Behind the Idea: Fuel Finance

Financial mismanagement kills more startups than a lack of product-market fit. Yet, for many founders, financial planning remains a chaotic mix of broken spreadsheets and instinct-based decisions. Fuel Finance aims to replace this uncertainty with enterprise-grade clarity.

This week, we speak to Alyona Mysko, CEO and founder of Fuel Finance, about rebuilding a company during an invasion, achieving capital efficiency, and why the future of finance relies on AI handling the busywork while humans lead the judgment.

Tell us more about your company and its offering

Fuel Finance functions as a financial planning and analysis (FP&A) software that centralises budgeting, forecasting, dashboards, and reporting into a single system. The platform connects directly to the tools companies already use, such as QuickBooks, bank accounts, CRMs, and payroll systems, transforming scattered data into real-time insights that founders can trust.

For businesses requiring additional support, Fuel offers an optional human CFO service, but the core focus remains on technology. The company’s newest update, Fuel AI CFO, introduces a chat interface trained on a company’s actual financial data. This tool runs scenario planning, spots anomalies, and explains insights in seconds, providing a “Data Quality Score” so users know exactly how reliable those insights are. Today, Fuel manages over $500million in customer P&Ls across the US and Europe.

What problem was your company set up to solve?

The company addresses a critical profitability crisis within the small and medium-sized business (SMB) sector. Currently, 13 million—or 40 per cent—of SMBs in the US are not profitable. This statistic represents trillions of dollars in global GDP locked away simply because founders lack access to clear, reliable financial systems.

Most SMBs cannot afford enterprise-level CFOs, leaving non-finance teams to make critical decisions based on instinct rather than data. Founders often discover financial problems only when it is too late, leading to cash gaps and unnecessary failure. Fuel Finance exists to prevent these issues, keeping businesses profitable and giving founders the financial clarity they deserve.

Since launch, how has your company evolved?

The company began as a “messy” Google Sheets MVP in 2020. Even in that early stage, the prototype helped customers like Petcube achieve profitability in five months, proving the model could genuinely change lives.

Since then, the company has shifted from a service-heavy model to a true technology platform. The evolution moved from spreadsheets to automation, and finally to a full FP&A platform. Now, Fuel is entering the era of AI-driven finance, where the goal is for founders to not just see their numbers, but understand them instantly.

What has been the biggest challenge or most ‘tricky moment’ to overcome?

The company’s most significant challenge was not a business metric, but a geopolitical catastrophe. On February 24, 2022, the morning Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the team was preparing for a major product launch.

Overnight, operations collapsed as the team scattered between shelters and evacuations, and half of the company’s Ukrainian revenue vanished. Mysko shifted from planning dashboards to checking which team members had electricity or needed help. However, the crisis reshaped the company. Within three months, the team rebuilt their revenue fully by pivoting to the US market. This period of resilience put Fuel on the global radar, resetting the team’s definition of “hard”.

What are your biggest achievements or ‘proudest moment’ so far?

Beyond the product metrics, Mysko points to capital efficiency as a major achievement. Fuel reached over $3 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) with just $1 million raised.

The launch of Fuel AI CFO stands as a defining moment, creating an accurate, transparent AI layer trained on real financial data. However, the less visible milestones remain equally important: rebuilding the company during a war and seeing founders finally feel calm when looking at their numbers.

How would you describe the culture of your company?

The culture at Fuel is deeply rooted in financial expertise, with 80 per cent of the team holding a financial background. This ensures everyone has a profound understanding of what they are building.

Despite the focus on numbers, the team prioritises human connection. Traditions include themed all-hands meetings—ranging from Friends themes to late-night-show monologues—and a strong “kudos” culture where gratitude is shared daily. Having lived through war and deep uncertainty, the team has fostered a culture that is resilient, honest, and mission-driven, but also playful.

What’s in store for the future?

Fuel is building for a future where finance looks nothing like the past. The focus is on deepening AI integration, specifically regarding anomaly detection and AI agents with guardrails.

The long-term vision is to make Fuel the default destination for founders who need to get their financial life together. Rather than chasing gimmicks like “fully autonomous finance” before the data is ready, Fuel is taking practical steps toward a future where AI handles the busywork, allowing humans to lead the judgment.