CFO Insights

Shane Leonard and Guy Hutchinson talk through the path for Tech CFOs to become the trusted advisor to the CEO. Our regular listeners will know CFOs aren't just about numbers and crunching out financial statements. In the world of VC backed Tech, we are often working with founders who are primarily focused on product and achieving that early traction At this stage you need the CFO to take on a wide...

In this episode, we talk to Ian Sutherland, CFO at Tide the UK company building a modern business current account, optimised for small business owners Ian has been CFO at Tide for six years, and during this time he realised that he could align his passions for tackling climate change and set Tide on a path to achieve Net Zero. In this discussion with him we build an understanding on why Net Zero s...

Mitchell Fasanya is a founder with three businesses to his name, two of which came into being even before he graduated university.  In this episode Mitch takes us through the critical world of startup pivots, with brilliant real life examples from his most recent ventures. We talk through some deep insights on moving fast with platform decisions, when to stay lean and what he’ll be looki...

In this episode we talk to Patrick Hoogendijk. Patrick is an accomplished professional with 25 years of experience in Angel investing, venture capital, private equity, and building startups from seed-to-scale. Always working closely with passionate founders, he takes on the embedded CFO/COO role to set strategy and execute rapidly. We discuss in detail what it takes to operate as an in-demand port...

In this episode, we talk to Alysha Randall of Fast Growth Consulting. Alysha is a super experienced FD and CFO now working portfolio with a range of high growth businesses. We explore her interest in building courses to support the growth of the CFOs of the future. We examine managing and leading, and why discerning the difference is not always obvious. And we discover a few surprising tips of her...

In this episode, we speak to Jonny Plein, cofounder at YASO, formerly a finance professional and member of the Startup CFO community. We discuss key learnings from the recent Yaso preseed funding round and build an understanding of what it takes to create a business in China. He shares how YASO works with western brands to facilitate their access to the important Chinese consumer market. As a seri...

Guy Hutchinson, cofounder at Startup CFO talks to Edward Keelan from Octopus Ventures. Edward has held positions with Octopus for fifteen years, now focusing on the B2B software vertical, overseeing deal origination and his role on their investment committee. In this episode we reflect on a world where growth at all costs is a thing of the past, we learn about why CFOs are great at pursuing fundam...

Guy Hutchinson, co-founder of Startup CFO talks to Kyle Brennan, COO of the groundbreaking dating App, Feeld. Kyle takes us through his finance career, shares insights on how he thinks about business risk, learnings from focusing on business metrics and building financial models. We explore how growth can come from a focus on product development and as well as revealing some fascinating tales on t...

Nick Rose, CFO at Enable shares with us key learnings from their recent Series C. In this episode, we explore the world of rebate-enabling technology and understand how the Enable platform is supporting these commercial relationships. Along the way, we learn about what it takes to get a substantial equity raise delivered in tough market conditions and how tech businesses transform at scale. https:...

Phil Dorman entrepreneur, leadership guru and coach joins Guy Hutchinson to discuss the power of coaching for CFOs. In this episode, we explore the world of executive development with Phil Dorman, Learning and Development Director at Startup CFO. We learn about his experience from surviving to thriving, why things matter at a human scale and why he is focused on businesses as a force for good. Alo...

In this episode, we speak to Aaron Awan, Finance Director at Hometree. We discuss key learnings in his career focusing on the importance of building varied experiences early on. We discuss how such a career journey can help you with your diligence when it comes to picking your next role. We also shed some light on the importance of understanding founders, and the experience they bring, a...

In this episode, we speak to Geoff Tamman VP of Finance and Operations at Shipium. We discuss key learnings in his career focusing on his 12 years in senior roles with Amazon. We learn how all finance professionals can optimize their interactions with the business through 'learn and be curious', an amazon development value. We explore how the customer lens can mitigate egos in business decision ma...

In this episode, we speak to Paul Lehair, Investment Director at AlbionVC. We discuss key learnings in Paul’s career covering his time as Finance Director at Citymapper, the monetization journey in that business, and, also building an understanding of his insights as he transitioned his career into venture capital.  Your host is Guy Hutchinson and this podcast was brought to you by...

In this episode, we speak to David Rose, founder, and CEO about his new venture US Expansion Partners. We discuss key learnings in David’s career in sales, marketing and heading up a number of groundbreaking businesses. He shares his learnings on that all-important first US hire and how to avoid getting bogged down in US compliance, bookkeeping and supporting operations. He brings insightful learn...

In this episode, we explore the world of corporate communications and IPO preparation with Rob Walker and Gabriel Huntley at Headland. We learn about the important steps Tech CFOs need to foster a culture of data verification, building a corporate narrative, leading on governance and handling BAU communications. Rob Walker is a Director at Headland. He is a financial PR specialist advising both FT...

Prakash Shah - Portfolio CFO In this episode, we are interviewing Prakash Shah, one of our founders and a CFO whose career spans from early venture back tech like mydeco, all the way to Trafi, and his clients in his portfolio CFO role. Prakash shares his insights on how Tech CFOs need to interact with and support their Board. CFOs and Heads of Finance are catapulted into a position with board expo...

Paddy Fletcher - Founder Port of Leith Distillery We explore learnings from Paddy's career in senior finance roles in Tech business, including Hailo and WeWork. We learn about how the investment process in Tech focuses predominantly on growth leaving other disciplines to develop later on. Paddy has taken his passion for distilling and co-founded Port of Leith Distillery, with a product range with...

Mary-Anne Moffatt - CFO Ramp Network We explore Mary-Anne's extensive experience in financial services and how she adapted her approach to lead the finance function at Fintech 10x. More recently Mary-Anne has taken on the CFO role at Ramp Network. At Ramp, Mary Anne is responsible for commercial strategy, reporting, controls and supporting fundraising. We learn about transferable skills and establ...

Michael Tefula , Head of Finance at CIRCA5000, having been a venture capitalist for many years with Downing Ventures. In this episode, Michael shares his insight on how a combination of entrepreneurial leanings and a family focus on the importance of education, led to him joining CIRCA5000, after some time as a venture investor. We learn how Michael’s career builds upon  a foundational period...

Philip Kelvin, Co-Founder and CEO of tranch having formally been CFO at Trussle In this episode, Philip shares his insight on how his career in investment banking and consulting led to becoming a Tech CFO. We learn how Philip’s finance career helped him understand the huge challenges that need to be solved in the world of cash flow management and ultimately led to him founding tranch. tranch is on...

Tom Coward - Cytora CFO First time CFO, second time leading finance at a growing technology company. At Cytora, Tom is responsible for People, Talent, Legal, Information Security and Finance. In 2020 Tom was named one of 10 Finance Futurists by Sage. Started off working life as an auditor at Deloitte. Your host is Guy Hutchinson and this podcast was brought to you by Startup CFO. https://startupcf...

Jay Dias is Founder and Managing Partner of Leela Capital, a boutique investment and advisory venture firm.  In this episode he shares his unconventional route into finance. Jay’s journey includes seven years in operating finance roles including a successful exit as CFO & COO, and 10 years in turnaround / Insolvency, mainly at PwC (London). Your host is Guy Hutchinson and this podcast was...

Steven Dunne,  Senior Partner and Head of Portfolio Steven has over 20 years of private equity experience gained within private equity firms, as CFO/COO of private equity and venture capital backed companies taking them through to exit, as well as PE M&A exposure in investment banking. He joined Frog as Senior Partner in charge of Portfolio in 2015 and leading on Responsible Investment.&n...

Jenny Bloom, Former CFO of Zapier and MailChimp, is a global financial executive with over 30 years of experience in public, private, and startup organisations throughout a variety of industries. She has spent the last 20 years as a CFO scaling SaaS companies, and along with finance, she also led the people, legal, facilities, events, and administrative functions. She was with MailChimp for 1...