Article authored by Viesturs Deksnis.
One of the cornerstones in successful entrepreneurship is ability to plan cash flow correctly and supervise the entire playing field. Development of technology has opened up opportunities that majority of entrepreneurs did not even dare to dream about ten years ago, and one of these implementers of dreams is the Latvian start-up “Tailwind Technologies” which has developed cash flow management and visualisation tool with the help of which any user can model various scenarios for the company development.
The start-up “Tailwind Technologies” was founded in 2022 by Kārlis Mikoss and Lars-Erik Hion, who had managed several professional service companies in the past and always been disappointed at the immense amount of time which was required to control their cash flow. “Project deliveries are frequently behind the schedule, so incoming payments also use to be delayed, but staff’s wages and also taxes have to be paid on time. Therefore, entrepreneurs must be able to forecast precisely whether the required financial resources will be available in the bank account on a specific date”, Kārlis Mikoss, co-founder of the company recalls origin of the idea for the digital solution. When, following a survey of over 200 other entrepreneurs in six various European countries, it was found that many of them faced similar problems, they, so to speak, assume the reins, and started developing the cash flow and visualisation tool which could resolve these problems.
In practice, this means that the company’s manager or any other person in charge may freely operate with the available data, including amounts of the concluded contracts, invoice due dates and other financial details to see the cash flow dynamics in the long term, prevent the possible risks in timely manner and adjust the company’s operation to specific conditions. K. Mikoss compares the new digital tool with teeth brushing – something that is also highly necessary, however, if it would take several hours a day, people would be very unlikely brushing their teeth too frequently. The same thing applies to controlling cash flow and modelling scenarios. It is important for every company’s development, however, if the process takes a very long time, it does not receive the sufficient attention. The “Tailwind” financial planning tool is precisely focused on the goal – to reduce the amount of time required for these works.
One of the most important aspects that characterises the “Tailwind” financial planning tool, is the opportunity for time savings and availability of practical real-time insights for the professional service providers and entrepreneurs, at the same time protecting their data through the use of “Smart ID” and other similar solutions. “Key advantages of the “Tailwind” tool is – it is simple to use, free of any accounting jargon, lets you model and visualize any scenarios on for your company’s cash flow forecast. And the best part – all of it only takes a few minutes per week because your “Tailwind” forecast works in sync with your bank account and updates itself. This is possible thanks to so called “open banking” rules introduced in the European Union a few years ago. It means it is now much easier to be in controls”, K. Mikoss characterises the product.
Although the “Tailwind” digital tool has been tested by users in many countries, the three Baltic States form the main market at the time being. At the moment, total number of regular users is close to one hundred. The company also receives positive customer feedback on regular basis, which is one of the motivating factors to carry on. For example, Māra Bondare-Petersena, Director at the LLC (SIA) “VALDRO AGRO”, says: “To me, using “Tailwind” is like finding a needle in a haystack. For a long time, I have been looking for a tool that would facilitate my financial planning and help me to see an overview of all our company’s accounts. I really like this tool; it makes it very easy for me or you as a company finance manager to add a potential revenue or expense item on any date in the near of distant future and immediately see what impact would it have on your company’s cash flow and finance forecast. I would recommend this tool to anyone. It has made my wok so much easier”!
Speaking about further development of “Tailwind”, K. Mikoss explains that so far the company has relied on investments provided by its founders and has not used any external funding. “Being independent in your decision-making is great – but at the same time, raising external funding often allows you to grow faster. So we are open to different options but in any case continued focus on the user needs and growing the user base will be our main priorities”, adds K. Mikoss.