Startups
Fractional CFO for Startups: When to Hire and What It Costs
Most founders can run their own finances right up until the moment they cannot. A seed-stage company with a bookkeeper…
Karl Pawlik
CFO & Head of Technology & Life Sciences
Karl Pawlik leads our Technology and Life Sciences practice at Escalon Services. Karl has over 20 years of experience working in various leadership roles in finance, accounting, and strategy, with the last 10+ years being dedicated to the role of CFO of venture and pre-venture funded start-ups. Earlier in his career, Karl held global finance, business development, and strategy roles with Fortune 500 companies including Applied Materials, and St. Jude Medical (now Abbott), where he was part of the team that acquired CardioMeMs and NanoStim.
Karl Pawlik leads our Technology and Life Sciences practice at Escalon Services. Karl has over 20 years of experience working in various leadership roles in finance, accounting, and strategy, with the last 10+ years being dedicated to the role of CFO of venture and pre-venture funded start-ups. Earlier in his career, Karl held global finance, business development, and strategy roles with Fortune 500 companies including Applied Materials, and St. Jude Medical (now Abbott), where he was part of the team that acquired CardioMeMs and NanoStim.
Karl has a passion for setting up organizations for success and gives back to the community by coaching competitive youth water polo.
Karl received his B.S. degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Arizona and an M.B.A. from California State University at Northridge.
12 articles by Karl Pawlik
Written from the desk, not from a content brief.
Financial Operations
SaaS Accounting Explained: What Makes It Different
A SaaS business collects money in ways that break standard bookkeeping. A customer pays a year upfront, but the company…
Financial Operations
Web3 Accounting: How Token & Crypto Treasuries Change the Books
A Web3 company’s books look familiar at the top level: revenue, expenses, payroll, cash. The complexity starts where the cash…
Financial Operations
SaaS Rule of 40 Explained: How Investors Read Your Numbers
Growth or profitability? For most SaaS founders, the answer used to be growth at all costs. That changed when capital…
Financial Operations
ARR vs MRR: What Each Metric Tells You and When to Use It
Every SaaS founder has been asked the same question by an investor: what is your ARR? And almost every founder…
Financial Operations
Fractional CFO for Startups: When You Need One and What They Do
A bookkeeper closes the books. A controller owns the accounting function. A CFO sets financial strategy and works with the…
Accounting & Finance
The SaaS Rule of 40: What It Means and How to Achieve It
If you’re running a SaaS business and talking to investors, you’ve probably heard someone mention the Rule of 40. This simple metric has become a…
Small Businesses
Revenue Recognition for SaaS in 2026: Best Practices for Compliance and Forecasting
Revenue Recognition for SaaS in 2026: Best Practices for Compliance and Forecasting SaaS leaders rarely get into trouble because they…
crypto
The Rise of Stablecoins, Real World Assets, and DeFi in 2026 and What Web3 Companies Must Prepare for in Q1
The Web3 landscape continues to evolve at remarkable speed. As we approach 2026, the industry is shifting from early stage experimentation to more mature…
Life Sciences
Preparing for 2026: Regulatory, Data Integrity, and Compliance Trends Life Sciences Leaders Must Address in Q1
Life sciences companies enter every new year with a sense of urgency and transformation. Scientific discovery continues to accelerate, investment landscapes shift…
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