Kobalt.io Trusts Enkel With Their Back Office Functions
Kobalt.io is a cybersecurity firm for small and medium-sized businesses, bringing enterprise-class security monitoring capabilities to smaller organizations. Using world-class frameworks and toolsets, Kobalt.io combines the power of the cloud and data at scale, to address the complexity of cyber security. From CIS and Privacy Gap Analyses, to Cloud Security Audits, to Penetration and Phish testing, Kobalt.io is providing businesses with the peace-of-mind needed to operate and innovate in a world where cybercrime is projected to cost up to $10.5 trillion annually by 2025.
After 22 years working in global technology, telecommunication and security companies Michael Argast co-founded Kobalt.io, a managed IT services company focused on cybersecurity, in 2018. Since then, Kobalt.io has been one of the fastest growing tech firms in Vancouver, making the “Ready to Rocket” list in 2021, receiving Canada’s Business Scale-Up and Productivity Funding in May of 2022, and Collaborating with RBC to enhance small and mid-sized business cyber security resilience.
Key Challenges
From day one, Micahel knew that fast growth would only come with focus and commitment. He made the early decision to outsource back office functions so that he and his core team could stay focused on high-value activities and not get bogged down with bookkeeping, payroll and invoicing. While Michael had general financial skills, he knew that his time would be best spent elsewhere.
As is the case with any start-up, especially one that’s growing quickly, one of the biggest challenges is keeping the team focused on core business activities to fuel growth. It’s easy for people to get sucked into doing odd jobs off the side of their desks, or work nights and weekends to get every little thing done that needs doing. The risk of burnout, job dissatisfaction, and floundering results run high.
When budgets are tight and revenue production is still evolving, there’s really no room for high-cost professionals that aren’t core to the business. While Michael’s family members had supported him with bookkeeping and other operational support in a previous business, Kobalt.io was a whole new set of accounting challenges that included not only bookkeeping, but payroll and invoicing and all the technology required to make them run smoothly.
The Solution
Once Michael made the decision to outsource, funding from a Founder’s round enabled him to pursue outsourcing partners for non-core business activities – the most important being bookkeeping, payroll and invoicing. After receiving a referral from a fellow entrepreneur, Michael turned to Enkel to manage his back office functions. Not only did Enkel have the expertise required, but they had the technology and proven processes to go with it. It was a complete solution.
As Kobalt.io’s grown in size and complexity, the need for a more holistic approach to financial management emerged. Enkel has provided the team with fractional controllership support, participating in board meetings and deciphering financial statements to better support long term planning in the business. At a fraction of the cost it would take to hire a Controller, Michael is getting the senior-level support he needs for a growing business.
Over the years, Kobalt.io has experienced a number of changes and the Enkel team have been able to quickly adjust and update their reporting processes. When the business opportunities crossed the border, the team at Enkel were able to modify the tech stack to better support multiple currencies and payment collection needs. Today, Kobalt.io has a single set of books that shows all revenues despite the different currencies involved.
The Results
After 3.5 years of working with Enkel, Michael is still an advocate for outsourcing these non-core back office functions. Without Enkel, he would need to hire a Controller for thousands of dollars more than the cost of outsourcing. He gets monthly reports, support on board calls, visibility on cash flow, burn rate, and projected income – which is instrumental in helping with governance and decision making.
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