Derek Schlicker

About Derek Schlicker

I’ve spent the last 20+ years helping technology companies navigate growth, change, and all the financial complexity that comes with both. My career has been focused on early-stage chaos up to growth scale, and what’s kept me engaged is the chance to solve hard problems with good people.I’m at my best when I’m close to the work; rolling up my sleeves on forecasting models, stress-testing plans, coaching leadership teams and my finance team, or thinking through deal terms late at night. I believe in clarity over complexity, transparency over flash, and building systems that help companies scale without losing their soul. A big part of my role is helping teams and founders build confidence: in the numbers, in the decisions we’re making, and in each other. I care deeply about integrity, especially when the stakes are high or the path forward is unclear.If you’re building something ambitious and need someone who can bring structure without slowing you down, I’d love to connect.What I focus on:• Strategic Financial & Operational Leadership: I work closely with founders, execs, and the board to align capital, strategy, and execution. I lead fundraising, drive board communication, and build frameworks that simplify decisions across functions, from finance to operations.• Financial Insight & Strategy: I drive alignment through forecasting and budget processes that actually get used, not shelved. I help functional leadership identify growth levers, challenge assumptions, and apply analytical rigor to both product strategy and market bets.• Operational Excellence: I scale teams and systems in tandem, improving workflows and resourcing across functions—finance, GTM, product, and people. My focus is on clarity, accountability, and the tools that make execution repeatable.• Risk & Governance: I help leadership and boards manage risk without stalling momentum—bringing structure to uncertainty, discipline to decision-making, and transparency to outcomes.• Transactions & Exits: I run diligence and manage deals end-to-end, making sure execution aligns with strategy. I\'ve worked on and led multiple transactions buy-side and sell-side.

Experience

1. CFO COO

   Bettercomp

   Jun 2024 — Present · Seattle, WA, US

   Bettercomp is the modern market pricing software partner comp pros deserve. Founded by experienced comp and tech executives, our intuitive user experience transforms weeks of manual work in legacy systems to fast, consistent, and defensible pay decisions across your global job catalog.Now, you can seamlessly manage your data, price jobs, model ranges, and make smarter decisions — all in one single source of truth.We take the friction out of comp, so you can spend less time on the how and more time on the why. Visit us at http://bettercomp.com.

Education

• University of Washington

  Bachelor Arts, Mathematics

  2002 — 2005

Skills

• Variance Analysis
• Project Management
• Financial Modeling
• Income Statement
• P&L
• Capex
• Reverse Mergers
• Budgeting
• Microsoft Office
• Strategic Planning
• Strategic Financial Planning
• Business Analysis
• Competitive Analysis
• Business Operations
• Inventory Control
• Data Analysis
• Statistical Modeling
• Financial Reporting
• Oracle E-Business Suite
• Business Planning
• Budgets
• Finance
• Sarbanes-Oxley Act
• Business Process Improvement
• Essbase
• Financial Analysis
• Process Improvement
• Leadership
• Sales Compensation
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Oracle Discoverer
• Forecasting
• Managerial Finance
• P&L Management
• Data Mining
• Hyperion Enterprise
• Supply Chain Optimization
• Due Diligence
• Strategy
• Project Planning