The Role
Tylor Inaba is a Director of Strategic Finance at ProsperOps. He started his career as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs before transitioning to strategic finance roles at high-growth tech companies.
Strategic finance breaks down into two core responsibilities:
- Controlling and allocating capital within the business—deciding where the company's money goes
- Identifying problems and inefficiencies, using data to support recommendations, and implementing changes
Unlike traditional finance roles that might feel removed from operations, strategic finance sits at the intersection of numbers and business decisions. At his current company, Tylor works on projects like redesigning pricing structures using historical customer data. At his previous company (Algolia), he helped run Series C and D fundraising—building the financial story and data package that attracts investors.
The Path
Education: University (Finance focus)
Career progression:
- Investment Banking Analyst at Goldman Sachs — Worked on major deals including the Uber IPO
- Strategic Finance at Algolia — Led Series C and D fundraising
- Director of Strategic Finance at ProsperOps — Current role
The defining moment of Tylor's early career came at 23: "I was put on the team working on the initial public offering for Uber. I was the one running the model and the analysis. But the cool thing is I was also the one sitting in the boardrooms with the execs from Uber as well as some of the most senior people from Goldman."
Growing up in Cupertino (Bay Area), Tylor was surrounded by tech talk. That environment sparked his curiosity about how businesses work and make money, which naturally led him toward finance.
Compensation
Strategic finance offers strong compensation, especially at tech companies where equity is a significant component.
| Level | Years | Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| New Grad | 0-2 | $120K-$150K |
| Mid-Career | 5-7 | $250K-$500K |
| Senior (VP/CFO) | 10+ | $400K-$1M+ |
Note: Equity is a major component of tech compensation and drives much of the variance at higher levels.
For comparison, here's the broader corporate finance/FP&A benchmark:
| Level | Title | Years | Base Salary | Total Comp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry | Financial Analyst | 0-2 | $65K-$100K | $70K-$120K |
| Mid | Senior Financial Analyst | 2-5 | $90K-$145K | $100K-$180K |
| Senior | Finance Manager | 5-8 | $130K-$200K | $160K-$300K |
| Director | Director/VP Finance | 8+ | $180K-$320K | $250K-$550K |
What Makes Someone Good at This
1. Genuine curiosity about businesses "People that are naturally drawn to learning about new businesses and new products, and having a genuine interest in learning about how they operate and how a business makes money—that's going to be a great first indicator."
2. Initiative with unstructured data You need to take messy information and form your own opinions and recommendations. Nobody hands you a clear answer.
3. Communication skills "Being able to package that and communicate it to people" is one of the most important traits to succeed.
Why Finance Gives You Unique Access
One of the biggest advantages of a finance career is exposure to senior leadership:
"Working in finance, there's a ton of opportunities for you to interact and engage with incredibly senior people. At these early and growth stage startups, because the finance teams are so lean, I'm constantly working with the CEO, the CTO, the CRO. These people are incredibly experienced. They're super smart. I constantly feel like I'm surrounding myself with people that are smarter than me and being able to learn from them."
At 23, Tylor was in boardrooms with Uber executives and Goldman partners. That kind of exposure accelerates learning faster than almost any other path.
Job Stability
Finance roles tend to be stable because you're the one looking at company budgets and forecasting 3-5 years ahead. "You're going to start to see the financial troubles of a business well in advance," which gives you time to plan.
How to Start Building These Skills Today
Tylor's advice for students:
"First and foremost is going to be exposure. Just read and expose yourself to the different industry terminologies, methodologies, metrics, numbers. As long as you're exposing yourself to these resources on a regular basis, you're going to start to develop a certain sense and understanding—it's going to form how you think."
Free resources to start:
- TechCrunch — Tech business news and funding announcements
- Wall Street Journal — Business and financial news
- The Information — Deep dives on tech companies
Put yourself in an environment where you're constantly learning about relevant businesses. "Everything's going to start to click and make sense."