Run the Numbers CJ Gustafson

In this episode, CJ is joined by Angela Winegar, Head of Growth Strategy at Carta and recovering venture capitalist. Having had an unconventional career path, Angela’s experience in the worlds of both marketing and investing gives her a unique perspective on growth. She and CJ discuss the parallels between marketing and investing and Angela explains how marketing is really a form of capital allocation. She sheds light on what the return on investment should be for media budgets and why CFOs should seek to better understand the differences in outcomes and timelines behind individual campaigns. She covers the differences between brand, demand gen, and growth, and the value of each. She also provides insight into marketing metrics and attribution models before sharing entertaining anecdotes from her unusual career.
If you're looking for an ERP head to NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get a customized KPI checklist.
—
SPONSORS:
Maxio is the only billing and financial operations platform that was purpose built for B2B SaaS. They're helping SaaS finance teams automate billing and revenue recognition, manage collections and payments, and put together investor grade reporting packages. 🚀 Request a demo at www.maxio.com/runthenumbers for 10% off your first year.
Leapfin is accounting automation software that automatically prepares and posts reliable journal entries. High-growth businesses like Reddit, Canva, and Seat Geek choose Leapfin to eliminate manual tasks, accelerate month-end close, and enable accounting leaders to provide faster insights to help their companies grow. To automatically standardize your revenue data with measurable business impact check out leapfin.com today. 
Mercury is the fintech ambitious companies use for banking and all their financial workflows. With a powerful bank account at the center of their operations, companies can make better financial decisions and ensure that every dollar spent aligns with company priorities. That's why over 100K startups choose Mercury to confidently run all their financial operations with the precision, control, and focus they need to operate at their best. Learn more at mercury.com.
Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust®; Members FDIC.
NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than 37,000 thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get a customized KPI checklist. 
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FOLLOW US ON X:
@cjgustafson222 (CJ)
@anggwin (Angela)
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Preview and Intro
(02:28) Sponsor - Maxio | Leapfin
(04:58) Angela’s Unconventional Career Path 
(10:29) Marketing as a Form of Capital Allocation
(14:59) Expected Returns From Marketers Versus Investors
(15:44) Sponsor - Mercury | NetSuite
(17:56) What the Return on Investment Should Be on Your Media Budget
(19:50) Brand Versus Demand Gen Versus Growth
(27:35) When to Do Marketing Internally Versus Outsource 
(30:56) Marketing Metrics and Attribution Models
(35:55) Where Marketing Ops Should Sit Within an Org
(39:55) Working for Obama and Working in Government Versus Startups
(42:29) Angela on Meeting Michael Dell
(43:43) The Efficient Market Hypothesis: Right or Wrong?
(46:12) Insight Into Churn at Carta 
(49:05) Carta’s ICP of Lawyers



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Scott Haralson, CFO of Spirit Airlines, joins CJ in this episode to discuss the complexities of operating an airline business. He explains what it means to run an ultra-low-cost carrier model and what goes into calculating the operating costs per available seat mile, Spirit’s most important metric. He talks about the difficulty of forecasting for an airline, explaining the costs you may not think about, what goes into network planning, the challenges of hedging fuel prices, navigating capital intensive decisions such as buying airplanes, and doing all of the above through unpredictable economic cycles and volatility. He also sheds light on why Spirit’s ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) is leisure travelers over business travelers and the important role of dynamic pricing in the airline industry. 
If you're looking for an ERP head to NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get a customized KPI checklist.
—
SPONSORS:
Leapfin is accounting automation software that automatically prepares and posts reliable journal entries. High-growth businesses like Reddit, Canva, and Seat Geek choose Leapfin to eliminate manual tasks, accelerate month-end close, and enable accounting leaders to provide faster insights to help their companies grow. To automatically standardize your revenue data with measurable business impact, check out leapfin.com today. 
Mercury is the fintech ambitious companies use for banking and all their financial workflows. With a powerful bank account at the center of their operations, companies can make better financial decisions and ensure that every dollar spent aligns with company priorities. That's why over 100K startups choose Mercury to confidently run all their financial operations with the precision, control, and focus they need to operate at their best. Learn more at mercury.com.
Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust®; Members FDIC.
NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than 37,000 thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get a customized KPI checklist. 
Maxio is the only billing and financial operations platform that was purpose built for B2B SaaS. They're helping SaaS finance teams automate billing and revenue recognition, manage collections and payments, and put together investor grade reporting packages. 🚀 Request a demo at www.maxio.com/runthenumbers for 10% off your first year.
—
FOLLOW US ON X:
@cjgustafson222 (CJ)
—
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Preview and Intro
(02:40) Sponsor - Leapfin | Mercury
(04:46) Unit Cost Production in an Ultra-low-cost Carrier Model
(08:02) The North Star Metric of Cost Per Available Seat Mile
(13:24) Spirit’s ICP of Leisure Travelers Over Business Travelers
(16:10) The Impact of Flight Utilization on Spirit’s Business Model
(19:42) Sponsor - NetSuite | Maxio 
(22:11) The Difficulty of Forecasting for an Airline 
(29:52) Flight Profitability and Network Planning
(31:21) The Operating Costs of Running an Airline
(37:06) Navigating Economic Cycles and Volatility in the Airline Industry 
(39:52) The Challenges of Hedging the Fuel Price
(44:33) Understanding Major Capital Allocation Decisions
(48:24) Navigating Dynamic Pricing  
(54:16) Scott’s Advice on Understanding What Really Matters
(55:33) Spirit Airlines’ Finance Software Stack
(57:54) Craziest Expense


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Silicon Valley veteran and early employee at Google, Facebook, and Quip, Molly Graham, joins CJ to discuss all things related to scaling startups, growing as a leader, and progressing in your career. Molly talks about her famous “Give Away Your Legos” talk and how this came about before she and CJ discuss the concept of “work grief” and how to get through it when you have to give up something that your identity is tied to. Having had a very non-linear career path and “stumbling sideways into things”, Molly explains the J-Curve versus staircase analogy for career progression and encourages especially those in finance roles to take big risks. From handling the grief of laying someone off to learning the skill of saying no, mastering the art of destruction as an important part of building a company, and knowing how to fire people not just hire them, Molly shares profound insights from her impressive career. 
If you're looking for an ERP head to NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get a customized KPI checklist.
—
SPONSORS:
Maxio is the only billing and financial operations platform that was purpose built for B2B SaaS. They're helping SaaS finance teams automate billing and revenue recognition, manage collections and payments, and put together investor grade reporting packages. 🚀 Request a demo at www.maxio.com/runthenumbers for 10% off your first year.
Mercury is the fintech ambitious companies use for banking and all their financial workflows. With a powerful bank account at the center of their operations, companies can make better financial decisions and ensure that every dollar spent aligns with company priorities. That's why over 100K startups choose Mercury to confidently run all their financial operations with the precision, control, and focus they need to operate at their best. Learn more at mercury.com.
Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust®; Members FDIC.
NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than 37,000 thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get a customized KPI checklist. 
—
FOLLOW US ON X:
@cjgustafson222 (CJ)
@molly_g (Molly)
MOLLY’S SUBSTACK: “Lessons”
 
“‘Give Away Your Legos’ and Other Commandments for Scaling Startups” - Molly Graham:
https://review.firstround.com/give-away-your-legos-and-other-commandments-for-scaling-startups/ 
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Preview and Intro
(01:54) Sponsor - Maxio | Mercury
(04:15) What It Means to “Give Away Your Legos”
(07:59) The Concept of “Work Grief” and How to Get Through It
(12:30) Using the Worst-case Scenario as a Motivator
(15:41) Handling the Grief of Laying Someone Off
(17:28) Sponsor - Netsuite
(18:44) The J-curve Versus Staircase Analogy for Career Progression
(27:31) The Powerful Combo of Risky Paths and Network Building
(30:45) Why You Should Take a Risk if You’re in FP&A or Finance
(33:22) What It Was Like Working Directly for Chamath at Facebook
(34:19) Learning the Skill of Saying No 
(40:18) Why It’s Okay Not to Have a Career Path Mapped Out
(42:41) Destruction as an Important Part of Building a Company
(46:04) The Skill of Time Compression for Leaders
(49:23) The Importance of Knowing How to Fire People, Not Just Hire Them
(53:58) Glue Club and Who Can Benefit From It
(55:21) Finding Your Product Market Fit at Companies of Different Sizes
(59:38) Wrap


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In this episode, CJ is joined by Lanny Baker, the CFO of Eventbrite, and former CFO of Yelp, Monster.com, and ZipRealty. Lanny has been a part of some incredible business transformations or pivots at each of these companies and has some profound insights to share on the topic. First, he explains some of the differences between consumer-facing internet businesses versus SaaS or B2B. He sheds light on Eventbrite’s unique creator and consumer model, the virtuous cycle of network effects it benefits from, and how the company’s take rate is determined. Lanny also talks about the ways that internet platforms expand their TAM over time. This leads to a conversation on business transformations or pivots, the role of a CFO in them, whether to retain or replace people in such a situation, and how to handle investors. Tune in for all this and the hilarious story about a marketing stunt gone wrong.
If you're looking for an ERP head to NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get a customized KPI checklist.
—
SPONSORS:
NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than 37,000 thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get a customized KPI checklist. 
Maxio is the only billing and financial operations platform that was purpose built for B2B SaaS. They're helping SaaS finance teams automate billing and revenue recognition, manage collections and payments, and put together investor grade reporting packages. 🚀 Request a demo at www.maxio.com/runthenumbers for 10% off your first year.
Mercury is the fintech ambitious companies use for banking and all their financial workflows. With a powerful bank account at the center of their operations, companies can make better financial decisions and ensure that every dollar spent aligns with company priorities. That's why over 100K startups choose Mercury to confidently run all their financial operations with the precision, control, and focus they need to operate at their best. Learn more at mercury.com.
Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust®; Members FDIC.
—
FOLLOW US ON X:
@cjgustafson222 (CJ)
—
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Preview and Intro
(02:25) Sponsor - NetSuite | Maxio 
(05:16) How to “Show Up for Life” in Business
(06:54) Consumer-facing Internet Businesses Versus SaaS or B2B
(11:03) First Principles in Building Your Operating Plan as a Finance Team
(13:13) The Benefits of Eventbrite’s Unique Creator and a Consumer Model
(17:28) The Most Important Metric for Eventbrite
(19:04) Sponsor - Mercury 
(21:34) The Factors That Determine Eventbrite’s Take Rate
(25:57) How Internet Companies Expand Their TAMs Over Time
(29:46) The Role of a CFO in a Business Transformation
(40:38) Replacing Versus Retaining People in a Business Transformation
(48:08) Handling Investors in a Business Transformation
(52:33) Long Ass-lightning Round: a Profound Lesson From Lanny’s Time at Monster
(55:26) The Hilarious Story About a Marketing Stunt Gone Wrong
(57:07) Lanny’s Parking-related Life Hack
(58:37) Eventbrite’s Finance Team’s Tech Tooling
(01:00:35) The Craziest Thing Someone Tried to Expense




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In this episode, CJ sits down with John McCauley, the CFO of Calendly. From his learnings under the leadership of Frank Slootman and Mike Scarpelli at ServiceNow to his first CFO role at Seismic, and his current position, John shares valuable insights from his career. He gives advice on hiring and getting promoted, why you should consider your value prop to your company, the benefits of seeking healthy confrontation, and why the CFO should take responsibility for overall company performance. From tracking product-led growth in your metrics to debunking the myths of benchmarking, John offers profound insights into what it takes to excel as a CFO in today's evolving software climate. He also explains the role of loyalty in software organizations and why businesses are teams, not families.
If you're looking for an ERP head to NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get a customized KPI checklist.
—
SPONSORS:
Mercury is the fintech ambitious companies use for banking and all their financial workflows. With a powerful bank account at the center of their operations, companies can make better financial decisions and ensure that every dollar spent aligns with company priorities. That's why over 100K startups choose Mercury to confidently run all their financial operations with the precision, control, and focus they need to operate at their best. Learn more at mercury.com.
Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust®; Members FDIC.
NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than 37,000 thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get a customized KPI checklist. 
Maxio is the only billing and financial operations platform that was purpose built for B2B SaaS. They're helping SaaS finance teams automate billing and revenue recognition, manage collections and payments, and put together investor grade reporting packages. 🚀 Request a demo at www.maxio.com/runthenumbers for 10% off your first year.
—
FOLLOW US ON X:
@cjgustafson222 (CJ)
—
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Preview and Intro
(02:02) Sponsor - Mercury | NetSuite
(04:49) What John Learned Under Frank Slootman and Mike Scarpelli
(10:30) A Big Mistake That John Made at ServiceNow
(15:54) John’s Mindset Going Into His First CFO Role
(18:23) Sponsor - Maxio
(21:22) A Lesson on Hiring and Getting Promoted
(24:48) Brand Equity and Calendly’s Viral Coefficient
(28:22) Tracking Product-led Growth in Your Metrics
(32:36) The Changing Climate of Software
(36:16) Creating Value as a Privately Held Tech Company in M&A
(39:12) The Truth About Benchmarking
(42:17) What Makes a Great CFO
(44:41) John on “Moving Slow to Move Fast” 
(47:01) The Role of Loyalty in Business: Team Versus Family
(50:49) The Long-ass Lightning Round: John’s Advice to His Younger Self
(52:20) John’s Finance Software Stack
(53:35) The Craziest Thing Someone Tried to Expense


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In this episode, CJ is joined by Jeff Cooper, the CFO of Guidewire, a publicly traded vertical software company serving the insurance industry. Jeff explains the strategic advantage Guidewire has in owning the control point within a customer's tech infrastructure and how they achieved this. He sheds light on the challenges and benefits of Guidewire's industry-specific business model, including long sales cycles, non-standard fiscal years, and the risks of burning through their market. He also discusses ARR as the most important metric, how he decides on the metrics he reports on, and how to think about the value of professional services within your valuation and value proposition. 
If you're looking for an ERP head to NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get a customized KPI checklist.
—
SPONSORS:
Maxio is the only billing and financial operations platform that was purpose built for B2B SaaS. They're helping SaaS finance teams automate billing and revenue recognition, manage collections and payments, and put together investor grade reporting packages. 🚀 Request a demo at www.maxio.com/runthenumbers for 10% off your first year.
Mercury is the fintech ambitious companies use for banking and all their financial workflows. With a powerful bank account at the center of their operations, companies can make better financial decisions and ensure that every dollar spent aligns with company priorities. That's why over 100K startups choose Mercury to confidently run all their financial operations with the precision, control, and focus they need to operate at their best. Learn more at mercury.com.
Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust®; Members FDIC.
NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than 37,000 thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get a customized KPI checklist. 
—
FOLLOW US ON X:
@cjgustafson222 (CJ)
—
TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Preview and Intro
(01:57) Sponsor - Maxio | Mercury
(04:20) How Guidewire Monetizes Its Business
(08:48) Guidewire’s Strategic High Ground and How They Earned It
(13:53) The Benefits of Owning the Control Point in a Customer's Tech Stack
(16:09) Guidewire’s Long Deal Cycles and Sales Capacity Model
(18:47) Sponsor - NetSuite
(20:09) Navigating Big Deals, Long Sales Cycles, and Seasonality
(22:33) Guiding to ARR
(24:38) The Pros and Cons of Having Fiscal Year End in July
(28:27) Concerns Over Burning Through Your Market
(31:39) Professional Services: In-house Versus Outsourcing
(36:11) The Nature of a Good Partner Ecosystem
(38:44) Communicating the Most Important Metrics
(42:03) Long-ass Lightning Round: One of Jeff’s Biggest Metric Mistakes 
(44:33) The Advice Jeff Would Give His Younger Self
(45:53) Jeff’s Finance Software Stack


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