Brad Phillipi

Background

Fifteen years in finance, six as the operator who builds the systems too.

1. May 2025 — present

   COO/CFO, Handld Home

   Launched a tech-enabled home services platform from concept. Built the operating system — pricing engine, customer intake, scheduling, billing, contractor management — using Airtable, Zapier, Stripe, Twilio, and custom Next.js apps deployed on Vercel. Recurring maintenance with automated workflows and AI agents handling the work that normally needs office staff.

2. Nov 2023 — Apr 2025

   CFO, Martin Management Group

   Family office: 17 auto dealerships, $150M real estate portfolio, an airport, 725 employees across 19 locations in 6 states, $650M annual revenue. Refinanced $28M of commercial debt with two new lenders, consolidated banking from nine banks to one (lifting yield 0.45%), audited and overhauled multi-state payroll compliance. Managed 19 direct reports across accounting, finance, HR, payroll, and legal.

3. Apr 2022 — Nov 2023

   CFO, Nebula

   Largest creator economy company in the world — 103 employees serving 212 creators across agency, streaming, merchandise, syndication, and studio businesses; $37M annual revenue. Grew revenue 60% in year one, instituted OKRs across five business units, evaluated four M&A opportunities, navigated the loss of a sponsor representing 41% of sponsor revenue while growing cash 6% YoY.

4. Apr 2016 — Mar 2022

   COO/CFO, VT Pro Design

   Experiential technology firm with Fortune 500 clients (Google, Nike, Netflix). Grew revenue from $3M to $55M, EBITDA margins from -4% to 17%, headcount from 8 to 61. Sourced $4.5M of commercial debt to acquire and renovate three real-estate properties for office space. Acquired by BUCK Design in 2022.

5. Apr 2014 — Apr 2016

   President & CFO, ZBoard

   Electric skateboard company with patented modular technology. Raised $500K in equity (Tech Coast Angels finalist), generated $912K in pre-orders on Indiegogo for the second-gen product, and helped pass California Assembly Bill 604, which legalized electric skateboards in CA.

6. Sep 2010 — Apr 2014

   Equities Analyst, Trust Company of the West

   Co-founded the TCW Global Real Estate Fund (TGRYX), which raised $2.2B AUM in its first 12 months. Pitched stock recommendations to seven portfolio managers running $32B of AUM, resulting in six investments totaling $330M. Macroeconomic research alongside the firm's CIO for media appearances and investor presentations.

7. 2010 — 2015

   UCLA Anderson MBA · USC, BS Finance

   MBA at UCLA Anderson, emphasis in Finance & Operations (GPA 3.7). BS in Business Administration / Finance at USC — recognized as one of USC's top 40 student leaders, selected for President Steven Sample and Dr. Warren Bennis's leadership and communication course.

Based in Pasadena, CA. Two kids, one dog. Yes, I built the website you’re on too.

Ask me

Ask me anything

A small exhibit of the AI tooling I’ve built — trained on my voice, my career, and the way I think about CFO work. Not a substitute for an actual conversation, but a decent third-party take on most things.

This is an AI exhibit. Responses are AI-generated and do not necessarily reflect Brad’s actual thoughts, opinions, advice, or recommendations on any topic. For Brad’s real take, grab a slot on his calendar.

Tools

Free tools I’ve built

Small CFO tools, no signup required. Built to demonstrate how I think about financial work.