Meet Curtis, Bluespark’s New CFO (and why we hired a CFO in the first place)

The first thing you should know about Curtis Walston is that he loves North Carolina State University. And that means, he loves tailgating with his family, going to Pack football games, and making sure people know he is not a Tar Heels fan.

But that’s not why Bluespark hired him. Or why we looked for a Chief Financial Officer in the first place.

Making the transition from a small consultancy to boutique agency isn’t always easy (actually, all business growth can be hard). As the owner of Bluespark, I’ve always juggled a variety of things — payroll, taxes, marketing, business development, team building, etc. There is a tipping point, though, where there just aren’t enough hours in the day, and juggling becomes painful.

As a business person, one of the best things I’ve ever done was to meet regularly with a mentor (Hi Dave) as I grow my company. Over and over again, my mentor said that one of the best things he ever did was to hire a CFO quickly, when the company was still young. He told me to focus on what I do best — building the company — and to find some help with bookkeeping and basic financial chores. Taking that advice, we made the leap- although, initially, it didn’t feel like an easy choice to add a senior non-billable person to a small and overwhelmed staff. Turns out, Dave was right.

Here’s what I learned about finding a great CFO:

A great CFO is far more than someone who watches the bank balances. A great CFO is numbers- and results- oriented and can help a company find and maintain its profitability and establish a healthy productivity level. A great CFO can look at a project and find out — before you get in the weeds — if it will be profitable. A great CFO can help you analyze what to do with surplus and how to reinvest wisely in your business. A CFO can help you diversify. A great CFO is a key asset to any growing company, and worth their weight in gold. (Is that a pun?)

Curtis’ financial expertise and guidance are important to maintaining our company’s transparent and responsible business efforts. With undergraduate and graduate degrees in accounting, Curtis brings more than 20 years of agency finance experience to Bluespark, which includes a deep understanding of how to work effectively with small teams and diverse clients. He has worked in both small regional agencies and national organizations and has assisted these agencies with business acquisitions, mergers and consolidations. And it’s something he enjoys doing.

“I love the opportunity to help organizations understand where they’re at from a financial perspective and assist them in developing plans on how to achieve their goals,” Curtis says.

Curtis, with his long history in agencies, his entrepreneurial can-do spirit, and genuinely likeable team-oriented personality is and was a boon to Bluespark and we’re damn lucky to have him. Welcome aboard Curtis!