About Loopworm
Loopworm is a vertically integrated silkworm company based in Bengaluru. We process silkworm pupae into LoopMeal, a high-protein ingredient, and LoopOil, supplied to aquafeed, pet food and animal nutrition customers in India, Japan, Southeast Asia and Europe. We reached profitability within 30 months of commercialisation and manufacture at our own plant in the Dodaballapur industrial area.
Purpose of the Role
Product-level costing. Cash forecasting. Working capital. The currency exposure on our export receivables. You will own all of it, and you will build the function that produces it — the controls, the costing model, the cash discipline and the reporting rhythm — before you run it. This is a build role, not a maintenance role.
What You'll Own
Controls and the monthly close
- Close the books by working day 5, every month, against a checklist.
- Design segregation of duties, the approval matrix and delegation of authority;
- Own inventory valuation across raw material, WIP, finished goods and packing material, and its reconciliation to the books.
Costing and unit economics
- Build product-wise costing: landed cost per kg of pupae, conversion cost per MT, yield and loss accounting, and contribution margin for LoopMeal and LoopOil by customer and geography.
- Publish margin by product monthly, and be able to explain every movement in it.
- Own the annual budget and the monthly budget-versus-actual review, built with the plant and procurement teams rather than for them.
Cash, treasury and working capital
- Own a rolling cash flow and the working capital cycle, each against a stated target.
- Manage banking relationships and the cost of debt — negotiate terms rather than accept them.
- Own currency exposure on export receivables: hedging policy, booking discipline and realisation against booked rate, plus export incentives and documentation.
Capital and lenders
- Build and hold the data room so that we are diligence-ready before diligence begins.
- Own the financial model, the diligence response, covenant negotiation and compliance reporting.
Compliance, audit and risk
- Drive the statutory audit to a clean report with no material adjustments.
- Review — not prepare — GST, TDS, PF, PT and income tax positions; own tax planning and structuring as the company grows.
- Own insurance cover, commercial contract review and the risk register.
Team and systems
- Mentor the Accounts Manager deliberately toward controller-level capability, and hire and build the layer below.
- Own the finance side of the ERP rollout and the shift from spreadsheets to a system of record.
What the first year looks like
- Months 6–12 — data room current; debt facility negotiated; next year's budget built bottom-up; a clean statutory audit.
What We're Looking For
Non-negotiables
- Integrity. This role carries banking authority, payment approvals and the numbers we will put in front of investors and lenders. We reference-check carefully and expect complete transparency.
- Someone who opens the ledger. There is no team beneath you on day one beyond one Finance Manager. When a reconciliation is wrong, you will find out why yourself.
- Ownership. We run on freedom and responsibility. Nobody will chase you for updates. In exchange, you own the outcome, you raise problems early, and you never let something quietly fail.
Experience and education
- Chartered Accountant, or Cost Accountant (ICWA) with strong financial accounting depth.
- 5+ years, including genuine manufacturing costing experience — you have built a costing model, not consumed one.
- Ideally the second finance person in a small company, or someone who built a function from a small base, rather than the seventh in a large finance department.
- Preferred: exports and currency hedging; a funding round or bank diligence handled from the company side; ERP implementation;
Skills & Competencies
- Advanced Excel and financial modelling; comfortable owning the shift from spreadsheets to an ERP system of record.
- Working knowledge of GST, TDS, PF and PT frameworks, even though compliance is reviewed rather than prepared.
- Banking and vendor negotiation experience — comfortable negotiating terms, not just accepting them.
- Working knowledge of Kannada alongside English is an advantage.
How We Work at Loopworm
- Freedom and responsibility. We state the outcome we need and the constraints, then get out of the way. The other side of that bargain is real.
- Honesty over comfort. Bad news should travel fastest. A problem on the day it appears beats a polished explanation a month later.
- Numbers, not opinions. Decisions are made on data. If you bring a proposal, bring the arithmetic behind it.
How to Apply
Send your CV ([Confidential Information]) with a short note on one finance function you have built or fixed — what was broken, what you did, and what the numbers looked like before and after. We read these carefully. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to review an actual P&L and cost sheet with us in the second round.
