VP of Finance @ Spellbook on succeeding as the first startup finance hire

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We talked to Aman Samra about his career as a finance operator at venture-backed startups. He's now been the first finance hire / leader at 4 different companies and learned a lot in the process. We discussed:

• The journey from traditional accounting to startup finance 
• Being a 4x first finance hire in startups 
• What CEOs look for in their first finance hire 
• The evolving structure of finance teams in startups 
• When to bring finance in-house vs. using fractional CFOs 
• How to evaluate and hire for finance roles in startups 
• The impact of AI on software business models and gross margins 
• Unsexy but crucial finance tasks like data cleansing 

Aman shared his take on transitioning from traditional accounting firms to early-stage startups, the importance of being a generalist in startup finance roles, and how AI is changing the financial margin profiles for software companies. Great episode for all the finance operators out there or if you're a founder figuring out your first full-time finance leader. 

For real-time updates on Spellbook and to follow Aman's work more closely, check out the links below:

Spellbook: https://www.spellbook.legal/

Aman's Twitter : https://x.com/amansamraa
Aman's LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/amansamra/
Aman's Podcast - Generation Hustle : https://www.generationhustlepod.com/podcast

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) Teaser
(00:01:03) About the Episode
(00:01:43) Introduction and Background
(00:03:41) First Finance Hire Expectations
(00:06:39) Finance Background Requirements
(00:09:38) Finance Team Structure
(00:13:33) Hiring for Finance Roles
(00:18:38) Balancing Ambition in Finance Teams
(00:38:15) AI Impact on Gross Margins
(00:44:27) Unsexy Tasks in Finance
(00:45:41) Outro

SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: https://www.operatorsonly.fm/

Twitter (Host): https://twitter.com/andrew__rea

Twitter (Co-Host): https://x.com/ramshe1000

LinkedIn (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewrea1996/

LinkedIn (Co-Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/rameel-sheikh-051246a3/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Operators_Only

PRODUCED BY:

https://aipodcast.ing