Growing a brand like Nude Project means speed. New markets, more customers, more transactions. But when your finance stack can’t keep up, speed turns into friction.
Like many scaleups, Nude Project ran on NetSuite. It had the data, but not the usability. Finance tasks turned into long nights of exporting spreadsheets, hunting for the right reports, and reformatting numbers before every board meeting. Decision-making slowed down, and the team felt reactive instead of in control.
“We knew the data was there — but getting to it felt like fighting the system, not working with it."
That’s when they tried a different approach: adding an AI teammate. Instead of pulling manual reports, they started asking questions in Slack.
What was getting in the way
Reports depended on one or two people. Answers arrived late. Spreadsheets multiplied. Board packs took hours to assemble and narrate. And the integration noise kept pulling the team back into fire-drills.
The switch to Simon
8:57 a.m., Monday
Founder: “Simon, yesterday’s sales by country and channel?”
Simon: “€182k total. ES €52k, FR €31k, DE €24k. Shopify 68%, wholesale 32%. Gross margin 54.2% (-1.1 pts vs last week). Main driver: inbound freight +€7.8k after the mid-week restock. Want a one-pager for the 9:30?”
Founder: “Yes—add returns impact.”
The answers came instantly. Finance didn’t just save time — they shifted their role. Instead of being a reporting factory, they became a partner to the rest of the business.
During the first month, the Slack started to feel like the operating system of finance:
- When margin moved, Simon explained the driver and tagged the right owner.
- When a campaign spiked traffic, Simon surfaced the return rate and the cash effect without being asked.
- Board week stopped being a scramble. “Simon, P&L by entity with variance commentary” produced a pack the CFO could send as-is—or tweak—in about two minutes.
What’s interesting isn’t just the tool they used, but the shift in mindset:
- Finance moved from reactive to proactive. Problems are flagged before they grow.
- Meetings became decision-focused. No one wastes time aligning numbers.
- The team scaled without extra headcount. Growth didn’t mean hiring more analysts.
For other scaleups, the lesson is clear: growth will outpace your finance processes unless you find leverage. Whether you use AI or not, the takeaway is the same — finance should spend less time reporting, and more time shaping the business.
What changed
Founders and leaders now ask questions in Slack/Teams and get answers in under 10 seconds—numbers and the why—without opening NetSuite. Sales, Ops, and Marketing self-serve in the same channel, share findings, and move on. The board pack is a command, not a project. And the integration noise is, mostly, gone.
“We stopped opening NetSuite for day-to-day questions. Simon gives us the context we need right where we work.”
“The hour I used to spend nursing integrations is down to a few minutes of real exceptions. Week of the drop, that saved me.”
Where they’re taking it next
Next up: rolling Simon out across entities and tightening monitoring on cash, AR, and logistics costs so issues surface before they become meetings. Board prep stays one command away.
Want to see your numbers this way? Book a demo.
