About Alexandra Maxwell

Cuora combines the Italian words cuore and cura, meaning heart and care. Italian has been part of my life since I studied abroad in Bologna. It's a language and culture I still love. I chose this name because I believe cash is at the heart of any business, and with the right care, it will enable you to grow and prosper.

My philosophies and practices around cash management began at a young age. When I was seven I launched my first summer lemonade stand. My mom taught me the key principles to business that summer.

It sounds silly, but my passion for the hustle and grind of entrepreneurship began on that street corner waving down cars, selling lemonade.

When I graduated from undergrad I was determined to understand the "executive's mindset," so I took an executive assistant role at a software company, where I quickly grew into business operations doing HR/recruiting, IT transformation projects, and project scheduling. After three years I was laid off. Instead of panicking, I asked myself the harder question: what do I actually need to learn next? The answer was accounting, the real language of business.

I had taken an accounting night class during my time at the software company and knew I wanted to learn more. That decision took me to a privately owned food manufacturer, where I continued taking night classes in accounting and HR. Shortly after I joined, we were acquired by a publicly traded company. I jumped at the opportunity to expand my knowledge and put into practice everything I was learning in school. My first big win was leading us through the transition to mandated monthly reporting. Quickly, I became the person leadership called when something needed answers or fixing.

Many doors opened during that time, including the opportunity to join a corporate ERP team leading implementations across other subsidiaries. I led the implementation of finance and accounting systems in Infor M3 and built a reporting suite in IBM Cognos. This period challenged my ability to adapt to different operating models and weigh process decisions that balanced flexibility and data integrity for the organization.

My work didn't go unnoticed, and I was nominated to a management training program where my team and I strategized on the company's sustainability initiatives. I found myself captivated by this new area of business. I became convinced that sustainability is the path to profitability, and I was determined to lead businesses through a new way of thinking about risk, seeing it through the lens of sustainable profit. At the end of the project it was a difficult transition to return to my "norm".

I knew it was time to take the leap and go back to school to pursue an MBA and an MS in Sustainability. The University of Michigan was where I knew I could most authentically develop a better understanding of my skills, gifts, and purpose. During grad school, I led the Social Venture Fund at Ross and interned at a venture capital fund, both of which energized me. I realized the seven-year-old CEO was alive and well, eager to make her mark on growing companies. I knew that entrepreneurship and helping entrepreneurs was the next step.

Cuora Financial is a new iteration on that same lemonade stand. I still have the same questions I was asking at seven: what does this actually cost me, how should I price it, what's left at the end of the day, and how do I take care of the people getting me there. After years in the numbers, I know there are more questions than these. But most of what actually matters comes back to basics. 

So, can I sell you a cup of homemade lemonade?