DS DSQD Consulting and Advisory

DSQD Consulting and Advisory LLC

I build companies from the bottom up.

Strategic finance and advisory from someone who has worked inside the CFO's office at Fortune 500 media and cable companies and the nation's largest state power organization. I use that investment and boardroom experience to build companies, and act as your point person on money and strategy: the plans, models, investor story and AI tools that let you grow.

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Dave Dharia, MBA· Founder & Principal Advisor

Why bottom up

Growth only holds if the foundation does.

Too many businesses chase growth on top of guesswork. I work the other way: get the numbers right first, then plan, then raise, then scale.

You get the same rigor I brought to C-suites, boards, investors and rating agencies at a Fortune 500 cable operator, one of the largest U.S. media companies, the nation's largest state public power organization and a global consulting firm, sized for your business and explained in plain English.

Each layer builds on the one below it, so every decision rests on numbers you can trust.

How I build

  1. 05ScaleAI, systems & board reporting
  2. 04Raiseinvestor-ready story
  3. 03Strategygo-to-market & pricing
  4. 02Planbudgets, forecasts, cash flow
  5. 01Foundationreporting & KPIs

Start at the base · Build up

$12B+

content budget: contract valuations prepared for C-suite executives, negotiators and attorneys at a Fortune 500 cable operator

$4B

media division supported from the CFO's office, including quarterly Board of Directors presentations

$2.3B

debt service model behind CFO and Treasurer presentations to investors and rating agencies

$370M

revenue business ($56M EBITDA) whose budget, forecast and reporting cycle I ran

80%

less time to produce credit metrics and forecasts, down to 30 minutes

10+

years in strategic finance, FP&A, treasury and advisory

What I do for you

Services

01

Financial reporting & KPIs

Management reporting, KPI dashboards and financial analysis built to the standard boards and investors expect, so you always know where you stand.

02

Planning & cash flow

Budgets, forecasts, long-range plans and cash flow models that show what's coming.

03

Process improvement

Faster reporting, automated models and finance system upgrades. I've cut forecasting time by 80%, brought report generation down to 3 hours and helped move enterprise finance teams onto Oracle.

04

Fixing stagnation & financial problems

Flat revenue, shrinking margins or cash crunches: I find what's dragging results through variance and trend analysis, then build the fix.

05

Strategy & go-to-market

Market and competitive analysis, pricing, payment terms and a clear plan to win customers.

06

Capital, board & investor readiness

Business plans, Board presentations, and investor and rating-agency materials, built by someone who has prepared them for public company CFOs and Treasurers. Plus introductions to FinTech financing partners.

07

New

Transitioning your business to AI

I help you move finance and operations onto AI the right way: find where AI tools can take over reporting, forecasting and routine analysis, get the data underneath clean enough to trust, then roll out the tools with the controls and training your team needs. The same bottom-up approach, applied to AI.

Growing businesses

Startups & small companies

Get the foundation right: reporting, cash flow, a plan and an investor-ready story, with CFO-level guidance and without the cost of a full-time CFO.

Companies at scale

Established & large enterprises

C-suite and board-level FP&A and strategic finance: finance transformation, forecasting, Board and rating-agency reporting, contract valuations and competitive analysis for multi-billion-dollar teams. Deep television and media background: content valuations, budgets, product positioning and competitive strategy across cable, TV networks and streaming.

Competitive intelligence & research

Know your market as well as you know your numbers.

Years of tracking public companies taught me how to turn earnings calls, filings and industry data into decisions. I bring that same research discipline to your business, so your strategy is built on what competitors and investors are actually doing.

Public company research

Earnings calls, filings, results and guidance from the public companies in your space, distilled into what matters for your plans.

Competitive & industry analysis

Benchmarks, unit economics, pricing and market trends across your competitors and your industry, so you know where you stand and where to push.

Industry trend briefings

Regular briefings on the news, earnings and trends shaping your industry, written for leadership and the board so decisions reflect the latest picture.

Track record: competitive landscape, market trend and growth-opportunity presentations for C-suite leaders, built from public company filings and equity research; product positioning strategy against virtual TV providers; earnings-call briefings covering 15+ public companies; company analysis across businesses worth over $1 billion; and analysis for Congressional white papers.

How we work together

Three steps, one partner who knows your numbers.

  1. 1

    Diagnose

    We review your numbers and processes to find what's working and what's holding you back.

  2. 2

    Build & fix

    I lay the foundation, streamline the process and build the plan and models.

  3. 3

    Grow

    Ongoing advice as you raise, hire and scale, with a partner who knows your numbers.

Selected work

Results for C-suites, boards and founders.

Public company CFO advisory

Partnered with a public company's CFO to build a ~$20M marketable securities database, cutting valuation time for convertible debt, preferred stock and warrants by 75%. Then prepared the Board of Directors exit report.

Investor & rating-agency presentations

Prepared CFO and Treasurer presentations to investors and rating agencies, and rebuilt a $2.3B debt service and credit-metrics model, cutting completion time 80% to 30 minutes.

$12B+ content negotiations

Led contract valuations presented to C-suite executives, negotiators and attorneys in negotiations with the largest U.S. media companies, plus product strategy against virtual TV providers.

Board reporting for a $4B division

Lead analyst in the CFO's office of a division producing a third of its parent's revenue: quarterly Board presentations, investment analysis, and content performance reporting that helped lift ratings 10%.

Enterprise finance transformation

As part of a global consulting team, moved a global tech company's planning from TM1 to Oracle and streamlined monthly variance analysis.

Reporting cycle cut to hours

Rebuilt budgeting and management reporting for a hotel group, reducing report generation to 3 hours.

Our story

Built from the bottom up, like the companies we serve.

Dave Dharia, MBA · Founder & Principal Advisor

DSQD grew out of something I saw again and again over ten-plus years in finance, from nonprofit budgets to a $12 billion TV programming budget: the businesses that grow well are the ones whose numbers can be trusted.

I've spent my career in and around the CFO's office: contract valuations for C-suite negotiations on a $12 billion content budget, Board presentations for a $4 billion media division, and investor and rating-agency presentations backed by a $2.3 billion debt service model. Since 2023 I've brought that same rigor to founders, growing companies and public company CFOs.

Companies grow faster with one person who owns the money and the strategy. That's the role I play: I know how investors evaluate a business, and I use that to build yours so it's ready for them.

DSQD Consulting and Advisory is how I deliver it: the numbers first, then the plan, then the raise, then scale, all explained in plain English.

Experience

  • Founder & Principal Advisor · DSQD2023 – present

    Advising founders, growing companies and public company CFOs on financial strategy, capital and Board reporting.

  • FP&A Consultant · Global consulting firm2025 – 2026

    Enterprise TM1-to-Oracle finance transformation for a global tech company.

  • Senior Financial Analyst, Treasury · Largest U.S. state public power organization2022 – 2023

    Investor and rating-agency presentations with the CFO and Treasurer; $2.3B debt service model.

  • Sr. Financial Analyst, Programming & Content Strategy · Fortune 500 cable operator2019 – 2022

    Contract valuations for C-suite negotiations on a $12B+ content budget; competitive and product strategy.

  • Financial Analyst, Office of the CFO · Major U.S. media company2016 – 2019

    Lead analyst for a $4B division; quarterly Board presentations and investment analysis.

  • Financial Analyst · Nasdaq-listed radio network2015 – 2016

    Ran budget, forecasting and reporting for a $370M-revenue, $56M-EBITDA business.

Education

MBA, Finance · Fordham Gabelli

BS, Finance & Operations · Boston University Questrom

Industries served

  • Telecom & cable
  • Television & media
  • Radio & advertising
  • Entertainment
  • Technology
  • FinTech
  • Financial services
  • Energy & utilities
  • Public sector
  • Real estate
  • Nonprofit
  • Healthcare
  • Hospitality
  • Consumer goods

Free tools

Simple tools for new businesses.

Free, quick and private. Answer a few questions and get a general idea of your numbers. Your numbers stay on your device.

Contract Payment Planner

Have a contract? See how you can structure the payments, including how much to ask for upfront.

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Simple Startup Budget

Add up what you spend. See how long your money will last.

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Cash Burn Calculator

How much money are you losing each month, and how many months do you have left?

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Break-Even Calculator

How many sales a month do you need to cover your costs?

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Competitor Search

Type in a company name and see its main competitors.

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Designed to give you a general idea, not exact answers or advice. See each tool's disclaimer.

Book a consultation

Let's build yours from the ground up.

Tell me where your business is today and where you want it to go. The first conversation is about your numbers, not a sales pitch.

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