Inside Planet Startup, Marc Orchard's vCFO Practice for Tech Founders

By Marc Orchard

Planet Startup's own website describes the Brisbane company's purpose plainly: virtual CFO support for some of Australia's most ambitious companies. At the centre of it is Marc Orchard, CEO and…

Planet Startup's own website describes the Brisbane company's purpose plainly: virtual CFO support for some of Australia's most ambitious companies. At the centre of it is Marc Orchard, CEO and co-founder, who built the practice around technology founders who need financial and commercial guidance as they grow.

Marc co-founded Planet Startup with Rhys Cupples, both of them having previously worked at BDO for Startups. His own career informs the work. Marc graduated from the University of Queensland in 2009 with a Bachelor of Business Management, started a financial planning firm which he later sold, and went on to hold roles including Director of Startups at BDO Australia, where he founded the BDO for Startups division, Brisbane City Manager at Fishburners, and Talent Program Director at fintech company Swyftx.

That experience shapes how Marc sees the market Planet Startup serves. He argues that most founders get very little proactive financial or commercial advice, and that large accounting firms focus mainly on end-of-year taxes, leaving a gap that a fractional or virtual CFO is well placed to fill. He points to the scale of that gap directly, stating that less than 20 per cent of high-growth, pre-Series A companies in Australia have a full or part-time CFO.

The company advises technology founders from seed through to Series B, and its client list reflects that focus. Planet Startup has worked with companies including Greaseboss, Orefox, Rainstick, Swyftx, xrecruiter and Nourish'd. Marc's wider involvement in the sector runs alongside the practice. He is a former Entrepreneur in Residence at UQ Ventures, a Lead Finance Facilitator for LaunchVic's 30x30 program, and Chapter Lead for Brisbane Finance in Tech.

For Marc, the opportunity is a clear one. A large share of early-stage, high-growth companies are scaling without dedicated finance leadership, and Planet Startup exists to give those founders the kind of proactive commercial advice he believes they too rarely receive.