What Sona’s clients are saying

For years now, Sona’s given us clearheaded advice, seeing things about my business that I did not, and explaining it with a clarity I’ve admired.  Also, she’s lovely to work with.  The older I get, the more that means to me, to be working with people who are sane and smart and to-the-point and enjoyable to talk to.  There were a few key moments when we were selling our company Serial Productions to the New York Times – where Sona’s lucid framing of the issues was utterly critical and exactly what we needed to hear – the framing we ended up relying on. She cut through the clutter and helped us see what was important and what wasn’t.  I was grateful for the sensible, actionable advice.   

I will admit that when it comes to finance — whether discussing numbers or planning — I can begin to just hear static. Sona intuitively recognizes when there isn’t clarity or comprehension on my part, and takes pains to organize her thoughts and guidance into manageable and actionable steps, learning every aspect of our business so as to guide me to the best choices. She is a partner in the process, and is willing to explore avenues together, giving solid feedback with “normal” language, humor and much-appreciated warmth. Most importantly, for my business and the well-being of my employees, she expertly guided us through an ambitious expansion while always keeping an eye on the current and future bottom line, and I had full faith that she would know when to flag concerns and when we could be confident in growth. Ultimately, she was an integral partner when it came time to lead us to a very successful acquisition by The New York Times Company. I know Sona’s role as our CFO made us a more attractive company, and has set all of us up for continued success.

Here’s what you get with Sona: A topflight financial mind, a sunny spirit, and a person who is able to quickly adapt to the particular needs of your company and figure out how to best maximize profits. You will be hard pressed to find someone better.

At Timber we worked with Sona extremely early on in 2017, and she stayed on with us until the company’s acquisition in 2021. She is one of the most professional, helpful and kind advisors that I have ever worked with. We often met to review financials, discuss strategy, create hiring plans and analyze the health of the company, and I felt like I could always count on her expertise when we were in a time crunch. I always felt confident in our plans and our ability to execute, knowing we had her to guide us through obstacles and prevent missteps. I would wholeheartedly recommend Sona to any founders that need an experienced financial advisor to navigate the difficult journey of building a company with them.

Working with Sona has been one of the best decisions I have made both for me personally, as a solo founder, and professionally, as the CEO of an early stage startup. Sona helped put vital structure around the finance function of our business from the start which gave us a solid foundation to grow our business and give me more confidence in my decision making. I always tell founders to hire for a finance function earlier than later and would recommend Sona be that partner for early stage businesses.

I started working with Sona about four years ago. Through mergers and acquisitions, through pandemic fitness industry turmoil – there is no one better to have on your team than Sona. She is level-headed, brilliant and cares about her clients. Working with Sona is hands down the best decision I have made as a business owner.

Working with Sona immediately changed our business for the better. From setting up our cash flow model, identifying KPIs, introducing us to our bookkeepers, and providing guidance with investment and debt financing, her expertise and experience allow her to provide us with wholistic guidance that has been critical to our financial health. She is responsive, organized, efficient, and absolutely lovely to work with.

Sona is an incredible thought partner to us as start-up founders. For the first couple years in business, we had been making our own way through financial management and forecasting, but found it challenging to focus on the core offering while keeping a strategic eye on our growth. When Sona joined us, she met us where we were and has helped us build out our overall financial practice, engaging on the financial modeling, investment strategy, and cash flow management to take greater advantage of opportunities. She matches our ambition with a thoughtful and measured approach to help us continue to succeed and grow.

Sona Banker is an absolute financial force to be reckoned with. She brings 100% to the table every time. Dealing with start-ups is not easy. As an entrepreneur you’re willing to do anything to get ahead and that can be great, until you start to look at your numbers. Sona has this amazing ability to help entrepreneurs and start-ups figure out what they really need to grow a business (and sometimes it’s not the most exciting stuff, but it is the most effective) and where to spend those precious dollar bills. Not only will she help your business with financial models and spreadsheets, she will also look at the big picture, develop an effective plan and put you on the path to creating a thriving and financially sound business.

Sona fills a much needed gap in our organization. As a growing company we’re still a few years away from justifying a full-time CFO, yet there are several, critical, projects that require the perspective and skill set of CFO, like fundraising, financial modeling, and cash flow management. Sona has delivered results in each of these key functions. But her non-financial contributions to the organization have been just as valuable as her financial contributions. In addition to the part-time CFO role, she’s a valuable member of our growing management team.

Growing Kjaer Weis requires a financial advisor with strong business acumen, responsive agility, financial expertise, and pragmatic advice. Sona has been instrumental in providing me with timely financial analysis, insightful projections grounded in realistic strategy, and necessary coaching enabling me to make key decisions when needed. I trust Sona as my go to advisor for the financial management of my business.

We hired Sona Banker as our acting CFO to prep our business, Fabulous & Frugal, to be ready to pitch to investors. Sona was absolutely instrumental in helping get our business to the next level!
Not only was Sona meticulous in preparing all our financials for us, she was also invaluable in helping us interpret them. She led us through preparing our first investor deck, and helped us develop a detailed pitch for investor meetings. Sona’s thoughtful, laser-focused input was crucial to us – and we still rely on her as a trusted voice to turn to for advice. She is one of those rare people who combines sharp intellect with outstanding interpersonal skills – she is an absolute pleasure to work with. I highly recommend Sona Banker – she is a huge asset to any team!

From the moment I met Sona Banker at a breakfast networking meeting in NYC I thought, “There is something special and extraordinary about this woman”.I also knew I wanted to keep her in the front of my mind because I just knew I would feel comfortable referring her to absolutely anyone. One year later, I had the opportunity to refer her to a Pastry Chef starting her own business – who sang her praises. I also had the good fortune of experiencing her financial savvy and expertise first hand. Knowing I needed to have a highly detailed yet comprehensive set of spreadsheets prepared for a multi-million dollar investment pitch I was putting together, Sona was the absolute first person who came to mind. Her deliverables far exceeded my expectations – and also received the accolades of several serial entrepreneurs with whom I shared her incredibly proficient work. To those of you courageous enough to launch your own company, I wish you the same great fortune I had in having her join or serve as a contributor to your team.

I hired Sona to help me write the financial projections for my new business. I had tried writing them myself but was continually stuck as I lacked the depth of understanding exactly what and how much goes into drafting such an important part of your business plan. Sona understood my predicament and immediately knew in which direction I needed to go. With her expertise I was able to parlay the numbers I had started with into a fully fleshed out, totally comprehensible spreadsheet. The business suddenly became alive; I could see that it was feasible, which allowed me to approach serious investors. I unequivocally recommend Sona to any small business owner who needs a level headed, honest and smart professional to assist them with their numbers. She listens to your needs, always over-delivers, is insanely dependable, and cheerleads you all the way to the finish line. I couldn’t have done what I needed to without her.