Run the Numbers

CJ Gustafson
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Run the Numbers is a twice-weekly podcast about financial metrics and business models, designed for ambitious people operating tech startups. It's a collection of things host CJ Gustafson (CFO at Partstech and writer of Mostly Metrics) has learned and thought about in the trenches as a tech CFO. This show is meant to serve as a playbook of sorts for the stuff CJ wishes he knew earlier in his career, both from experience and from copying people smarter than himself. Topics frequently touch upon Startup SaaS Metrics, Annual Budgeting, Financial Forecasting, Headcount, Equity, Dilution, and Fundraising – and how all of these drive business performance and growth.

  1. Blockchain.com CFO on How Crypto Exchanges Actually Make Money

    1H AGO

    Blockchain.com CFO on How Crypto Exchanges Actually Make Money

    In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Mike Wilcox, CFO of Blockchain.com, to unpack the economics of crypto exchanges. They discuss how platforms serve both retail traders and institutional clients, the different ways exchanges generate revenue, and the tension between blockchain’s radical transparency and the valuable first-party data exchanges control. — SPONSORS: Brex is an intelligent finance platform that combines corporate cards, built-in expense management, and AI agents to eliminate manual finance work. By automating expense reviews and reconciliations, Brex gives CFOs more time for the high-impact work that drives growth. Join 35,000+ companies like Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash at https://www.brex.com/metrics Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai — LINKS:  Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsN Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-wilcox-65078a12/ https://www.blockchain.com/ CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com — TIMESTAMPS: Here's the trimmed version: 0:00 Preview and intro2:12 Tradfi to crypto transition3:49 Blockchain.com origin5:45 CFO as business partner6:01 Finance team backgrounds7:02 Banking relationships8:51 On ramps and off ramps8:51 Retail vs. institutional10:53 Sponsors — Brex | Metronome | RightRev14:09 B2C to B2B motion16:04 Shared infrastructure18:31 Go-to-market differences19:00 Brand equity and low CAC20:06 Education as top-of-funnel21:13 Institutional vs. retail volatility22:37 Exchange vs. brokerage model23:56 How brokerages make money24:06 Sponsors — Rillet | Tabs | Abacum27:31 Setting take rates29:13 Distribution flywheel30:13 Data as a moat31:13 Nigeria market playbook31:44 Crypto balance sheet33:25 Duration matching34:37 Transaction-level risk36:12 Latency arms race37:28 Stablecoins and CFOs38:13 Risk vectors40:01 Annual planning41:51 Lightning round43:00 Finance software stack43:31 Advice to younger self44:09 Credits

    45 min
  2. Venture Debt Explained: How Startup Lending Actually Works | Marshall Hawks

    3D AGO

    Venture Debt Explained: How Startup Lending Actually Works | Marshall Hawks

    CJ sits down with Marshall Hawks, a 20-year veteran of venture lending and author of Venture Debt Deals. They cover the real rules of thumb behind deal sizing, why lenders underwrite likelihood of raising again (not breakout outcomes), how banks and private credit differ, the three real sources of repayment, and how to actually run a venture debt process without blowing your legal budget. --- SPONSORS: Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai Brex is an intelligent finance platform that combines corporate cards, built-in expense management, and AI agents to eliminate manual finance work. By automating expense reviews and reconciliations, Brex gives CFOs more time for the high-impact work that drives growth. Join 35,000+ companies like Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash at https://www.brex.com/metrics Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That's why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you're scaling on an ERP that wasn't built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsN Marshall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshallhawks/ Marshall's website: https://www.marshallhawks.com CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Preview and intro 3:23 Marshall's background and the book 4:47 Venture Deals as inspiration 6:30 Companies Marshall has worked with 6:49 The venture debt sweet spot 8:01 Why venture debt follows equity raises 10:55 The 25–40% rule of thumb 12:08 AI companies and the limits of the rule 13:58 Sponsors — Abacum | Brex | Metronome 17:15 How lenders think vs. investors 19:12 The three sources of repayment 21:37 Venture debt and the AI boom 23:52 Banks vs. private credit 26:28 Sponsors — RightRev | Rillet | Tabs 29:57 Private credit pricing and warrants 33:04 Syndicated deals 35:04 Legal timelines 38:13 Who pays the legal bill? 40:06 Why your GC shouldn't quarterback the deal 41:30 What forecast to give your lender 43:37 Reporting cadence 45:57 Bad news should travel fast 47:49 The Twitch case study 50:19 Are we over our skis in 2026? 54:50 Where to get Venture Debt Deals 55:09 Credits

    56 min
  3. How Superhuman Structures Its Analytics Team | Chris Byington

    MAR 5

    How Superhuman Structures Its Analytics Team | Chris Byington

    In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Superhuman’s Head of Analytics Chris Byington. They break down where analytics should sit inside a company, why dashboards often fail, and how the best teams connect metrics, OKRs, and forecasting to real decisions. Chris also explains why “ship goals” can mislead teams and what CEOs and CFOs should expect from a truly decision-driving data function. — SPONSORS: Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai Brex is an intelligent finance platform that combines corporate cards, built-in expense management, and AI agents to eliminate manual finance work. By automating expense reviews and reconciliations, Brex gives CFOs more time for the high-impact work that drives growth. Join 35,000+ companies like Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash at https://www.brex.com/metrics Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj — LINKS:  Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsN Chris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-byington/ Superhuman: https://superhuman.com/ CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com — RELATED EPISODES: Matt Hudson Episode https://youtu.be/_FWGYkzhymQ — TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Preview and intro 3:29 Centralized analytics team 7:29 Start analytics with problems not tools 9:41 Lead with the problem 10:14 Align on growth model 11:46 Pre-commit to decisions 13:14 Sponsors — Tabs | Abacum | Brex 16:35 Dashboards need growth context 19:10 Where analytics should sit 21:18 Pros and cons of analytics in finance 23:18 Operations vs revenue org placement 24:11 Hub-and-spoke analytics model 25:18 What “embedded” actually means 26:14 Sponsors — Metronome | RightRev | Rillet 29:38 When self-service analytics works 32:04 Self-serve pitfalls 33:44 Buy vs build BI 35:44 Analytics owns metrics 38:26 Hero metric example 41:41 Outcomes > shipping 42:14 Set goals before build 43:57 Metrics are outcome proxies 46:40 Easy way to say no 48:29 Start answers with yes 52:17 Proving analytics impact 56:19 Credits #RunTheNumbersPodcast

    57 min
  4. The Economics of Marketplaces: Take Rates, Middlemen, and Power

    MAR 2

    The Economics of Marketplaces: Take Rates, Middlemen, and Power

    In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ breaks down the 5,000-year history of marketplaces—from Mesopotamia to Amazon—and the economics behind take rates, trust layers, and vertical unbundling. We unpack Airbnb’s fee backlash, Facebook Marketplace’s hidden value, why inventory kills platforms, and how AI will reshape discovery—without eliminating the middleman. — SPONSORS: Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai Brex is an intelligent finance platform that combines corporate cards, built-in expense management, and AI agents to eliminate manual finance work. By automating expense reviews and reconciliations, Brex gives CFOs more time for the high-impact work that drives growth. Join 35,000+ companies like Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash at https://www.brex.com/metrics Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com — LINKS:  Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsN CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/ Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/ — RELATED EPISODES: The Mindshare Advantage Marketplace Success With Boris Wertz of Version One Ventures https://youtu.be/kN61sAxw_yk The Marketplace Plus Model Explained | Colin Gardiner of Yonder VC https://youtu.be/VIWFVwCfyLE A CFO Explains the History of EBITDA https://youtu.be/JySZv_fSNqs — TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Preview 1:34 Marketplace Origins 2:48 The Digital Shift 5:55 Unbundling of Craigslist 9:56 Sponsors — Rillet | Tabs | Abacum 13:21 Smart Phone Revolution 17:33 Take Rate Calculations 21:08 When the Marketplace Crosses the Line 24:49 Sponsors — Brex | Metronome | RightRev 28:09 When Fees Become Friction 30:37 The Marketplace Plus Model 33:26 The $100B Flea Market 36:14 The Inventory Trap 40:07 The Disintermediation Problem 42:35 Convenience Beats Inspection 45:09 AI Compresses the Marketplace 47:56 You Can’t Cut Out the Middleman 50:03 Credits #RunTheNumbersPodcast #Marketplaces #PlatformEconomy #Middleman #TechStrategy

    51 min
  5. The $150B Secondary Market and the Future of Venture Liquidity | Mike Jung

    FEB 26

    The $150B Secondary Market and the Future of Venture Liquidity | Mike Jung

    CJ sits down with Mike Jung, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Founders Circle Capital. They unpack the rise of structured liquidity, how secondaries went mainstream, and what CFOs should know before running a tender. Mike shares lessons from the dot-com era, AI’s “super cycle,” and what separates durable growth companies from hype. — SPONSORS: RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai Brex is an intelligent finance platform that combines corporate cards, built-in expense management, and AI agents to eliminate manual finance work. By automating expense reviews and reconciliations, Brex gives CFOs more time for the high-impact work that drives growth. Join 35,000+ companies like Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash at https://www.brex.com/metrics Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com — LINKS:  Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsN Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikjung https://www.founderscircle.com/ CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ https://www.mostlymetrics.com — TIMESTAMPS: 1:08 Founder Circle origin 3:15 The founder liquidity insight 5:16 Staying private longer problem 6:04 Secondary market control vs chaos 8:44 Secondaries over IPOs 10:12 Liquidity keeps VC alive 11:27 Ask Jeeves dot-com lesson 12:26 $190 to $1 + AMT reality 13:10 Sponsors — RightRev | Rillet | Tabs 16:39 Private share opacity risk 20:25 Founder + employee liquidity playbooks 21:55 Early investors need liquidity too 22:31 Cap table math actually matters 24:17 SPV fee stacking insanity 25:37 Sponsors — Abacum | Brex | Metronome 28:54 Tender offer guardrails 30:09 Minimum vs maximum liquidity balance 33:01 Growth stage sweet spot + IPO bar rising 34:17 AI Cambrian explosion 34:58 Buying fear vs buying hype 36:29 AI growth sustainability 37:19 Founder-led advantage + product velocity 38:47 TAM is created, not measured 41:06 Anti-portfolio lessons 43:01 What is a supercycle 44:34 Do supercycles end in crashes? 46:16 AI’s unprecedented adoption curve 48:31 Community as a moat 52:50 Earning the right to be on the cap table

    58 min
  6. Minted’s CFO: Half the Year Happens in One Month

    FEB 23

    Minted’s CFO: Half the Year Happens in One Month

    In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Mateo Bryant, CFO of Minted. They break down Minted’s life-event flywheel and decades-long LTV, managing extreme seasonality when half the year happens in one month, and balancing long-term CAC with short-term monetization. Mateo also shares lessons from scaling Uber and Amazon globally, localization missteps, and making marketplaces work in emerging markets. — SPONSORS: Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai Brex is an intelligent finance platform that combines corporate cards, built-in expense management, and AI agents to eliminate manual finance work. By automating expense reviews and reconciliations, Brex gives CFOs more time for the high-impact work that drives growth. Join 35,000+ companies like Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash at https://www.brex.com/metrics Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run — LINKS:  Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsN Mateo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryantmatt/ Minted: https://www.minted.com/ CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com — RELATED EPISODES: Peter Oey, CFO of Grab: https://youtu.be/tdq0AZO0dLU — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 03:16 Fixer to CFO 05:32 Mexico City Startups 09:00 Minted Flywheel 10:24 LTV Expansion 11:04 Entry Points 12:18 CAC and Cohorts 13:42 Sponsors: Metronome | RightRev | Rillet 17:06 Wedding Lifecycle 19:49 Holiday Forecasting 22:23 Retail Calendar 24:03 Cash Flow Swings 25:05 Marketing Over Sales 26:06 Email Limits 27:41 Sponsors: Tabs | Abacum | Brex 31:02 Retail Strategy 35:08 Global Experience 40:47 Uber Cash Economics 46:04 Cost of Not Localizing 50:19 Importer of Record 53:17 No Google Lesson 55:34 QBR Mistake 56:48 High Leverage Hours 59:03 Finance Stack 59:50 Seven Day Cruise Expense #RunTheNumbersPodcast #MarketplaceStrategy #EcommerceFinance #GigEconomy #CFOInsights

    1h 1m
  7. How a CFO Budgets for Forward Deployed Engineers

    FEB 19

    How a CFO Budgets for Forward Deployed Engineers

    In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Varsha Udayabhanu of Invisible to unpack what enterprise AI adoption actually looks like beyond the hype. They cover forward deployed engineers, eight-week solution sprints, value-based pricing when outcomes are hard to meter, ARR vs. services revenue, and why “momentum” beats traditional SaaS metrics. A tactical look at trust, expansion, and building durable AI revenue. — SPONSORS: Brex is an intelligent finance platform that combines corporate cards, built-in expense management, and AI agents to eliminate manual finance work. By automating expense reviews and reconciliations, Brex gives CFOs more time for the high-impact work that drives growth. Join 35,000+ companies like Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash at https://www.brex.com/metrics Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai — LINKS:  Varsha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/varshaudayabhanu/ Company: https://invisibletech.ai/ CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com — RELATED EPISODES: Marketing as a Form of Capital Allocation With Carta's Head of Growth Angela Winegar https://youtu.be/rG09ehsrWv8 — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 03:21 What Invisible Technologies Does 05:34 Enterprise AI Adoption Gap 07:38 Forward Deployed Engineers 09:44 Evolving GTM in AI Services 10:36 Solution Sprints 12:37 Sponsor — Brex | Metronome | RightRev 15:56 Upfront Investment vs. Upside 18:38 Bespoke Deals 20:37 Value-Based Pricing in Enterprise AI 22:12 Value Sold vs. Value Delivered 23:31 Enterprise Revenue as a Portfolio of Bets 24:53 Time-Bound Solution Sprints 27:06 Sponsor — Rillet | Tabs | Abacum 30:32 Humans in the Loop & Expert Incentives 33:38 Niche Human Expertise 34:10 Rethinking KPIs Beyond ARR 35:44 Momentum Metrics 39:00 Evaluating GenAI Financial Profiles 40:47 Expansion as the Atomic Unit 42:19 AdTech Lessons on Distribution & Brand 43:23 Why Brand Matters for Enterprise 47:10 Commoditization Risk 48:31 Long-Ass Lightning Round 53:20 Credits

    54 min
  8. What Investors Want to Hear in Board Meetings

    FEB 16

    What Investors Want to Hear in Board Meetings

    In this episode, CJ talks with Paul Stansik of ParkerGale Capital about what separates Simplifiers from Complicators. They unpack why most board meetings miss the point, how to answer the actual question, and why naming the real problem builds trust. — SPONSORS: Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai Brex is an intelligent finance platform that combines corporate cards, built-in expense management, and AI agents to eliminate manual finance work. By automating expense reviews and reconciliations, Brex gives CFOs more time for the high-impact work that drives growth. Join 35,000+ companies like Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash at https://www.brex.com/metrics Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run — LINKS:  Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulstansik/ ParkerGale Capital: https://www.parkergale.com/ https://hellooperator.substack.com/ CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com — TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Fixing Broken Windows in Investing 3:08 What an Operating Partner Actually Does 5:35 Managing Nine Portfolio Companies 6:07 Where PE Investors Spend Their Time 9:02 Do Investors Think About You All Day? 10:16 The Operator “Bermuda Triangle” 12:35 Sponsors — Abacum | Brex | Metronome 15:52 The CFO “Triangle of Doom” 17:47 How to Become an Investor Favorite 18:42 Templates Build Trust in Board Communication 20:54 Using Trusted Data 22:10 The Board Payback Record Scratch 23:18 Building Your “Data Diet” With the Board 25:19 Sponsors — RightRev | Rillet | Tabs 28:47 Signs a Team Isn’t in Command 31:30 Board Meetings Aren’t a Performance 34:16 “20 Board Meetings—Don’t Waste Them” 35:15 Ask Permission to Reallocate the Agenda 37:54 When to Send Board Materials 40:28 Simplifiers vs. Complicators 41:58 The Simplifier Finds the One Question That Matters 42:16 Three Traits of a Simplifier: Answer, Find, Do 43:15 Why Complicated Operators Take You on a Ride 44:26 Selling vs. Substance 46:23 “Get There, Bob” 47:25 Why We Hedge 49:36 You Can’t Fix a Secret 52:50 Credits

    53 min
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About

Run the Numbers is a twice-weekly podcast about financial metrics and business models, designed for ambitious people operating tech startups. It's a collection of things host CJ Gustafson (CFO at Partstech and writer of Mostly Metrics) has learned and thought about in the trenches as a tech CFO. This show is meant to serve as a playbook of sorts for the stuff CJ wishes he knew earlier in his career, both from experience and from copying people smarter than himself. Topics frequently touch upon Startup SaaS Metrics, Annual Budgeting, Financial Forecasting, Headcount, Equity, Dilution, and Fundraising – and how all of these drive business performance and growth.

Information

  • Creator
    CJ Gustafson
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    271
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © CJ Gustafson
  • Show Website
    Run the Numbers

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