About Daniya
I bring both sides to every engagement
I spent over a decade at Nord/LB in London as a Project Finance Director, structuring and closing more than 40 renewable energy transactions, deals ranging from £10m to £1bn. I enjoyed financing other people's deals, but I also knew I wanted to build something of my own.
In 2020, I founded Phomo, a Vietnamese pho meal kit business. We got stocked in Whole Foods, Selfridges, and Harvey Nichols. We won Great Taste Awards and were featured in The Times and The Telegraph. We raised £320k and built a brand from scratch.
That experience changed how I think about finance. When it's your own business, the numbers aren't abstract - they're the difference between keeping the lights on and making payroll. I learned to read a P&L the way a founder reads it, not the way a banker does.
I went on to serve as MD and CFO of Dry Drinker, a DTC drinks brand, where I led an £850k equity raise and rebuilt the business model and its finances. Now, through Valor Advisory, I work as a fractional CFO for founder-led businesses, typically consumer and DTC brands between £2m and £50m.
I also mentor and teach finance as part of structured accelerator programmes, because too many founders are made to feel their numbers are someone else's job. They're not.
I've been the person structuring and executing multi-million pound deals and the person wondering if the cash will clear before payday. Both experiences are in the room with every client I work with.
Let's talk
If you recognise your business in what you've read, I'd like to hear from you. The first conversation is straightforward: you tell me what's going on, I tell you honestly whether I can help.