month: seven months of runway. Finance lived in a spreadsheet the CTO had built in year one.
The lead investor was ready to back an extension, with one condition: a unit cost model and an 18-month plan the board could test. Nobody could say what a robot cost once it was installed.
What we did
I started with costs. In week two we traced every installed robot through the bill of materials, assembly hours, travel and support tickets. Installation took 2.5 days on site, not the one day in the price.
We repriced the service contract, moved installs outside the Northeast to a certified partner, and brought burn down to $250,000 a month. Then I built a 13-week cash forecast, an 18-month driver model and a data room of 46 documents. I joined 22 investor calls with Idris and answered every follow-up within 48 hours.
Outcome
The two existing investors led a $2.6m extension and three angels joined. The money was in the bank nine weeks after the first call, and runway went from 7 months to 14.
Gross margin per robot rose from 22% to 38% by the fourth quarter. Brindle renewed for six more months, then hired a full-time finance lead in January 2026. I wrote the job spec.
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