Serial founder Russ Fradin launched Larridin to become the leading third-party measurement company for the AI era. Their mission: show enterprises whether the AI tools they’ve bought are actually being used—and if they’re driving real productivity gains.
Larridin’s dashboards provide real-time insight into AI platform usage and efficiency.
The Challenge: Needed a Finance Partner at Day One
Russ, CEO & Co-Founder at Larridin, and his partner, Jim, raised $17 million on day one—but had no finance infrastructure to support it. As an AI measurement company backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Larridin required full financial operations—from close and payments, to employee onboarding, and tax—ready from day one.
The Solution
Russ turned to someone he deeply trusts—his former cofounder, who had launched a new company months earlier—and to a few founder friends. The recommendation was clear: call OpStart. From there, OpStart embedded as Larridin’s day-zero finance partner.
“We hired OpStart because we needed to build a company from the ground up — hire people, pay people, close the books, and get our operations running from day one.”
— Russ Fradin, Co-Founder, Larridin
OpStart: Trusted by Top VCs and Repeat Founders
Early on, Andreessen Horowitz required approved accounting support as part of Larridin’s financing. After an introduction and quick diligence, OpStart was added to the firm’s trusted vendor list, and the partnership moved forward seamlessly.
Since then, Russ—a repeat founder with multiple exits—has recommended OpStart to other founders for the same reason: dependable execution from day zero.
“You guys [OpStart] have fully delivered on exactly what they promised — no surprises, just solid execution.”
— Russ Fradin, Co-Founder, Larridin
Advice for Founders from Russ Fradin
Regulate your emotional energy.
Building a startup takes a long time, and setbacks are guaranteed. Don’t get overly deflated when they happen.
Calibrate fundraising expectations.
“The most likely number of term sheets you’ll get is zero. The second most likely is one.”
Optimize for options, but don’t fumble the one real offer you may have.
Same for M&A.
Multiple bidders are rare; often there’s one real buyer—if any.
Do the unglamorous work.
Close the books, pay people, bill and collect. The boring basics compound into durability.
About OpStart
We’re your modern finance function-as-a-service—bookkeeping, taxes, and fractional CFO—in one high-touch team that gives founders real-time clarity, proactive guidance, and the freedom to focus on growth.
https://www.opstart.co/
Let’s learn more about each other!
Schedule a call today.
