Run the Numbers

CJ Gustafson

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. cjgustafson.substack.com

  1. Driving revenue without selling | Greg Henry of 1Password

    2 NGÀY TRƯỚC

    Driving revenue without selling | Greg Henry of 1Password

    In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Greg Henry, CFO of 1Password and one of the most commercially minded finance leaders in tech, to break down why he left the public-company grind at Couchbase for a PLG-driven security business and what he’s relearning in the private sphere. Greg explains how forecasting changes when the product does the selling, how to think about comp and pricing in a usage-led world, and the early tells that a model is quietly over- or under-performing. He shares why CFOs should meet far more customers than they do, how finance can drive revenue without stepping on sales, and what it actually takes for a company to plan with clarity instead of reacting. Greg also recounts the near-derailing of the Couchbase IPO, reflects on the “back nine” of his career, and offers grounded advice for aspiring first-time CFOs. — SPONSORS: RightRev automates the revenue recognition process from end to end, gives you real-time insights, and ensures ASC 606 / IFRS 15 compliance—all while closing books faster. For RevRec that auditors actually trust, visit https://www.rightrev.com and schedule a demo. Tipalti automates the entire payables process—from onboarding suppliers to executing global payouts—helping finance teams save time, eliminate costly errors, and scale confidently across 200+ countries and 120 currencies. More than 5,000 businesses already trust Tipalti to manage payments with built-in security and tax compliance. Visit https://www.tipalti.com/runthenumbers to learn more. Aleph automates 90% of manual, error-prone busywork, so you can focus on the strategic work you were hired to do. Minimize busywork and maximize impact with the power of a web app, the flexibility of spreadsheets, and the magic of AI. Get a personalised demo at https://www.getaleph.com/run Fidelity Private Shares is the all-in-one equity management platform that keeps your cap table clean, your data room organized, and your equity story clear—so you never risk losing a fundraising round over messy records. Schedule a demo at https://www.fidelityprivateshares.com and mention Mostly Metrics to get 20% off. 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 Mercury is business banking built for builders, giving founders and finance pros a financial stack that actually works together. From sending wires to tracking balances and approving payments, Mercury makes it simple to scale without friction. Join the 200,000+ entrepreneurs who trust Mercury and apply online in minutes at https://www.mercury.com — LINKS: Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greghenry23/ 1Password: https://1password.com/ CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com — RELATED EPISODES: Behind the Earnings Calls: Couchbase CFO Greg Henry on Consumption Models & Analyst Relations https://youtu.be/o_pDfz5a-Hw — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Preview and Intro 00:02:57 Sponsors – RightRev | Tipalti | Aleph 00:07:03 Back in the Private Sphere: Why Greg Joined 1Password 00:07:49 Greg’s Four-Part Framework for a Great Role 00:10:12 Thinking About the “Back Nine” & Legacy 00:13:16 Transitioning to PLG & SLG at 1Password 00:15:12 Blending PLG Efficiency with Enterprise Sales 00:17:12 Sponsors – Fidelity Private Shares | Metronome | Mercury 00:20:03 B2C vs. B2B ARPU Contrast 00:22:41 Forecasting in PLG vs. Sales-Led Models 00:24:18 Building Toward Chunky Enterprise Upside 00:25:39 Comp Plans: Complexity, Pitfalls & the Alexander Group 00:27:35 Keep Comp Plans Simple & Focused on ARR 00:29:10 Why Mid-Year Comp Plan Changes Are Dangerous 00:31:04 Governance & Guardrails for SPIFFs 00:33:19 Using the CFO Network to Drive Revenue 00:34:52 Why CFOs Must Meet Customers Directly 00:36:19 Wallet Share & Being a Buyer AND a Seller 00:38:08 Why He Avoids 3-Year+ Commitments 00:40:20 How Much Discount Is a “Year” Worth? 00:42:31 Greg’s Structured Annual Planning Framework 00:43:50 3–5% Upside/Downside Menu 00:44:57 Comp Plans Must Go Out Early 00:47:23 January Compensation & System Cutover Challenges 00:48:31 Why Roadmap Alignment Must Kick Off Planning 00:50:21 Sustain / Differentiate / Durable Growth / World-Class Teams Framework 00:52:29 Couchbase IPO Almost Going Sideways 00:54:59 How to Actually Become a CFO 01:00:11 Legacy Greg Wants to Leave at 1Password #RunTheNumbersPodcast #CFOInsights #SaaSLeadership #PLGvsSLG #FinanceStrategy This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

    1 giờ 2 phút
  2. Do vanity plates bring serious business? | Mostly Growth

    4 NGÀY TRƯỚC

    Do vanity plates bring serious business? | Mostly Growth

    In this Thanksgiving-week Mostly Growth episode, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar ditch the serious finance talk for a looser, drinks-in-hand conversation with Ben Hillman, bouncing between CJ’s nostalgic emo-punk concert adventure, the curse of vanity license plates, and the epidemic of “Y-axis crimes” in founder charts. They riff on Spotify Wrapped copycats, YouTube becoming living-room TV, kids’ YouTube empires, and the game theory behind The Traitors and the Monty Hall problem before shifting into real-world pricing: newsletter perk economics, the pitfalls of hourly consulting, and why value-based packaging always wins. The episode stays playful but still sneaks in sharp insights on growth, psychology, and how weird the business world can be when you actually pay attention. — SPONSORS: Pulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: https://pulley.com/mostlymetrics 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 Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/ Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/ Brian Balfour: brianbalfour.com Brian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbalfour/ Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/ Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/ https://x.com/parikpatelcfa/status/1992706757073023191?s=46 https://www.wired.com/story/null-license-plate-landed-one-hacker-ticket-hell/ https://x.com/im_roy_lee/status/1992692253257855261/photo/1 https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/01/16/the-traitors-a-reality-tv-show-offers-a-useful-economics-lesson https://www.cdccard.com/ https://nyulangone.org/news/one-third-americans-are-trying-avoid-gluten-it-villain-we-think-it-is https://x.com/techsalesguy3/status/1991585201601016161?s=46 https://www.fletchpmm.com/ https://paintvine.co.nz/blogs/news/the-legend-of-picassos-napkin-sketch?srsltid=AfmBOooiyTYGfUdKJZLpblbQAcJzQLg011Os_xeyaCgSpEIXrtIuD6hH https://cityfeedandsupply.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cj-gustafson-13140948_started-from-the-email-now-were-here-activity-7397607230600126465-iVPv/ https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018731-buttermilk-brined-roast-chicken https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1026610-porcini-ragu — RELATED EPISODES: Is a weekly martini ARR? | with Dave Kellogg https://youtu.be/Yb1lUQLJ6qw — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Special Message 00:00:35 Preview and Intro 00:01:41 Sponsors – Pulley & Metronome 00:04:01 Mostly Drinks Episode 00:05:14 Concert Stories & Pop-Punk Nostalgia 00:08:05 Concert Parenting & Full-Circle Moment 00:08:36 Business Blunders Begin 00:10:26 License Plate Fails & Accounting Humor 00:12:08 Y-Axis Crime Chart Review 00:14:21 Global Podcast “Success” & Listener Jokes 00:16:00 Spotify Wrapped: Retention vs. Acquisition 00:17:04 YouTube as the Future of Podcasts 00:17:56 Kids’ Shows, Blippi & Creator Economics 00:18:55 The Traitors Show Overview 00:20:30 Game Theory & Winning as a Traitor 00:22:46 Monty Hall Problem Setup 00:24:27 Game Show Logic & Gambler’s Fallacies 00:26:09 Pricing in the Real World 00:27:03 Community Discount Card Business Model 00:29:09 Newsletter Perks & Subscriber Value 00:30:34 Marketplace Discount Math 00:32:01 Negotiating Like a CFO 00:33:00 Gluten-Free Nights & Pricing Strategy 00:35:24 Outbound Pizza as a Go-to-Market Play 00:37:03 Outbound Pizza Tuesdays to Gluten-Free Tuesdays 00:37:37 Pricing Services: Value vs. Hourly 00:40:47 The Picasso Pricing Story 00:42:55 Harvard Business School Case Study & Kim K Photo 00:44:02 Thanksgiving Cooking: Roast Chicken & Porcini Ragu 00:44:56 Wrap & Credits #MostlyGrowthPodcast #SaaSOperators #BusinessStrategyPod #CreatorEconomyTalks #FinanceNerds This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

    45 phút
  3. Chirag Shah on Scaling From $30M to $1B and Prepping Companies for IPOs | Mostly Classics

    6 NGÀY TRƯỚC

    Chirag Shah on Scaling From $30M to $1B and Prepping Companies for IPOs | Mostly Classics

    How do you know when a company is ready to go public? And what do you do to prepare for this? Chirag Shah, CFO of Motive and former CFO of Kong and Cornerstone OnDemand, joins CJ to share insights from his experience of scaling businesses from $30 million to nearly $1 billion and tripling ARR. He talks about taking companies public and how he helped take one private again in a $5.2 billion deal. In this episode, he explains what signals indicate that a company is ready to accelerate its growth, the art and science of building sales capacity, and how to balance efficiency and growth in hypergrowth mode. He also covers how to achieve a great valuation without a strong performance, the biggest headache on the road to IPO, and whether you should IPO in the first place or remain private. — SPONSORS: Mercury is business banking built for builders, giving founders and finance pros a financial stack that actually works together. From sending wires to tracking balances and approving payments, Mercury makes it simple to scale without friction. Join the 200,000+ entrepreneurs who trust Mercury and apply online in minutes at https://www.mercury.com RightRev automates the revenue recognition process from end to end, gives you real-time insights, and ensures ASC 606 / IFRS 15 compliance—all while closing books faster. For RevRec that auditors actually trust, visit https://www.rightrev.com and schedule a demo. Tipalti automates the entire payables process—from onboarding suppliers to executing global payouts—helping finance teams save time, eliminate costly errors, and scale confidently across 200+ countries and 120 currencies. More than 5,000 businesses already trust Tipalti to manage payments with built-in security and tax compliance. Visit https://www.tipalti.com/runthenumbers to learn more. Aleph automates 90% of manual, error-prone busywork, so you can focus on the strategic work you were hired to do. Minimize busywork and maximize impact with the power of a web app, the flexibility of spreadsheets, and the magic of AI. Get a personalised demo at https://www.getaleph.com/run Fidelity Private Shares is the all-in-one equity management platform that keeps your cap table clean, your data room organized, and your equity story clear—so you never risk losing a fundraising round over messy records. Schedule a demo at https://www.fidelityprivateshares.com and mention Mostly Metrics to get 20% off. 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 — Chirag Shah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chirag-shah-787b1b20/ Motive: https://gomotive.com/ CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com — RELATED EPISODES: From $30M to Almost $1B: A Guide to Hypergrowth, IPO Prep, and Navigating the Public Markethttps://youtu.be/_pJfdN5p-ik — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Preview and Intro 00:02:57 Sponsors – Mercury | RightRev | Tipalti 00:06:49 Motiv CFO Intro & Company Background 00:07:01 Product Market Fit as a CFO 00:09:26 Lessons From Taking Companies Public 00:11:04 Preparing for Life as a Public Company 00:11:26 Moving From Finance Into a GM Role 00:12:50 Learning the Business Beyond Finance 00:14:23 Empathy for Sales & Carrying a Quota 00:15:51 Sponsors – Aleph | Fidelity Private Shares | Metronome 00:19:03 Asking Better Questions After Operating Experience 00:21:23 Knowing When to Accelerate Growth 00:23:16 High-ROI Capacity Signals 00:24:51 Scaling Requires Supporting Functions 00:26:19 The Art + Science of Adding Reps 00:27:53 Sales Team Buy-In Before Scaling 00:29:15 Reading Product-Market Fit Through Sales 00:30:08 Where Scaling Breaks First (Enablement) 00:31:36 Importance of SE / SC Ratios 00:33:13 Timing Supporting Hires 00:34:32 Maintaining Momentum While Scaling 00:36:33 Longest Pole in IPO Prep: Predictability 00:38:47 Building Confidence Through Consistency 00:40:45 Large Deals Swing Small Companies 00:42:41 Growth Still Drives Quarterly Volatility 00:44:43 Investor Education as a Core IPO Task 00:46:00 Harder to Make Big Changes Publicly 00:47:39 Managing Morale in Volatile Markets 00:48:33 Taking Cornerstone Private 00:52:32 Advice: Know Why You Want to Go Public 00:56:18 Efficiency Without Sacrificing Growth 01:00:58 Operating Roles Prepared Him for CFO 01:06:23 Finance Software Stack Overview #RunTheNumbersPodcast #Hypergrowth #IPOreadiness #CFOInsights #MostlyClassics This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

    1 giờ 9 phút
  4. From SMB to Enterprise: The CFO Scaling Playbook With Andrew Casey | Mostly Classics

    24 THG 11

    From SMB to Enterprise: The CFO Scaling Playbook With Andrew Casey | Mostly Classics

    Serving SMB mid-market customers is one thing, but when you go upstream to enterprise sales, everything changes: go-to-market strategy, the sales process, how you structure deals, even how you define customer value. Today’s guest, Andrew Casey, has helped scale four SaaS companies: ServiceNow, WalkMe, Lacework, and his current company, Amplitude. At ServiceNow, he worked closely with Snowflake’s Mike Scarpelli and Coatue’s David Schneider, and he was instrumental in establishing the company’s deal desk to support its sales motion. As an operationally focused CFO, he shares a wealth of knowledge on the importance of staying close to the customer, structuring deals that work for both sides, establishing transparency in usage-based pricing, aligning incentives and strategy in sales, the pros and cons of multi-year deals, the problem with auto-renewals and what to do instead, and how to adapt your go-to-market strategy when moving from SMB mid-market to enterprise. — SPONSORS: 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 Mercury is business banking built for builders, giving founders and finance pros a financial stack that actually works together. From sending wires to tracking balances and approving payments, Mercury makes it simple to scale without friction. Join the 200,000+ entrepreneurs who trust Mercury and apply online in minutes at https://www.mercury.com RightRev automates the revenue recognition process from end to end, gives you real-time insights, and ensures ASC 606 / IFRS 15 compliance—all while closing books faster. For RevRec that auditors actually trust, visit https://www.rightrev.com and schedule a demo. Tipalti automates the entire payables process—from onboarding suppliers to executing global payouts—helping finance teams save time, eliminate costly errors, and scale confidently across 200+ countries and 120 currencies. More than 5,000 businesses already trust Tipalti to manage payments with built-in security and tax compliance. Visit https://www.tipalti.com/runthenumbers to learn more. Aleph automates 90% of manual, error-prone busywork, so you can focus on the strategic work you were hired to do. Minimize busywork and maximize impact with the power of a web app, the flexibility of spreadsheets, and the magic of AI. Get a personalised demo at https://www.getaleph.com/run Fidelity Private Shares is the all-in-one equity management platform that keeps your cap table clean, your data room organized, and your equity story clear—so you never risk losing a fundraising round over messy records. Schedule a demo at https://www.fidelityprivateshares.com and mention Mostly Metrics to get 20% off. — Andrew Casey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-casey-6b14875/ Amplitude: https://amplitude.com CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com — RELATED EPISODES: An Operationally-Focused CFO’s Guide to Scaling From SMB to Enterprise: Lessons From ServiceNow https://youtu.be/iUpMAQ14YpM — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Preview and Intro 00:03:27 Sponsors – Metronome, Mercury, RightRev 00:07:08 Andrew joins the podcast 00:08:10 Becoming an operational CFO 00:09:25 Early customer-empathy beginnings at Sun 00:11:34 How customer-empathy shaped Andrew’s career 00:14:08 Navigating HP’s troubled EDS contracts 00:16:05 Sponsors – Tipalti, Aleph, Fidelity Private Shares 00:19:37 Returning from ads – running toward hard markets 00:20:13 Scaling ServiceNow’s sales operations 00:23:27 Breaking into the trusted circle after the Q1 miss 00:25:26 Building and scaling the ServiceNow deal desk 00:28:11 Principles of transparent, value-aligned pricing 00:30:17 Rethinking metering models and usage alignment 00:33:01 Diagnosing budget constraints vs. cash timing 00:36:14 Incentives, comp plans, and high-trust selling 00:39:21 Training enterprise reps for long-term value 00:40:17 Multi-year deals and when they actually work 00:43:05 Overselling, discount levers, and ZIRP contract bloat 00:45:58 How enterprise scale transforms go-to-market 00:51:03 Pipeline coverage and maturity modeling 00:54:02 Not all pipeline dollars are created equal 00:57:05 Career-risk mindset in enterprise selling 01:00:02 Defining enterprise and moving upmarket 01:01:00 A business-first approach to the CFO role 01:03:10 Getting hired at ServiceNow 01:06:37 Building GTM finance, deal desk, and a 400-person org 01:08:00 Lightning round – biggest mistakes and IR lesson 01:11:10 Advice to his younger self and leading through change 01:13:34 Defining customers, ARR accuracy, and hierarchy pitfalls 01:15:12 The wildest expense attempt ever submitted #RunTheNumbersPodcast #SaaSFinance #EnterpriseSelling #GTMStrategy #CFOInsights This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

    1 giờ 16 phút
  5. Running the Product-Market Fit Treadmill with Brian Balfour | Mostly Growth

    22 THG 11

    Running the Product-Market Fit Treadmill with Brian Balfour | Mostly Growth

    Brian Balfour, Founder & CEO of Reforge and former VP of Growth at HubSpot, joins Mostly Growth to explore why product-market fit is a moving target. He introduces the concept of the Product-Market Fit Treadmill, a state where rising customer expectations and competitive pressure make it harder than ever to stay ahead. Brian breaks down how AI has accelerated PMF collapse, explains the hidden costs of product adoption, and shares how Reforge shipped five AI-native products with a team of just 20 people. Packed with frameworks, strategic insight, and startup realism, this episode is essential listening for product leaders, operators, and founders navigating the next wave of GTM. — SPONSORS: Pulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: https://pulley.com/mostlymetrics 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 Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/ Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/ Brian Balfour: brianbalfour.com Brian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbalfour/ Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/ Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/ https://brianbalfour.com/four-fits-growth-framework https://x.com/amasad/status/1981201454032703662?s=46 https://getlatka.com/companies/firefliesai https://x.com/rowancheung/status/1988218743952916537? https://gamma.app/insights/how-we-built-a-usd100m-business-differently — RELATED EPISODES: When the marketing math doesn’t math | with Emily Kramer https://youtu.be/sSuoV_YSrlw Why Founders Are Posting Sad Dinners https://youtu.be/Zl6NSIHF2Gk — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Preview and Intro 00:01:51 Sponsors – Pulley, Metronome 00:04:11 Introducing Brian Balfour & Reforge background 00:07:22 Evergreen frameworks & Four Fits resurgence 00:11:01 PMF treadmill and rising expectations 00:14:26 AI shocks and PMF collapse (Chegg) 00:16:43 CRM expectations & AI-native workflows 00:20:44 R&D as ongoing cost to serve 00:22:26 Customers buying based on future product velocity 00:24:32 Communicating rapid releases & driving adoption 00:25:17 Reforge’s expanding AI product suite 00:27:52 Product delivery vs. product adoption bottlenecks 00:29:32 Platform distribution shifts introduction 00:30:51 Evaluating emerging platforms 00:32:04 The open → close platform cycle 00:33:31 Moats, escape velocity & platform dominance 00:36:32 Choosing major vs. emerging platforms 00:40:22 ChatGPT dominance in AI discovery 00:42:16 Hiring, resumes & filtering AI-generated applications 00:43:30 AI note-taking market & “Flintstoning” 00:47:03 Trying Gamma & AI-generated presentation tools 00:50:08 AI onboarding innovations (WhatsApp agent) #MostlyGrowthPodcast #ProductMarketFit #BrianBalfour #StartupStrategy #Reforge This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

    53 phút
  6. Mercury, Snowflake, and Boulder Care Finance Pros Weigh In | Campfire Roundup

    20 THG 11

    Mercury, Snowflake, and Boulder Care Finance Pros Weigh In | Campfire Roundup

    In this special episode of Run the Numbers, CJ Gustafson records live from Campfire’s AI Finance Forward conference in San Francisco, serving up a trio of rapid-fire interviews with top-tier finance leaders. First, Daniel Kang, CFO of Mercury, breaks down the quality of fintech revenue streams, the mechanics of float in a falling rate environment, and what investors really value. Then, Brad Floering, SVP of Finance at Snowflake, shares war stories on usage-based pricing, forecasting consumption, and the role of AI in modern FP&A. Finally, Mitzi Yue of Boulder Care brings a mission-driven perspective, reflecting on dual roles in finance and culture, career product-market fit, and the ethical frontier of AI in healthcare. It’s a fast, thoughtful taste of where modern finance is headed. — LINKS: Daniel Kang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmkang/ Mercury: https://mercury.com/ Brad Floering on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-floering/ Snowflake: https://www.snowflake.com/ Mitzi Yue on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitziyue/ Boulder Care: https://www.boulder.care/ CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com — RELATED EPISODES: Grindr’s $0 CAC Secret from the CFO Who Launched Disney+ | Vanna Krantz https://youtu.be/ijFIMmtpLNw — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Preview and Intro 00:04:03 Sponsors – Fidelity Private Shares, Metronome, Mercury 00:06:49 Guest – Daniel Kang (Mercury) joins 00:07:55 Lessons from being first finance hire 00:10:49 Finance collaborating on product decisions 00:13:12 Comparing customer segments and revenue models 00:16:58 Sponsors – Right Rev, Tipalti, Aleph 00:21:11 Market shift for consumer fintech models 00:23:14 Balancing gross profit with product growth 00:24:41 Misconceptions about fintech revenue 00:26:57 Guest – Brad Floering (Snowflake) joins 00:30:22 Aligning pricing with cloud resource consumption 00:33:17 Forecasting challenges with usage-based revenue 00:35:06 Complexity of sales commissions under consumption model 00:38:23 Lessons from AWS: committing for discounts 00:41:16 Cold start forecasting challenges and the role of employee size 00:44:01 Customer behavior and rollover credit challenges 00:47:08 Using professional services to recover unused credits 00:49:05 Seasonality and forecasting challenges in Q4 00:54:16 Guest – Mitzi Yue (Boulder Care) joins 00:57:05 The pandemic’s impact on telemedicine adoption 01:00:33 Finance decisions with human consequences in healthcare 01:02:26 Finding personal product-market fit in Series B/C stage 01:03:33 Finance as the central nervous system of the company 01:07:10 Nonprofits inspired by personal values and experience 01:10:52 Exploring AI’s potential in healthcare and finance — SPONSORS: Fidelity Private Shares is the all-in-one equity management platform that keeps your cap table clean, your data room organized, and your equity story clear—so you never risk losing a fundraising round over messy records. Schedule a demo at https://www.fidelityprivateshares.com and mention Mostly Metrics to get 20% off. 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 Mercury is business banking built for builders, giving founders and finance pros a financial stack that actually works together. From sending wires to tracking balances and approving payments, Mercury makes it simple to scale without friction. Join the 200,000+ entrepreneurs who trust Mercury and apply online in minutes at https://www.mercury.com RightRev automates the revenue recognition process from end to end, gives you real-time insights, and ensures ASC 606 / IFRS 15 compliance—all while closing books faster. For RevRec that auditors actually trust, visit https://www.rightrev.com and schedule a demo. Tipalti automates the entire payables process—from onboarding suppliers to executing global payouts—helping finance teams save time, eliminate costly errors, and scale confidently across 200+ countries and 120 currencies. More than 5,000 businesses already trust Tipalti to manage payments with built-in security and tax compliance. Visit https://www.tipalti.com/runthenumbers to learn more. Aleph automates 90% of manual, error-prone busywork, so you can focus on the strategic work you were hired to do. Minimize busywork and maximize impact with the power of a web app, the flexibility of spreadsheets, and the magic of AI. Get a personalised demo at https://www.getaleph.com/run — #RunTheNumbersPodcast #FintechStrategy #UsageBasedPricing #HealthcareFinance #AIinFinance This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

    1 giờ 16 phút
  7. Grindr’s $0 CAC Secret from the CFO Who Launched Disney+ | Vanna Krantz

    17 THG 11

    Grindr’s $0 CAC Secret from the CFO Who Launched Disney+ | Vanna Krantz

    In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ Gustafson sits down with Vanna Krantz, former CFO of Disney+ and Grindr, to explore what it takes to lead finance through massive inflection points. Vanna reflects on building Disney+’s subscription model from scratch under Bob Iger’s leadership and the pressure of launching a global product with no precedent. She discusses forecasting as both science and art, and the importance of appreciating high-stakes moments amid chaos. Shifting to Grindr, Vanna breaks down how the company went public with remarkable efficiency—boasting 40% EBITDA margins and under 200 employees—and how she modeled for a user base that consistently churns and returns. She also opens up about career longevity, work-life balance, and helping women find sustainability and acceleration in leadership. — LINKS: Vanna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vannakrantz/ CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com — RELATED EPISODES: Monetizing Community Engagement: The Business of Fitness with Strava CFO Lily Yang https://youtu.be/zlLb5yZDKQE “Let’s Just See What Breaks” — Intuit’s CFO on Being a Disruptor When You’re Already the Incumbent https://youtu.be/Le1D9HXHvGI — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Preview and Intro 00:03:02 Sponsors – Aleph, Fidelity Private Shares, and Metronome 00:06:09 Meeting at A16z and Disney Plus Discussion 00:07:13 Interviewing with Bob Iger and Joining Bamtech Media 00:10:43 Forecasting the Unknown at Disney Plus 00:13:01 Launch Strategy – Mandalorian and Retention 00:15:15 Sponsors – Mercury, RightRev, and Tipalti 00:19:23 Forecasting, Retention Curves, and the Art vs. Science Balance 00:22:20 Lessons in Art and Science of Finance at Disney 00:25:08 Launch Day Chaos and the Disney Plus CDN Outage 00:26:24 Celebrating the 10 Million Subscriber Milestone 00:27:21 Grindr IPO and Financial Discovery 00:32:42 Active User Metrics and Reactivation Trends 00:34:29 Seasonality and Human Behavior in App Usage 00:36:02 Free vs. Paid Users and Revenue Optimization 00:38:21 Pricing Strategy and Global Monetization 00:40:23 Women in Leadership and Staying in the Game 00:43:30 Work–Life Balance and Career Seasons 00:46:12 Wisdom, Experience, and Staying in the Game 00:50:08 Finance Stack, Craziest Expense, and Closing Remarks — SPONSORS: Aleph automates 90% of manual, error-prone busywork, so you can focus on the strategic work you were hired to do. Minimize busywork and maximize impact with the power of a web app, the flexibility of spreadsheets, and the magic of AI. Get a personalised demo at https://www.getaleph.com/run Fidelity Private Shares is the all-in-one equity management platform that keeps your cap table clean, your data room organized, and your equity story clear—so you never risk losing a fundraising round over messy records. Schedule a demo at https://www.fidelityprivateshares.com and mention Mostly Metrics to get 20% off. 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 Mercury is business banking built for builders, giving founders and finance pros a financial stack that actually works together. From sending wires to tracking balances and approving payments, Mercury makes it simple to scale without friction. Join the 200,000+ entrepreneurs who trust Mercury and apply online in minutes at https://www.mercury.com RightRev automates the revenue recognition process from end to end, gives you real-time insights, and ensures ASC 606 / IFRS 15 compliance—all while closing books faster. For RevRec that auditors actually trust, visit https://www.rightrev.com and schedule a demo. Tipalti automates the entire payables process—from onboarding suppliers to executing global payouts—helping finance teams save time, eliminate costly errors, and scale confidently across 200+ countries and 120 currencies. More than 5,000 businesses already trust Tipalti to manage payments with built-in security and tax compliance. Visit https://www.tipalti.com/runthenumbers to learn more. — #RunTheNumbersPodcast #CFOInsights #DisneyPlus #GrindrIPO #Leadership This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

    52 phút
  8. Too Big to Fail: The OpenAI Edition | Mostly Growth

    15 THG 11

    Too Big to Fail: The OpenAI Edition | Mostly Growth

    In this episode of Mostly Growth, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar dig into what it means to be useful rather than just right at work, exploring how communication, empathy, and impact matter more than technical precision as careers mature. They share candid lessons from their own paths—CJ’s focus on making others look good to earn promotions and Kyle’s evolution into a domain expert through public writing—before unpacking what separates good from great VPs of Sales with insights from Pavilion founder Sam Jacobs. The conversation then shifts to OpenAI’s “too big to fail” claims, the economic ripple effects of AI infrastructure spending, and how finance leaders can stay grounded in reality. Rounding out the episode, the hosts preview their latest research—CJ’s “Agentic Finance” report on AI in the finance stack and Kyle’s 2025 SaaS Benchmarks—and close with lighthearted banter about founder age stats, home maintenance mishaps, and the price of professional Christmas lights — LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/ Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/ Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/ Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/ https://sarahcharlton.substack.com/p/from-being-right-to-being-useful https://www.highalpha.com/saas-benchmarks https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/presenting-the-state-of-the-agentic-financial-stack https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/finance-in-2030 https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-algorithm-will-see-you-now/ https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/openai-ceo-sam-altman-forecasts-20-billion-annualized-revenue-year https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/your-pricing-is-broken — RELATED EPISODES: When the marketing math doesn’t math | with Emily Kramer https://youtu.be/sSuoV_YSrlw Getting fired 4 times made me a founder | Sam Jacobs of Pavilion https://youtu.be/8X-JVOF-1A0 How To Win at Early Stage Sales With the Guy Who Helped Take Snyk From $0 to $100M+ https://youtu.be/VKrZCte8fyM 996 Culture, Exploding AI Bills & SaaS Chaos https://youtu.be/qhrxDL0gsRo — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Preview and Intro 00:02:18 Sponsors – Pulley and Metronome 00:05:09 Flight Cancellation and Airport Chaos 00:07:58 Being Right vs. Being Useful 00:11:17 Getting Promoted Early by Making Others Look Good 00:15:25 What Separates a Good VP of Sales from a Great One 00:18:24 Sales Leaders as Capital Allocators 00:21:14 The Organizational Tax of Sales Support 00:22:33 Is OpenAI Too Big to Fail? 00:25:31 AI Investments, Alternatives, and Market Impact 00:27:50 Bailouts and Economic Reality 00:28:20 Agentic Finance and the AI-Driven Finance Stack 00:31:43 SaaS Benchmarks Report 2025 Overview 00:33:59 Growth Rates by ARR Tier and Scale 00:35:40 AI’s Impact on Engineering Teams 00:37:45 Age and Startup Success 00:39:42 Building Durable Businesses Over Time 00:41:25 Something You Tried This Week – HVAC Cleaning 00:43:19 Outsourcing Holiday Cheer – Professional Light Installation 00:47:08 Credits – Mostly Growth Closing Remarks — SPONSORS: Pulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: https://pulley.com/mostlymetrics 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 — #MostlyGrowthPodcast #StartupFinance #AIPodcast #SaaSLeadership #GoToMarket This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

    47 phút
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Giới Thiệu

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. cjgustafson.substack.com

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