An Andalusian Podenco In NYC

When we boarded the plane that would take us to a new life in NYC, we weren't alone.

My wife was pregnant, so we were about to become 3. But I don’t mean that. We had a special friend along for the ride.

Nina, our dog, was in the airplane's cargo hold.

I wasn't reckless enough to tell my wife: "Hey, let's move to a huge city in another continent where we don't know anyone!", especially when she was expecting a baby.

We also took our dog with us.

An additional level of recklessness.

If you bear with me, another day I'll tell you the full story about having to fly on different planes because the airline we originally booked the flight with didn't allow dogs in the cargo hold when temperatures at the destination airport were below 4ºC.

Now, about Nina.

She was an Andalusian podenco.

The Andalusian podenco is a breed of dog quite common in the south of Spain. There, podencos, together with greyhounds, are widely used in hunting. When the hunting season is over, many of these dogs are abandoned or killed.

Nina belonged to a litter of puppies that were dumped in a container shortly after birth.

When we adopted her in 2013, she probably thought she'd stay in Spain forever.

She didn't know she had won a 1-way ticket to NYC.

In Long Island City, the neighborhood where we moved, Andalusian podencos were not as common as in the south of Spain.

Andalusian podencos are slender, athletic dogs with short, thick hair, and big pointy ears. They look like they came straight from the ancient Egypt.

And boy, she did turn heads in NYC!

People stopped us all the time, asking what the heck that dog was, and whether she was coming out of a mummy movie.

You don’t believe me? Check out the pictures below:

I hadn't stopped to realize that a dog that didn't attract any attention in Spain would draw so much attention in NYC because she was entirely out of place.

And now that I think about it, I can't help but make a connection between Andalusian podencos in NYC and... financial models!

When I started learning about financial models, I didn't follow any methodology or standard.

I adopted a financial model built by someone else who had left the company and started from there.

To me, my financial model was normal. However, when I shared my financial model with external parties, their reaction was usually like a New Yorker meeting an Andalusian podenco for the first time: "What the heck is this?"

I hadn't realized that a financial model that was completely normal for me, was entirely foreign to the rest of the world.

Especially because my financial model didn't adhere to any standard.

My point is, when someone opens your financial model for the first time, it shouldn't feel foreign to him.

That's why standardizing financial modeling is so crucial.

Fortunately, financial modeling standards have come to the rescue. There are numerous financial modeling standards to choose from. The most prominent ones are SMART, FAST, and BPM.

Each financial modeling standard is unique. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

Choose 1 standard for your financial model and stick to it.

Hey, if you want your financial model to be like a Golden Retriever and not an Andalusian Podenco in NYC, hit reply:

Financial modelling services.

P.S. Links to the most relevant financial modelling standards below:

• BPM

• FAST

• SMART

P.S.2. If you want to know more about Andalusian podencos, you can read here.

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