In this episode, Roman Galikov shares the real story behind his leap from CFO to founder, the unexpected turns along the way, and why creating Create Financial has unlocked a new chapter of energy and purpose.

Expect a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to launch a B2B SaaS company from scratch - completely bootstrapped.

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In this episode, we cover:

• Roman’s journey from Russia to the UK to Australia
• How he fell into accounting and why it stuck
• The early signals that he wanted to build something of his own
• His first near-leap and why he abandoned it
• Moving to the US to launch RedEye’s expansion
• Making the leap into Records and why it didn’t gain traction
• Pivoting into Create Financial without meaning to
• The reality of early-stage software expectations
• The loneliness of building alone versus with a co-founder
• Why founders need better accounting foundations than they realise
• The unexpected workload of shaking hands and generating demand
• How the Founders Collective exploded overnight
• Roman’s views on risk, optimism and staying grounded
• Why financial runway and timing matter more than passion
• How he defines success today and what keeps him aligned
• The importance of personal routines when everything else changes

Chapters:

00:00 Intro
00:52 Getting started and pre-show banter
01:24 Gavin sets up the show and Roman’s intro
02:33 Who is Roman and what does he do?
03:55 Create Financial and early traction
05:05 Founders Collective and the surprising growth
07:10 Reflections on the first FC events
07:43 Life before becoming a founder
09:23 Roman’s move to the US with RedEye
11:47 What being a CFO in tech is really like
13:38 A day in the life of a tech CFO
15:23 Early hints that something was shifting
17:18 Roman’s first ever near-leap
19:48 How he got pulled into a big accounting firm instead
21:28 The software idea that kept coming back
23:28 The leap into Records and leaving full-time employment
24:46 The relief and reality of quitting his job
26:50 Validation, optimism and runway
27:50 Why Create Financial was originally just a side hustle
29:13 The surprise challenges of early-stage software
31:21 Pivoting into Create Financial with momentum
33:34 The messy truth about cleaning up bad financial advice
34:31 The workload of generating demand as a founder
35:49 Surprises in the broader founder ecosystem
37:12 How Roman has changed personally
38:41 Habits, sobriety and staying grounded
39:18 Optimism vs pragmatism as a founder
40:31 Redefining success and chasing financial freedom
42:20 Staying connected to your mission
45:32 What Roman wishes he knew before taking the leap
46:58 Roman’s advice for founders on the edge of their leap
49:37 How the journey has changed how he sees himself
51:29 Where to find Roman and wrap-up
52:10 Outro

Roman Galikov is a co-founder of Create Financial...

they help founders and business owners take control of their money with smart, personalised financial advice.

They specialise in wealth strategy, risk protection, and long-term planning - without the jargon. Think of them as the team that helps you build a financial engine strong enough to support your ambitions, not just your expenses.

Gavin Tye is a sales strategist and the creator of Sales Market Fit (SMF) — a game-changing framework that helps B2B startups unlock predictable, scalable growth. With over 20 years in high-value SaaS sales, Gavin has cracked the code on why businesses stall in their sales cycle and how to fix it.

SMF aligns positioning, go-to-market strategy, and sales execution into a repeatable rhythm that wins more clients with less friction. Gavin is also the co-founder of SixSides, the event-community platform helping organisations turn one-off events into lasting momentum and stronger engagement.

Learn how to stop relying on hope and start winning with deliberate, proven strategies at salesmarketfit.co — and build connected communities with sixsides.co.

Links:

Founder Collective: https://founderscollective.com.au/founders-collective
FC's Newsletter: https://founderscollectivecommunity.substack.com/
Create Financial: https://createfinancial.com.au/
SixSides: https://www.sixsides.co/
DealBuddi: https://www.dealbuddi.com/

Connect with us:
Roman Galikov on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romangalikov/
Gavin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavintye/