The Situation
Alex Circei, a Romanian-born serial entrepreneur and risk-taker, had a bold vision: to bring clarity and visibility to software engineering teams. In 2017, he launched Waydev, Inc., a Delaware C-Corp formed via Stripe Atlas, with a globally distributed team based all over the world.
Alex built a powerful Software Engineering Intelligence platform that quickly caught the attention of Fortune 500 clients. But he wasn’t just building a product; he was navigating international operations, selling into the U.S., raising capital, and managing a team.
After three years of relentless pursuit, including 13 applications, he was finally accepted into Y Combinator, the world’s most prestigious startup accelerator.
Despite all this momentum, Alex knew he couldn’t do it alone. He needed a partner to take care of the backend, while he focused on building the business.
The Journey
Our relationship with Alex began through the Stripe Atlas founder community, where he had seen Cenk regularly helping founders navigate U.S. accounting, tax, and finance challenges. After our first conversation, it was clear we shared the same philosophy, he said:
“I’m not going to focus on compliance, taxes, accounting. I need a reliable team who keeps me in line and reminds me what has to be done.”
We started by rebuilding the company’s financial foundation. Over 3 years of accounting records were cleaned up in Xero, historical tax returns were amended, founder equity and early investor activity were properly reconciled, and the accounting structure was redesigned to reflect the needs of a growing B2B SaaS business. By the end of the process, Waydev had reliable financial records that were ready for investors, audits, and future fundraising.
As the company continued to grow, our role naturally expanded beyond accounting. Through ongoing CFO advisory, we worked alongside Alex on financial reporting, cash flow forecasting, fundraising preparation, hiring plans, compensation analysis, and key strategic decisions.
When the company evaluated hiring in the U.S., we modeled payroll costs across multiple states, helped establish compliant payroll and HR processes, and provided the financial insight needed to make confident hiring decisions.
When Alex decided to relocate to the U.S., we worked closely with his immigration attorney by providing financial records, payroll information, corporate documentation, and guidance on founder compensation. Together, we helped support his successful O-1 and later EB-1 visa applications, allowing him to lead the business from the U.S.
Over more than 6 years, our role evolved from accounting support into a long-term strategic partnership. Today, we continue to support Waydev’s growth by providing the financial clarity, proactive advice, and trusted guidance behind many of the company’s most important business decisions.
The Transformation
Like every startup, Waydev had its ups and downs.
There were pivots, team changes, strategy shifts, and tough quarters.
But through it all, Alex had one constant: a CFO-level partner on speed dial.
- Financial visibility and proactive reminders, no surprises
- Cashflow forecasting to extend runway and make tough calls
- Coaching on founder decisions, hiring, and investor communication
- Confidence to shut down underperforming U.S. hires, backed by data
- Operational alignment between Romania and U.S.
- Immigration success, multi-state payroll compliance, and accurate tax filings
- Zero penalties, zero missed filings for 6+ years
Alex also referred multiple other founders to Tukel Inc. and many of whom are now long-term clients themselves.
Behind these outcomes is a partnership built on trust and consistency.