Paul Denis
Finance & Crypto Strategy
Netherlands
Strategic finance professional with hands-on leadership in fintech and blockchain startups. Built and scaled financial operations, infrastructure, and payment rails in complex fiat-to-crypto environments across multiple jurisdictions. Served as CFO at a B2B NFT marketplace (raising >$6M) and Finance Manager at a Franklin Templeton-backed impact investing platform. Early Big 4 experience in real estate advisory & valuations. Currently managing a personal portfolio with a focus on market analysis, risk management, and DeFi strategies, building on years of hands-on market experience.
Work Preferences
Salary
EUR 60,000 – 120,000
Skills
Work Experience
Business & Strategy Advisor
Hydranet DAO
Nov 2023 — Dec 2025
Provided business and strategy advisory support to Hydranet DAO, a decentralized organization developing a Layer 3 DEX and off-chain settlement layer. The project focuses on solving key blockchain challenges such as high transaction fees and slow confirmation times by enabling fast, low-cost, and trustless cross-chain trading of native assets without the need for wrapped tokens or traditional bridges. Offered guidance on business development, strategic direction, and operational priorities in a DAO-governed environment.
Chief Financial Officer
Niftify Platform
Jul 2021 — Jan 2023
As CFO of Niftify, a startup developing a B2B NFT e-commerce platform, I built and led the finance and administration department across multiple jurisdictions (US, Estonia, Slovenia) for a growing team of up to 50. Designed and implemented working financial rails for complex fiat-to-crypto operations and played an active role in fundraising efforts that secured more than $6 million in funding.
CFO & Co-founder
The Capital
Mar 2020 — Jul 2021
Directed finance and legal strategy, guided fundraising, and helped drive The Capital from early-stage concept to its first $100K in annual revenue.
Finance Manager
Proof of Impact
Jul 2019 — Mar 2020
Managed financial operations and infrastructure for a fintech startup building a global marketplace for impact investing and donations. Oversaw day-to-day financial management, reporting, and the setup of scalable financial processes. Supported the Series A funding round (led by Franklin Templeton and other investors) by preparing key financial documents and materials. Contributed to the development of transparent fund-tracking technology that links capital flows to verifiable real-time impact events.
Junior Real Estate Advisory & Valuations
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
Jul 2017 — Dec 2017
As a Junior in Real Estate Advisory & Valuations at PwC, I performed due diligence and in-depth market analyses for commercial real estate valuations. Specialized in reviewing property tax assessments, developing data-backed arguments to challenge unfounded assumptions, and helping clients reduce their tax liabilities. Contributed to the foundational work of expanding PwC’s hotel advisory and valuation practice.
Education
Tilburg University
MSc · Finance
2016 – 2018
Umea University
Entrepreneurship (Minor)
2015 – 2016
Tilburg University
Bachelor · Business Administration
2013 – 2016