Start using AI now as the new way of working for your finance team.
Start 2 Scale helps SME and scale-up CFOs put AI to work in their finance function — safely and effectively.
We work alongside your team to identify AI opportunities and build solutions on our platform. Start with an AI assessment or book a call.
Finance is no place for “AI did something”.
Every action by an agent must be traceable to a human, a rule, or a four-eyes check.
We are not building chatbots that simulate bookkeeping. We are building a platform where CFO, controller and agent analyse, draft, review and post together — with guardrails and an audit trail from day 1. That difference is what makes AI stick in finance — or keeps it stuck as an experiment.
Get started now with AI in finance.
Begin with an assessment and the core features of Saldus.ai. If you want to go further, we build tailored agents, reporting routines and workflows together that accelerate your processes and raise quality. That lets your controller focus on analysis instead of Excel work.
AI Assessment
Two weeks working alongside your team to determine where AI delivers most in your finance function — and how to get there within 90 days.
- Process & stack map
- 3 use cases with business case and quick‑wins
- 90‑day roadmap + GO/NO‑GO
Saldus.ai
A secure AI platform for finance — connected to your accounting system and office suite, with guardrails, approvals and an audit trail from day 1. We’re looking for launching partners.
- Exact, MS365, Google Workspace
- Custom agents in your context
- Own model choice · EU‑hosting
Resources
Practical articles, templates and frameworks for finance teams that want to work with AI themselves — with or without Start 2 Scale.
- AI-readiness scan · 5 min · Green/Amber/Red per pillar
- 29 articles across 7 clusters
- Talks & webinars
Four principles — visible in every engagement.
Business case first, model later.
We never start with “what can AI do?”. We start with “what does this process cost you right now — in hours, in money, in nights of poor sleep?” Only then do we choose the solution. Sometimes that is an agent. Sometimes that is an Excel macro.
Vendor-neutral advice.
The assessment is deliberately independent. Sometimes the recommendation is: build it yourself, or choose tool X. Often it leads to a Saldus implementation — but only when the business case holds. No mandatory follow-on sprint.
Audit-grade from day one.
In Saldus.ai every AI action is traceable to a prompt, a dataset, an approver. No black box. No “AI did something”. That is what your accountant, your auditor and you yourself need to build trust in this.
Human-in-the-loop where needed, automated where possible.
Four guardrail states for every agent action: ● auto within limit, ◐ review outside the bandwidth, ○ blocked when policy refuses, ◌ dry-run as a test without effect.
A strong mix of consulting skills, CFO experience and an AI-native approach.
Hans · founderHans van der Zande is the founder of Start 2 Scale. Previously he sat on the other side of the table: as CFO and finance lead at several scale-ups, and before that as a management consultant at a Big‑4 firm. He knows the difference between a polished AI pitch deck and a working month-end close.
Start 2 Scale is a consulting boutique based in Noordwijk, built on AI as a way of working. A small team working with a select number of finance teams at a time — deeply, closely, and with a proprietary platform under the hood.
Not sure where to start?
Take the free 5-minute AI-readiness scan — 21 questions across 7 pillars. Instant Green/Amber/Red and a detailed report in your inbox.
A 30-minute call. We discuss together what the best AI approach is for your team.
No sales pitch. I explain how we work; you tell me where the pain points and opportunities are in your finance cycle. Then we decide together how to move forward.