On this special episode of Run the Numbers, CJ Gustafson revisits standout moments from past conversations with Alex Immerman, Curt Sigfstead, Daniel Kang, Adam Ante, and David Laptor. Together, their advice reveals how great CFOs earn trust, challenge founders, speak up when the data says something is wrong, and become true strategic partners without relying on the power of the purse strings. — SPONSORS: Anrok is the sales tax platform that watches your exposure everywhere, automates compliance, and flags risk before it turns into a surprise back-tax letter from a state you've never set foot in. Companies like Anthropic, Notion, and Vanta already trust Anrok to stay ahead of rules that move faster than any spreadsheet can. Talk to a sales tax expert for a personalized exposure estimate at https://www.anrok.com/rtn RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform that lets your product team ship new pricing without asking finance for permission, and your sales team close deals without creating downstream chaos. Check out their free tool at calculator.rightrev.com It scores your rev rec process, shows what's exposing you to risk, and tells you exactly where to focus before it bites you in the rear end. Check it out at https://calculator.rightrev.com Pulley is an equity management platform that lets you issue options, model dilution, and complete 409As without your cap table turning into a spreadsheet disaster. Founders raising, hiring, and scaling use Pulley to keep equity clean and stay focused on building. Learn more or request a demo at https://pulley.com/mostlymetrics Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj Maximor is an autonomous finance platform that runs order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, the close, cash management, and reporting on self-learning agents instead of a dozen disconnected tools. One PE-backed customer cut their close in half, took audit findings from seven to zero, and cut back-office costs by 70% in six months. You pay for outcomes, not seats. See it at https://www.maximor.ai/ Brex is an intelligent finance platform with AI-powered agents that capture expenses automatically, enforce policy before the spend happens, and close your books in minutes instead of weeks. 35,000+ companies like OpenAI, Coinbase, Anthropic, and DoorDash already run on Brex. It's time to get Brex AF. Learn more at https://www.brex.com/metrics — LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsN CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com — TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Preview and Intro 3:27 Alex Immerman's favorite CFO interview question 4:54 What a weak answer looks like 5:26 When the hard calls actually matter 6:37 Walt and Roy Disney 7:36 Liked even when making unpopular calls 8:43 Sponsors — Anrok | RightRev | Pulley 11:35 Curt from Clio: ego in the bottom drawer 13:52 CFO as supporting cast 15:10 Backbone vs. ego: when to use each 16:23 Daniel Kang: don't use the purse strings as power 17:36 Earn the seat, don't demand it 18:52 Money is one arrow, not the whole quiver 20:39 Sponsors — Rillet | Maximor | Brex 23:54 Adam Ante: finance people pigeonhole themselves 26:46 The CFO can sit in any meeting 27:30 First 90 days: listen before suggesting 28:46 David Laptor: listen, observe, think, speak 30:50 Build a culture where speaking up is welcomed 31:51 Curt from Clio: don't come in as a know-it-all 33:08 Earn trust through curiosity 33:46 Beware of all-green dashboards 35:28 What would CJ say to Ballmer? 37:14 Parting thoughts from Ben 38:00 Credits
