Selvey Knight

Career

I've spent my career toggling between deep technical work and bigger-picture questions: How do we actually build better systems and companies? I started in the details of accounting and audit, moved into complex transactions and data analytics, and now split my time between an MBA and helping build a startup from the ground up.

This page is meant to show how I think and operate—the kinds of problems I gravitate toward, how I work with teams, and what I've learned from the environments I've worked in. It's less a list of roles, and more a tour through the arc behind them.

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Highlights

Credentials

  • CPA
  • MBA (Yale SOM)
  • Master's in Accounting

What I bring

  • Builder mindsetTurn ideas into tools and systems others can use.
  • Comfortable in ambiguityDefine the work when there's no playbook.
  • Strategic financeConnect models to real decisions on growth and risk.
  • Develops peopleTeaching and mentoring from audit teams to MBA.
  • Analytics & dataLarge, messy datasets → clear path forward.

Career arcs

A quick path through the major phases.

  1. Foundations in accounting and systems thinking

    Undergraduate & Master's in Accounting

    I compressed a five-year accounting program into four years while building a strong technical foundation and starting to think more about how systems and organizations are designed.

    • Built a rigorous technical foundation in accounting and financial reporting.
    • Learned to handle sustained workload and deadlines while staying involved in campus life and leadership.
    • Started connecting economics and incentives to how real decisions and outcomes play out.

  2. Learning to operate in complexity at scale

    Audit internship → Assurance Senior

    Public accounting dropped me directly into complex companies, transactions, and teams, and forced me to get comfortable owning messy, high-stakes work.

    • Became the person teammates trusted with ambiguous, complex areas where there was no playbook.
    • Learned to work directly with senior stakeholders and clients, not just through layers of hierarchy.
    • Developed a leadership style built on clarity, trust, and making people feel supported in hard seasons.

  3. Zooming out: strategy, systems, and teaching

    MBA at Yale SOM

    Business school has been a chance to zoom out from individual audits or models and think more deeply about systems, capital allocation, and how organizations actually create value.

    • Connected my finance background to broader questions around strategy, investing, and economic development.
    • Reinforced my understanding by teaching and tutoring EMBAs, which forced me to make complex ideas intuitive.
    • Explored adjacent interests like quantum computing and economic development that shape how I think about the future.

  4. Building from zero with a founder

    Stealth startup – Strategic Finance & Operations

    Working directly with a technical founder at a very early-stage startup has let me combine my finance toolkit with operations, product thinking, and a builder's mindset.

    • Learned how financial models connect to real decisions about pricing, hiring, and product milestones.
    • Experienced what it feels like to build the financial and operating infrastructure from a blank page.
    • Got used to operating with almost no structure, where part of the job is deciding what matters next.

Roles & impact

What the work actually looked like day to day.

Stealth Startup
Strategic Finance & Operations Advisor · New Haven, CT · 2025–Present

Where I connect models to real product, hiring, and runway decisions.

EY
Assurance Senior · Dallas, TX · 2020–2023

Where I learned to operate in complexity and lead teams early.

Stories behind the resume

A few moments that shaped how I work. Use the filters to explore by theme.

Turning a messy revenue account into a living tool

At a large software client, I led the build of a custom revenue tool that turned a tedious, sample-based audit into a fast, full-population analysis—and changed how our team worked.

Builder mindsetAnalytics & complex problem solvingLeadership in ambiguity

Owning the ambiguous corners of complex deals

I was often pulled into the pieces of deals that didn't have a clear playbook—equity restructurings, stock compensation modifications, and plan designs that required real digging.

Analytics & complex problem solvingLeadership in ambiguityStrategic finance

Learning to lead by supporting different people differently

Stepping into a senior role early forced me to develop a leadership style that balanced high standards with genuine support, especially during intense seasons.

Leadership in ambiguityTeaching & mentoring

Pushing the team toward better use of data

I became an early advocate for a new in-house analytics tool, helping the team move away from clunky legacy processes toward more powerful, data-driven testing.

Builder mindsetAnalytics & complex problem solving

Making complex ideas intuitive through teaching

Serving as a teaching assistant and EMBA tutor forced me to translate technical topics into something other people could really use.

Strategic financeTeaching & mentoring

Building financial infrastructure alongside a founder

At a very early-stage startup, I partnered with a technical founder to build the financial and operating backbone needed to make real decisions.

Builder mindsetAnalytics & complex problem solvingStrategic finance

Pushing frontier AI models on real financial problems

I've worked on training and evaluating cutting-edge AI models, focusing on how they handle nuanced financial questions and workflows.

Builder mindsetAnalytics & complex problem solvingStrategic finance

Skills & themes

A few throughlines that show up across different roles and projects.

Builder mindset

I like to turn vague ideas into concrete tools, processes, and systems that other people can actually use.

Analytics & complex problem solving

I'm comfortable diving into large, messy datasets and unusual fact patterns to find a clear path forward.

Leadership in ambiguity

I try to be the person people trust when the task is unclear, helping define the work and support the team.

Strategic finance

I like connecting financial models to real decisions about growth, capital, and risk.

Teaching & mentoring

Explaining complex topics and developing others has been a consistent thread, from audit teams to MBA classrooms.