1117: Building a Unicorn with a Finance Blueprint | Konstantin Dzhengozov, CFO, Payhawk

When Konstantin Dzhengozov turned down a corporate development role in the U.S., he wasn’t walking away from opportunity—he was running toward a different kind of growth. Having helped lead the FP&A function at a fast-scaling Bulgarian tech firm through its acquisition by a U.S. public company, Dzhengozov knew what came next if he stayed the course. But “the unknown… just felt right,” he tells us. So he stayed close to Bulgaria’s booming startup scene—and co-founded Payhawk.

In the early days of Payhawk, Dzhengozov was a one-man finance team, juggling everything from chart of accounts and payroll to fundraising and compliance. “You kind of become a bottleneck at some point,” he tells us. “The sooner you realize that, the better.” His approach: build ahead of need. His first finance hire brought Big Four audit expertise. Next came senior hires in FP&A and tax as the company expanded across Europe and the U.S.

Rather than compete as another card issuer, Payhawk positioned itself as a software company from the start, charging a subscription to solve real pain points Dzhengozov had faced firsthand: poor data visibility, lack of control, and disjointed processes. The company’s dual-revenue model and international-first mindset helped it raise $240 million and become Bulgaria’s first unicorn, he tells us.

Today, Dzhengozov envisions AI helping CFOs compress decision cycles and model complex scenarios instantly. Still, he remains grounded in principle: “Finance should be enabling the business to grow,” not just reporting on it.