The Launch Box Life with Ethan Schulz
At The Launch Box, we are entrepreneurs serving entrepreneurs, but we took very different journeys to get here. In this series, readers will learn more about how we each live #thelaunchboxlife every day.
Ethan has over five years of progressive financial planning & accounting (FP&A) experience at a growing consulting firm, where he worked with executive leadership to support their growth from under 200 professionals to over 450. Through driving effective financial transformation, his goal is to provide scalable and actionable analytics, allowing for more active partnership with founders who are scaling their business.
Explain your career path—how did you become FP&A Manager?
I’ve always been interested in founding my own business, even as far back as elementary school, when I used to make custom duct tape wallets for the other kids on the school bus. Not the most profitable business, but it was fun to provide something that others found interesting. In high school and college, I got more refined and started actual businesses, completed state paperwork and filed taxes. At the University of Michigan, I decided to study Economics, as I felt it would provide a more quantitative foundation for my entrepreneurial thought process.
Immediately after graduation, I pursued one of my businesses, but with my younger brother starting at U of M, I needed something more stable and concrete to help support his journey. This led me to Corporate Finance at a healthcare consulting firm, where I primarily supported finance and accounting operations, as well as managed performance reporting. After a few years, I stepped into a Sr FP&A Analyst role, where I took over and fully owned the budgeting, forecasting and modeling processes. These responsibilities were critical for my skill development, as I worked very closely with the firm’s leadership, learning how to properly present financial data to non-finance audiences.
The year before joining The Launch Box, I became the Principal FP&A Analyst responsible for leading the finance transformation process. In addition to my other FP&A activities, I drove the firm’s transition from reactive to proactive reporting and analysis. This experience provided me the ability to find and operationalize efficiencies across functions, as well as how to efficiently leverage data aggregation and visualization tools.
Can you describe your personal self?
I’d like to think I’m inquisitive; I’m the type of person who will pause a TV show or movie to look something up on Wikipedia and end up spending more time diving into weird topics than the show itself.
What are your top personal values and how do you apply those to your work?
Empathy, Honesty, Integrity. I think this leads to adding real value when contributing work. It’s important to be empathetic with your partners if you want to help as much as possible. Honesty and integrity are always important, but particularly so when dealing with Finance and Accounting. I believe it’s critical to hold yourself and others accountable and that requires honesty and integrity, while still remaining empathetic and understanding that we’re all just people at the end of the day.
Why did you choose to come to The Launch Box?
I’ve always had a deep interest in founding my own business and trying to pave my own path. While my personal ventures had to be set aside, I learned a lot from these experiences and hope to apply them - along with my FP&A toolbox – to drive real value for our clients. I also have an extensive background in professional services, so all of the stars align with The Launch Box.
What is a common misconception you hear about Finance?
I think people tend to believe Finance professionals are cold-hearted and only trying to look out for themselves. This feels outdated to me, as a modern Finance function requires cross-departmental collaboration and this lends itself to developing relationships and having to understand what roadblocks others may be facing.
What is the most fulfilling part of your role at TLB?
Working with hardworking, talented people with strong drive. Having the ability to add value, make a difference, and actually see the results of my actions makes my role personally and professionally fulfilling.
What about the future of TLB are you most excited about?
Seeing our partners through their entrepreneurial journey. I think working with passionate people in interesting fields is already rewarding, but being able to support their vision and help form a path for success is really exciting.
