Businesses We Love: 10 questions with Michelle Kvello, the finance CEO who knows the one trait great leaders share

Michelle Kvello founded Lantern Partners to give founders the kind of strategic finance support she saw missing in the startup world. Here, she shares her thoughts on leadership, burnout, AI, flexibility and why the best founders are the ones willing to take advice.

Optus is proud to introduce 'Businesses We Love'. In each edition, we chat with Australian founders and business leaders about productivity, connectivity, technology and the realities of running a modern business.

For Michelle Kvello, founder and CEO of Lantern Partners, modern business is all about flexibility, smart decision-making and knowing when to ask for help.

Lantern Partners works with startups and scaleups across Australia, helping founders navigate growth, forecasting and commercial strategy without the need for a full-time CFO.

Let's hear from Michelle.

For people who haven’t come across Lantern Partners before, can you tell me a bit about what the business does and who you help?

“We’re a fractional CFO advisory firm and we work with founders of startups and scaleups, helping them with commercial and strategic finance advice.

“We’re not tax accountants and we do very little bookkeeping or day-to-day accounting. Where we really play is in the ‘what now?’ and ‘what next?’ conversations with founders when they reach those pinch points where they need to think differently in order to sustainably scale.

“We work with clients on a fractional basis. What that means is we’re about as close to an employee as you can get without actually being an employee. We feel like part of the business to the business, and that’s critical for getting real value out of the relationship.

“At the same time, there’s flexibility to scale up and down, which you wouldn’t necessarily get with a full-time employee. Then, when the time is right, we’re often involved in helping businesses transition to a permanent CFO or senior finance person.”

What originally inspired you to start Lantern Partners?

“Throughout my corporate career, I worked closely with really entrepreneurial people. When some of those people went on to start their own businesses, they had tax advisors and bookkeepers, but what they were really missing was that business partner. Someone to speak to about budgets, forecasts and growth decisions.

"When I started Lantern Partners almost 15 years ago, that kind of strategic finance support in a fractional capacity didn’t really exist in the way it does now. You had accounting firms offering some version of it, but their expertise was largely tax and compliance, not the more strategic ‘what should we do next?’ advice.”

Where is the business based and why has that been the right fit for your company?

“I’m based in Sydney, but our clients are all over Australia. We don’t have an office. I’ve flirted with office space over the years, but because my team predominantly work part-time, and either work from home or from client offices, it’s become a pretty redundant concept for us.

“Honestly, it was never really part of the model in the first place, and then post-COVID, when most of our clients moved to hybrid or remote work as well, it just made even more sense.”

How big is the team these days and how do you all stay connected and collaborate day to day?

“The team fluctuates a little because I have a mix of permanent part-time staff, casuals and contractors depending on client needs.

“But regardless of how someone engages with Lantern Partners, they’re very much part of the team. We have quarterly offsites, monthly virtual meetings, weekly one-on-ones and we’re all connected through Slack.

“I’ve also been with Optus since I started the business and I’m part of the Optus Small Business Council, which brings together small business owners to share ideas and experiences.”

What does your most productive or energised workday look like?

“It really depends on the environment rather than the specific time of day. I get really energised being in rooms with other CFOs or finance leaders who are all trying to solve similar problems.

“I’m definitely not someone getting up at 4.30am for an ice bath. That’s not my jam. For me, it’s much more about external conversations, collaboration and being around smart people.

“What I’ve gotten much better at over the past few years is segmenting my week into different focuses.

“For example, on Mondays I don’t book meetings until around 10am. That’s my time to set myself and the team up for the week. That’s usually when I have my one-on-ones with my CFOs and work through priorities.

“Then there are other periods where I’m heavily external-facing, and others where it’s deep work time, the classical music goes on and I just power through.”

Is there a piece of technology, software or business tool you genuinely couldn’t imagine working without?

“Honestly? My phone. It’s basically a limb at this point, for better or worse.

“I had to change my Lantern Partners email password yesterday and momentarily lost access to my emails on my phone, and it was amazing how disruptive that felt.

“I do a lot through my phone. I’m a single mum with two kids and I’m balancing a lot of things, so without being able to run my business from my phone, I genuinely wouldn’t be able to do what I do.”

How are you using AI in the business at the moment?

“We’re using AI in a few different ways. I recently worked with a specialist firm to build out a team of custom AI agents for the business because I knew what I wanted to achieve, but deep tech isn’t really my zone of genius.

"One AI agent helps our CFOs complete initial financial health checks for clients by creating first drafts of reports so the CFOs can focus on refining the advice and strategy.

“Another helps match the right CFO to the right client after discovery calls, which has become really valuable as the team has grown.

“We’re also using Claude for first drafts of research, templates and modelling.

“At the moment, it still feels very much like an experimentation phase, but there are already some really useful efficiencies coming out of it.””

What’s been the best call or piece of feedback you’ve ever received about the impact Lantern Partners has had on a client?

“One of our clients recently wrote a LinkedIn post about working with us without me even knowing she was going to do it.

“Part of what she wrote was: ‘I’m so appreciative on so many levels, but particularly because I feel accompanied, not judged. Your goal wasn’t to find problems. It was to identify risks and opportunities. You actively listened and adapted your approach as required. The price is right, the outcome is priceless.’

“I was honestly blown away by her generosity in writing that, but also by what it said about how we made her feel. I’ve heard so many stories from founders who’ve worked with CFOs before and been made to feel stupid or like they were doing everything wrong, and that’s never how I want our clients to feel.”

You work closely with business leaders all day. What’s one trait you think the best leaders consistently have in common?

“Self-awareness and the ability to take advice.

“We have all the quantitative metrics around what makes an ideal client, revenue size and all of that, but one of the things we added a few years ago was simply: ‘Can take advice.’

“The leaders who do really well are usually the ones who are open to listening, learning and adapting."

What do you do outside of work to switch off from founder mode?

“I do this very, very badly. When I left corporate life and started Lantern Partners, part of the reason was because I was completely burnt out and wanted to work more sustainably.

“What I realised pretty quickly was that the problem was me, not necessarily corporate life.

“These days, while I’m still always thinking about the business, I try to do it in a much healthier way. I lean heavily on my support network, try to exercise and make sure I don’t burn myself out again.”

To learn more about how connectivity and technology solutions are helping Australian businesses grow and stay connected, visit Optus Business.

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute advice and is shared for information purposes only – every business is unique, we suggest seeking independent advice to suit your own needs. This content was produced by SmartCompany, in partnership with Optus Business.