RLTYco CFO Automates Financial Insights and Saves 10X With Connect AI

RLTYco is a fast-growing startup built to serve the unique financial needs of 1099 real estate agents. From commission advances to tax and healthcare support, the company operates as a business platform for independent agents. With a lean team of fewer than 15 employees, RLTYco’s CFO, Marcelo Lavanhini, leads finance, risk, planning, and tech operations. To support growth without inflating headcount, Marcelo turned to CData Connect AI.

"I'm not a tech guy, but I did everything myself with Connect AI. It was super simple."

— Marcelo Lavanhini, CFO, RLTYco

The challenge: Scaling finance without unlimited headcount or budget

With Salesforce as its CRM and Sage Intacct for accounting, RLTYco needed a way to centralize and visualize critical financial and operational data. Marcelo faced growing demand from leadership for real-time reporting and insights. But as a lean startup, hiring data engineers or a full FP&A team wasn’t viable. Manual reconciliation, spreadsheets, and siloed systems were slowing down decision-making and draining Marcelo’s limited time.

The solution: Automation, without the IT headache

CData Connect AI made it possible for Marcelo—a finance professional, not a developer—to quickly connect Sage Intacct and Salesforce to Power BI without writing code or maintaining pipelines. With CData’s intuitive interface and Excel integration, he built a fully automated reporting workflow, enabling:

• Real-time Power BI dashboards for the C-suite on iPads and iPhones

• Live board and investor reports that update with a click

• Centralized data for underwriting, planning, and reconciliation tasks

"It’s ten times more cost-effective than hiring another full-time analyst. Now I don't need to."

— Marcelo Lavanhini, CFO, RLTYco

The outcome: 10X ROI and real-time executive visibility

With Connect AI, Marcelo avoided hiring at least one senior analyst, saving over $90,000 annually. Monthly and board reporting that used to take hours now takes minutes. Interns complete analysis in half the time. Most importantly, executives have the data they need, when and where they need it. Marcelo is now testing AI-powered insights via CData’s MCP integration, aiming to deliver even faster, proactive portfolio intelligence.

"Our execs track KPIs daily from Power BI on their iPads. That visibility is critical."

— Marcelo Lavanhini, CFO, RLTYco

Empowering finance leaders at data-conscious startups

By adopting CData Connect AI, RLTYco didn’t just automate reports—they gained strategic financial flexibility. The CFO now operates like a full one-man team, delivering daily insights from multiple systems without bottlenecks. For startups looking to scale smart, RLTYco proves that with the right tools, finance leaders can build enterprise-grade reporting without enterprise complexity and cost.

Watch the full session with Marcelo from RLTYco from CData’s Foundations 2025 conference