Run the Numbers

In this episode, CJ interviews Matt Hudson, CFO of Coda, who shares insights from his unique career path that spans roles as a product manager at Google, YouTube, and Coda before becoming a CFO. He breaks down a number of frameworks he’s used in his career from the Blue and Black Loop framework for understanding the growth of a shareable product like Coda’s, Eigenquestions for getting to the one q...

Steve Isom, the CFO of Bloomerang, joins CJ to talk about what it really means to be a “strategic” CFO. Steve shares profound insights on the people element of the job and how finance leaders can avoid making the business a math problem. He discusses the CFO’s job in playing offense not just defense, and what that looks like. He sheds light on how as a CFO, you can prove yourself as a valuable con...

In this episode, CJ interviews Ross Grainger, the CFO of Paradox, to discuss work-life integration (instead of balance), why the corporate ladder is less like a ladder and more like a jungle gym, and the hallmarks of a great CFO/FP&A/controller relationship. He starts by sharing his own unconventional career journey and talks about the importance of the hustle, giving examples from his own life of...

In this episode, CJ has an exceptionally candid conversation with Will Cureton, the CFO of Nitrogen Wealth. Will sheds light on what Nitrogen Wealth does and how it incorporates a tolerance functionality built on the prospect theory into its software platform to better serve wealth management firms. After taking on some private equity backing in 2021, Nitrogen Wealth made a big price increase mist...

Alyssa Shadinger, CFO of Sisense, sits down with CJ in this episode for a masterful deep dive on building and scaling analytics teams and perfecting the art of the OKR (Objectives and Key Results). They discuss the optimal structure for data and analytics teams and where they should sit within the org. Alyssa explains how Sisense clarified their data models for more accurate self-service reporting...

In this episode, CJ interviews Rebeca Sanchez Sarmiento, the CFO of Dotmatics and the queen of managing operational complexity. With over seven acquisitions under her belt in just a few years, Rebeca shares insights on managing the complex realities of inorganic growth. She breaks down how Dotmatics balances autonomy and integration across multiple entities while finding synergies and implementing...

Samarth Mital, Senior Director of Global Sales Strategy, Planning & Analytics, Renewals & Sales Development at Rubrik joins CJ for this episode to talk all things pipeline, territory creation, commission plans, and renewals. Samarth joined the company when it was doing 70 million in ARR. Rubrik is now doing $1 billion and recently went public. He sheds light on his role at Rubrik in fostering this...

This episode does a deep dive into stock-based compensation (SBC) and employee equity. Joining CJ for this conversation is Curt Sigfstead, the CFO of Clio, a leading vertical software provider for legal firms. CJ and Curt unpack the complexities of SBC, examining its importance, evolution, and how to effectively communicate its value to potential hires and the organization as a whole. They cover t...

Guy Melamed, CFO & COO of Varonis, joins CJ to discuss the company’s two major transitions. In 2019, Varonis shifted from a perpetual model to an on-prem subscription model, completing the transformation in record time. They are currently in the process of transitioning from an on-prem subscription company to a SaaS company. Guy and CJ delve into the challenges of these transitions, the pressure o...

In this episode, CJ interviews Justin Coulombe, the CFO of Miro. Apart from his “less but better” philosophy where he encourages listeners to strategically divest from less important things to focus on what’s most impactful, he also shares a wealth of profound advice on being an effective CFO in SaaS. He explains Miro’s approach to blending data from usage patterns, predictive modeling, and AI to...

While companies often go public, not many CFOs have taken a company private. In this episode, CJ interviews Navaid Mansuri, the CFO of Dialogue Health, a Canadian health tech company, that went from private to public to private again in less than five years. The discussion covers Navaid's career journey, including his experience negotiating broadcast rights at Rogers, his involvement in a joint ve...

Sarah Spoja, the CFO of Tipalti joins CJ to discuss M&A as a growth lever and the evolution of the CFO role in high-growth environments. Drawing from her background in private equity operations at KKR Capstone, she shares insights on the current M&A environment and the boom she predicts for the near future. She also explains how to avoid crushing the soul of a startup in the M&A process and the va...

In this solo episode, CJ experiments with a new format called S-1 Cinema as he delves into the intricacies of Snowflake’s remarkable IPO which debuted on September 16, 2020. Excluding social media giants like Facebook and Snap Inc., it stands as the biggest software IPO to date, marked by an explosive stock price jump that surpassed its already high issue price. CJ unpacks Snowflake’s cloud-based...

In this episode, CJ interviews Georgy Egorov, CFO of ZeroAvia, who shares his journey from pioneering AI drug discovery to co-inventing a Covid vaccine, and now leading the charge toward zero-emission aviation with hydrogen-powered airplanes. They talk about the complexities of getting funding for a climate tech company and the need for these products to outperform traditional options without rely...

Bill Koefoed, CFO of OneStream Software, sits down with CJ for an in-depth look at the company’s recent IPO journey. Bill sheds light on the events that resulted in OneStream's stock soaring from $20 to $27, a 34% leap, on day one despite market uncertainties. He shares insights on the decision-making process leading up to going public, the challenges faced during their roadshow, and the unique ex...

In this episode, CJ interviews Adam Berg, CFO of Zero Hash, about the evolution of financial services infrastructure and the role of crypto in accelerating this change. With Zero Hash’s clients including the likes of Stripe, Interactive Brokers, Franklin Templeton, Shift4, and BlackRock, Adam discusses the importance of blockchain, not just as an asset class but as a fundamental technology that en...

Ganapathy Subramaniam, CFO of TerraPay, joins CJ for a deep dive into the complex world of cross-border payments. Together they unpack the complexities of moving money internationally, such as high fees, slow processing times, and the lack of transparency. Ganapathy sheds light on the global payment landscape, highlighting key transaction corridors and the wallet share of different regions. He del...

Scott Voss, Managing Director of Boston’s preeminent private markets firm HarbourVest, joins CJ for an in-depth exploration of secondaries, continuation vehicles, and sidecar funds. Scott starts by outlining HarbourVest's value proposition and investment strategies, covering primary investments, secondaries, and direct co-investments while underscoring the importance of private market access for d...

In this episode, CJ Gustafson interviews Lily Yang, CFO of Strava, to delve into the company's business model, growth strategies, and the role of community engagement in driving user retention. They discuss how Strava's business model has evolved as they've moved into diverse activities, demographics, and countries. Lily sheds light on Strava’s growing revenue streams and the impact of brand partn...

Kyle Poyar, author of Growth Unhinged and a leading expert in pricing, packaging, and product-led growth, joins CJ for this episode. Together they explore the evolving landscape of SaaS metrics in the age of AI with a focus on the paradigm shift from access-based pricing to outcome-based models. They also examine success-based pricing and how to attach metrics to these models. The discussion delve...

In this episode, CJ sits down with Marc Greenberg, former VP of Finance & Strategy at Pixar and current CFO at Altruist, for a fascinating conversation about his career in finance. Marc sheds light on the complex budgeting process at Pixar and the long lead times, challenges, and seasonality of the movie industry. He explains how decisions are made about sequels and other financial considerations...

In this episode, CJ interviews Naeem Ishaq of Checkr, Inc., and three-time CFO. Naeem shares insights into what a CFO should aim to accomplish in their first 100 days at a new company, including key topics for their first board meeting and the importance of training the board on relevant metrics. The discussion delves into navigating diverse business models, where Naeem unpacks the nuances of fore...

In this solo episode, CJ provides a comprehensive guide on annual planning and delves into the complexities of budgeting for hypergrowth companies. He covers topics such as building sales capacity, modeling out rep time, over-assignment, designing marketing budgets, and costing out the full P&L. He discusses the role of various departments in the annual planning process, including R&D (Research &...

Michael Linford, the COO and CFO of Affirm joins CJ to delve into the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) business model and its rise to mainstream popularity. They discuss the importance of transparent, consumer-friendly financial products and how Affirm differentiates itself by avoiding the predatory practices common in traditional credit models. Michael explains how Affirm structures its fees and generat...

In this episode, CJ sits down with Jon Cochrane, VP of Strategy at Maxio, to unpack the latest insights from Maxio’s newly released benchmarking report. Maxio, known for its industry-leading SaaS metrics and billing solutions, serves over 2,400 subscription customers. Jon and CJ dive into practical takeaways from the report, revealing the real rate at which companies are growing, among other insig...