Meet Mike Pacifico of Pacifico& in Upper Eastside

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Pacifico.

Mike, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born in New York, raised in Fairfield, CT, and attended undergrad in Atlanta. Then moved to the NYC, worked on Wall Street, met my beautiful wife, and attended grad school at Columbia. Then off to Amazon in Seattle, boomeranged back to NYC, and down to Miami after one too many northeast winters. Phew…

Ever since high school I’ve had an interest in finance and the financial markets. It started with me opening a trading account in tenth grade, funding it with lawn mowing money, and trading options. This was circa 1998-2000, so I most definitely mistook luck and the prevailing Internet bubble for some inherent skill, but regardless I was hooked and have found myself in spreadsheets ever since.

My parents place a deep value on education and with their support I attended Emory University in Atlanta in 2000. Majoring in business, I had my eyes set on Wall Street. Upon graduating in 2004, I joined the investment banking group at BMO Capital Markets, based in NYC. It’s safe to say that 90% of what I know today (from a foundational financial analysis perspective) was learned during my collective time as an investment banker. The learning curve is unbelievably steep, the pressure is intense, but you quickly learn how to be resourceful and deliver on clients’ needs. Relatively fresh out of undergrad, I was involved in taking companies public (IPOs), M&A advisory (multi-hundred – even billion – dollar deals), leveraged finance, and more “pitching” (putting together in-depth decks in an attempt to win business) than I’d care to remember. I learned a lot. I slept very little!

After several years of investment banking, I was ready for a new challenge. With the valuable experience I had gained (and hours GMAT prep), I was fortunate to attend Columbia Business School, a highly-respected top 10 MBA program. But this is where my journey takes a turn…

As most of my peers targeted prestigious positions on Wall Street or at name-brand consultancies, I wanted something different. I wanted to get my hands dirty. Trade in the suit for a tee shirt. After working with co-founders of an education technology company seeking to raise a seed round of VC funding (fun fact: this company was later acquired by one of the largest publicly-traded educational publishers in the country), I decided I wanted to start my own business as well. I spent the next 18 months scoping and launching a unique ecommerce / social network platform for pet owners (having just recently brought home an English Springer Spaniel puppy with my now-wife). While I successfully launched the site and generated revenue (one of the greatest professional accomplishments of my life, regardless how small the revenue!), I came to a crossroads: now living in Seattle, where we moved for my wife to join Amazon, I could either double-down on my business or join Amazon as well. I joined Amazon.

After several years at Amazon we moved back to NYC and I once again joined the world of investment banking – now having an operational perspective to complement the financial know-how – first at my former firm, then at a boutique focused on early-stage companies (for example, helping startups raise their B and C rounds of financing). Between roles, I spent a year at a VC-backed education technology company taking care of all-things-finance. At this point, and as a result of my last few experiences, I realized something about myself: Yes, I enjoy finance; but I particularly enjoyed it when I was able to help young companies and entrepreneurs navigate the world of cash flow and valuations.

When my wife and I moved down to Miami in 2016 so she could join a (then) little-known pet ecommerce startup called Chewy.com, I accepted a role as CFO at a small entrepreneurship education / accelerator called Venture Hive, which is run by two of the most passionate founders I’ve ever met! In fact, several of the clients I still have today are a result of the network I formed during my time at Venture Hive. To “formalize” the relationship and services I was providing on my own time, I created Pacifico&.

In late 2016 I began discussions of my own with Chewy. In January 2017 I joined Chewy to head finance for their Chewy Brands business (private brands). While I can’t disclose much since it’s a private company, I can say that we were acquired by PetSmart in May 2017 for (reportedly) over $3.3 billion – making it the largest ecommerce acquisition in history. My day job is still with Chewy, leading Chewy Brands finance, and we’re now a multi-billion dollar leader in the pet retail space (ecommerce and otherwise)!

BUT – I still like to stay close to early stage companies and have a strong desire to help develop the startup ecosystem here in Miami and South Florida. Though Pacifico&, I’m able to provide what amounts to CFO on-demand services to a highly selective group of promising young companies.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
So no, it hasn’t always been smooth. While I can’t claim to have had any “real” struggles (out of respect to those who have), I can say that where I am today has definitely required a significant amount of hard work and some very decisive trade-offs. Working 100+ hour weeks, always (literally) on-call, getting “started” on an intense valuation at 2am, getting home at 5am only to take a quick shower and then head to Penn Station to hop the 6:30am Acela to Washington, DC for an important meeting – welcome to investment banking. Personal plans repeatedly cancelled (vacations, weddings, weekends – what weekends?!) and zero visibility into the next 24 hours, let alone week or month. I did this for collectively over 6 years. Yes, you make a lot of money, but the media loves to glamorize this aspect without acknowledging the sacrifices, particularly at the junior level – where all the real work gets done! Very few professions allow still-fresh-from-undergrad 20-somethings to make hundreds (with an “s”) of thousands of dollars in an “average” year, but there’s a significant price – both mentally and physically. By the time I entered business school, I was totally burnt out. Fried. And I was only 26. The most difficult thing for me to do – financially – was to shun going back to the “corporate” world upon graduating Columbia Business School. Sure, I had some savings, but after 2 years of full-time school (while living in NYC), traveling, and a wedding on the horizon (my own!) it was a big risk to start my own company and continue – accelerate! – the significant cash burn; especially as most of my peers were entering prestigious jobs at the best firms in the country for top pay. So what did I do? I decided to blow another $50k in savings to launch a pet website – but it was the best “education” I ever got! And honestly, this pivot I made post-business school (from my own startup to ultimately supporting other startups) is what allows me to add value through Pacifico&, let alone my demanding role at Chewy.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Through Pacifico& I provide CFO on-demand services to a select group of startup and early stage companies here in South Florida. Some of these companies are VC-backed, others are bootstrapped, but regardless of their funding profile I provide cost-effective professional finance support to help entrepreneurs conserve cash while implementing important financial controls and discipline that drive scalability – and ultimately maximize valuation and investor appetite. In fact, as we have this discussion I’m advising one of my clients on a multi-million dollar acquisition offer from a large, publicly-traded company – it would be an amazing exit for the founding team and another (albeit smaller) South Florida success story!

As a founder, CFO, investment banker, investor, manager, and consultant my experience spans B2C and B2B business models across education technology (EdTech), software-as-a-service (SaaS), and eCommerce / consumer retail. My finance background is complemented by operating and strategy experience at both large public and growth stage / VC-backed technology companies – I understand drivers, KPIs, and customer lifecycles. I’m able to offer clients a truly unique perspective, having been on both sides of the fundraising table. Throughout my career, I have prepared investor decks, built models, advised, and/or privately invested in several tech-enabled companies.

In addition to tactical expertise, I have access to a vast network of operators, consultants, investors, and specialized professionals who can help clients overcome the challenges inherent in scaling a business.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I always loved to build things – blocks, Play-doh, Legos, forts – and was always thoughtful about it. Some might say I’m a bit reserved (definitely an introvert!), but I like to think I simply take the time to formulate an opinion or thought before sharing it – I’m not one to shoot from the hip! As I’ve mentioned, my interest in finance started at a young age, so I’d like to think that I’ve ultimately combined my interest with building things with my interest in numbers – and now I build spreadsheets and models! Outside of work, I love the water and the ocean – while I wish I learned to surf a decade earlier than I did, I find it to be one of the most challenging, rewarding, and awe-inspiring activities possible. My wife and I love it so much that we bought a small casita in the surf and yoga town of Nosara, Costa Rica. I also run half-marathons (not quite sure why!) and just try to stay active, in general. Having had a now 9-year-old dog since she was a puppy has always kept us out and about several times a day!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pacificoand.com
• Phone: 203-292-0760
• Email: mike@pacificoand.com

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