From Deepfakes to Burn Rates: The Hidden Dangers That Break Startups (And How to Outsmart Them) | Ep 218 with Sanjay Chadha Co-Founder of SAV Associates

Sanjay Chadha, co-founder of SAV Associates, brings over 25 years of global experience in corporate finance, cybersecurity, and risk management. From navigating boardrooms in Vietnam and Madagascar to safeguarding data in North America, Sanjay has advised more than 1,000 clients on building resilient, profitable companies. In this episode, he reveals the costly mistakes most founders make—plus how to prevent a deepfake disaster from taking down your business.

Key Discussion Points

Why He Left Corporate Life: The spark that pushed Sanjay to leave Big Four consulting and build a global advisory firm.

Global Lessons from 7 Countries: What living and working across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East taught him about scaling internationally.

How to Think Like a CFO: The most overlooked financial mistakes—and why founders must read the story behind their numbers.

Cybersecurity & Deepfakes: Why AI is a blessing and a bombshell—and how one email nearly tricked his entire firm.

Risk is the New Currency: Why protecting data matters more than profits in today’s tech-driven landscape.

Cash Burn ≠ Growth: The trap of fast-spending founders and the secret to building companies that last.

Key Takeaways

• Startups don’t fail from bad ideas—they fail from poor financial fluency.
• If you can’t read your numbers, you can’t write your success story.
• Cyber risk isn’t optional anymore—one deepfake could cost your company everything.
• Global mindset, local agility: Scaling safely starts with structure, not size.
• Every number tells a story—and your CFO should know how to read it.

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