Run the Numbers

Welcome to the first episode on The Business of Mostly Metrics. The CFO became a CEO. Pretty wild. The CEO of me. During this series we’ll cover the following topics: * Writing your story in reverse, which is what today is about * How I lost $209,640 of my own money trying to start a marketplace business * Quitting a job to be able to keep writing , leaving a million dollars of equity on the table...

Ambereen Toubassy, the CFO of Airtable, has experience as an advisor, an investor, and an operator. In this episode, she joins CJ to talk about how this experience informs her role as a CFO. The two delve into the complexities of navigating investor feedback and how to take criticism without getting defensive. They also discuss how to build the right advisory network, red flags to watch for, and t...

In this episode, Dashlane’s David Lapter, a five-time CFO, joins CJ to discuss the challenges of steering high-growth companies. He breaks down the common blind spots that CFOs face, why many double down on their strengths and avoid their weaknesses, and how the Eisenhower Matrix helped him tackle his own gaps. David also gives his take on competitors and his philosophy of differentiating your org...

This is the CoreWeave IPO breakdown. I studied their S1 filing so you don’t have to. What we’ll cover: * What CoreWeave does * Their business model * Their financials * Key themes heading into IPO * Investors * Bull, Bear and Base cases for the stock This is not investment advice. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, vi...

In this episode, CJ interviews Hanan Aharoni, CFO of Operative, who is an expert in operational excellence, particularly in private equity. Hanan shares insights on managing acquisitions and overcoming silos, inefficiencies, and decision paralysis in the process. He highlights the importance of having a clear org chart and a unified leadership team before discussing the critical role of culture in...

Today’s guest went from being the CFO of a very large telecom company where he was meeting with ministers in Jordan to joining a team of just four people at a startup in Saudi Arabia. Abdullah Tahboub, CFO of Foodics, a cloud-based POS and restaurant management solution, joins CJ to talk about this leap and explain why he wishes he had joined the startup world sooner. The conversation delves into...

State of the Private Markets delivers an insider’s look at the forces reshaping the pre-IPO landscape. In this episode, we break down the latest valuation surges and hiring trends, spotlight key moves from tech giants in security, HR tech, and legal automation, and dive into company updates from Wiz, Harvey, and Deel. We also cover major fundraising rounds and notable executive shifts that signal...

Jim Cook, Netflix co-founder, former CFO of Mozilla, early employee at Inuit, executive coach, and author of Substack Cook’s Playbooks, returns to the podcast for the third time. In this episode, he breaks down the evolution of the role of CFOs from traditional scorekeepers to more strategic and operator roles, before looking ahead at what’s to come. This episode is packed full of helpful advice a...

Today’s guest, Arvind Kadaba, the CFO of Aidoc, started his career as a high-profile investor before transitioning into the role of a CFO. He joins CJ to share his career journey and discuss the challenges he faced in transitioning into an operational role. The conversation explores the “grass is always greener” mentality that drives career shifts, and how to find the right career fit. Arvind desc...

Fintech Is Back: What’s Driving Valuations & Back-Office Convergence Fintech is making a comeback, and the private markets are shifting fast. In this episode, we break down the biggest fintech moves—from Stripe’s $85B valuation jump to Klarna and Chime’s rumored IPOs—and explain why investors are paying up for some business models while discounting others. Plus, we dive into a major shift in back-...

This episode takes a deep dive into the business model of super app Grab as CJ interviews CFO Peter Oey. Peter introduces listeners to Grab and how it operates in Southeast Asia, highlighting the company’s journey from a ride-hailing service to acquiring Uber's operations in the region, expanding into food delivery, and even branching into banking services, all in one single super app. Peter expla...

In this episode, CJ is joined by Kelly Mahncke, the CFO of USA Hockey, and the first CFO of a nonprofit to come on the show. They discuss the organization's business model and its revenue streams. Kelly emphasizes the importance of having a successful business whether it’s a nonprofit or not, and what she means when she says that there's no mission without margin. The conversation also covers USA...

How Much Revenue Do You Need to IPO in 2024? The IPO bar has risen—big time. In the 2010s, companies like RingCentral and Etsy went public with $100M-$250M in revenue. But today? You likely need $500M+ just to get a shot. We’ll break down how IPOs evolved from the SaaS boom to the 2021 mega-deals (think Coinbase, Snowflake, and Airbnb), the 2022-23 freeze, and why 2024’s IPO class—Reddit, Klaviyo,...

Serial CFO Michael Bayer, who is currently the CFO of Wasabi, joins CJ to share wisdom from his long career. He talks about his journey from being a “CF-no" to becoming a “CF-go” while emphasizing the importance of strategic investment to fuel hypergrowth companies. He breaks down the epochs of growth that a company goes through as it scales from driving revenue to focusing on cash flow. He highli...

Erica Gessert, CFO of Upwork, and former Senior Vice President of Finance & Analytics at PayPal, joins CJ for this episode. They discuss Erica's experience with forecasting models at PayPal, emphasizing the need for adaptable models that change with economic conditions. Delving into her role at Upwork, Erica explains the company’s approach to customer acquisition costs, the significance of network...

Hey everyone, welcome back to the show! Last week, our report and podcast on the state of private markets went absolutely bonkers. So, we’re building on that momentum today and giving you even more private tech company headlines. The goal? By the end of this episode, you’ll feel like you have a backstage pass to the best companies before they hit the public markets—and you’ll sound like the smarte...

In this episode, CJ is joined by Kapil Agrawal, CFO at Outschool, former CFO of Poshmark, and former Global Head of Pricing and Finance Business Partner at Uber. Kapil shares insights on Uber's pricing strategies and the use of promotions to drive customer growth. He discusses the multiple North Star metrics used at Uber before explaining his role in changing the company’s take rate. He also talks...

In this episode, CJ interviews Nigel Glenday, CFO, COO, and board member at Masterworks, a company that allows investors to buy shares in high-value artworks. He sheds light on the art market and Masterworks’s business model. They discuss the intricacies of art as an asset class, its historical significance, and its potential as an investment. Nigel explains the process of securitizing art, compar...

This is our inaugural State of the Private Markets , a monthly series where we’ll deliver the most compelling valuation , hiring , and revenue insights on pre-IPO candidates . Think of this as your backstage pass to the companies shaping the future before they hit the public markets. Today we will cover: * Valuation : The most valuable private tech companies * Hiring : The fastest hiring companies...

Eliran Glazer is the CFO of Monday.com. He joined the company just four months before its IPO. As a big believer in the art of storytelling, in this episode, Eliran explains how to be a great storyteller while weaving it into the story of Monday.com’s IPO. The conversation also delves into the unique aspects of the Israeli tech scene, the impact of military service on entrepreneurship, and the imp...

CJ delves deep into the world of analytics in this interview with Jesper Sorensen, the CFO of Mambu, a leading fintech and banking platform in Europe valued at over $5 billion. Jesper, who has authored three books on analytics, introduces the Analytics Escalator—a framework for unlocking real value through descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive analytics. In the discussion, Jesper c...

In this episode, CJ interviews Jeff Cassidy, CFO of Prodigy Education about navigating a diverse career across multiple industries and building strong teams based on ambition and skills rather than credentials. Having worked in financial services, biotech, restaurants, travel, edtech, and even crypto, Jeff shares the story of his own varied career, giving advice on finding the “right” career path,...

Michiel Boere, the CFO of Remote, joins CJ to talk about building multinational companies and the benefits of ditching traditional budgets for better business outcomes. Michiel introduces listeners to Remote's business model and discusses how it levels the global job market by enabling companies to hire talent from anywhere while absorbing complications regarding payroll, taxes, and legal entity s...

Reid DeRamus, formerly of Hulu, Crunchyroll, HBO Max, and Substack, joins CJ in this episode to discuss B2C business models and growth strategies. Reid sheds light on some of the profound evolutions he’s experienced in his career at the intersection of tech and media. The discussion dives into the nuances of price increases in B2C subscriptions—how they affect revenue growth, customer acquisition,...

In this episode, CJ sits down with Ryan Roccon, CFO of Zapier, to explore the power of storytelling in finance, decision-making frameworks, and the company's commitment to extreme transparency. Ryan highlights the significance of storytelling in finance to connect complex data with company strategy. He explains how he adapts a story for a specific audience and how he avoids “robot mode” when repea...