Julian Rowlands , VP Finance at Spruce I chat with Julian about: His career journey from a History major before going to business school at uChicago to becoming the VP Finance at Spruce. Spruce — what the company does and what it’s all about. Structuring and growing the finance function for scale at growth stage company. When Julian joined Spruce, the company was 75 employees. Since then, the company has tripled, growing to 250 folks. As the head of finance, Julian explains how he inherited the ...
Aug 11, 2021•26 min
Jeff Epstein , Operating Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners & Co-CEO and CFO at Apex Technology Acquisition Corp . (Nasdaq: APXT) I chat with Jeff about: His career journey from investment banking to operating, including stops at various technology and media companies to now serving as an operating partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. Apex Technology Acquisition Corp, a SPAC that recently announced its merger with AvePoint — the largest data management solutions provider for Microsoft clo...
May 12, 2021•33 min
Ivan Makarov , VP Finance at Webflow Ivan is an experienced finance executive with over 15 years of professional experience in the internet industry building finance teams and functions inside global tech companies. He has served as a VP Finance for SmugMug and Flickr for a period of 8 years, prior to joining Webflow. At Webflow, Ivan leads all of the accounting, financial planning, business operations, legal, corporate and tax compliance. I chat with Ivan about: His career journey from PwC to S...
Apr 28, 2021•27 min
Sruthi Lanka , CFO at Public As CFO, Sruthi oversees finance, data, and people operations. Prior to Public, she served as VP and Head of Strategic Finance at MoneyLion, the fintech startup and challenger bank. She was MoneyLion’s first finance hire in 2017 following its Series A, and built the team that forecasts and monitors the firm’s financial performance, overseeing financial planning, capital optimization, fundraising, and Board engagement. Previously, she worked on mergers and acquisitions...
Apr 14, 2021•26 min
Joining me on this episode of the Backbone is Blaine Fitzgerald , EVP Finance & Incoming CFO at Kinaxis (TSX:KXS), a company that revolutionizes planning by delivering the agility you need to make fast, confident decisions in an unpredictable world. I chat with Blaine about: His career journey having started his career in accounting with stints at Collins Barrow, EY and Deloitte. From there Blaine held roles at CMHC before making the plunge into tech with Curtiss-Wright Controls Defence Solu...
Mar 24, 2021•27 min
Joining me on this episode of the Backbone is Naeem Ishaq , CFO at Checkr , the leading technology company in the background check industry. At Checkr, Naeem leads finance, facilities, and data operations teams, responsible for financial strategy and planning, corporate development, and optimizing Checkr’s financial performance for long-term growth. Naeem has nearly 20 years of leadership experience at companies like Circle, Salesforce, and Square (which he helped to lead through a successful IP...
Mar 10, 2021•38 min
Dennis Kavelman , Partner at Inovia Capital (Former CFO / COO at Blackberry) I chat with Dennis about: His 15 year run as the CFO and COO of Blackberry after joining the company when it was virtually unknown, with just 20 employees and roughly $2-million in revenue back in 1995. During this time Blackberry grew to more than 15,000 employees and sales of $20B. Dennis had a front-row seat for the company’s explosive growth from startup to global player. He also helped take Blackberry public as CFO...
Feb 17, 2021•43 min
Curt Sigfstead , CFO at Clearbanc I chat with Curt about: His career journey that led him to the CFO seat at Clearbanc. Prior to joining Clearbanc, Curt was the Head of Technology Investment Banking for the West Coast at JP Morgan. Over the last 22 years while he was there, Curt led over $200B of technology M&A transactions and over 80 technology IPOs, follow-ons and private placements — a tremendous feat. What Clearbanc does and what it’s all about. How he thinks about risks an emerging com...
Jan 27, 2021•31 min
Etienne St-Martin , Director of Finance at Roadmunk I chat with Etienne about: His career journey from Deloitte to Freshbooks to becoming the Director of Finance at Roadmunk. What Roadmunk does and what it’s all about. Building a finance function and deciding what aspects to do in-house vs outsource. How seasonality may affect pricing and packaging SaaS businesses that serve both the SMB and enterprise markets. Both Freshbooks and Roadmunk have free trials and a self-serve onboarding process. Th...
Jan 13, 2021•25 min
Brian Montminy , CFO at Lessonly I chat with Brian about: His career journey starting as a consultant with Accenture, followed by 5 years at JP Morgan Chase before taking the plunge into tech with Salesforce where he held various roles in the finance and strategy team. What Lessonly does and what it’s all about. Risk aversion and why finance leaders are less likely to take on personal risk as a finance leader. How Brian has had to evolve as the company has grown and how the finance function has ...
Dec 09, 2020•28 min
Tim Compton , SVP of Finance at ActiveCampaign I chat with Tim about: His career journey from EY to the transition into tech including stints at Google, Groupon and Geofeedia, before taking on his current role at ActiveCampaign. What ActiveCampaign does and what it’s all about. Comparing ActiveCampaign’s hyper-growth to Groupon and what it means for the finance function. For context, ActiveCampaign crossed some impressive milestones. At the start of 2020, the company raised a $100M round from Su...
Nov 25, 2020•33 min
Aly Khan Musani , CFO at Symend I chat with Aly about: His career journey starting in the energy and natural resources sector with various progressive roles in finance including serving as the CFO of CleanTek Industries, prior to joining Symend. What Symend does and what it is all about. Aly’s perspective on “data is the new oil” having worked in the energy and natural resources sector, who’s now the CFO of a company driven by data. He also discusses the similarities and differences between tech...
Oct 28, 2020•30 min
Rob Froment , CFO at Clio I chat with Rob about: His career journey starting in public practice at Grant Thornton before taking on various progressive finance leadership roles within tech companies and he ended up as the CFO at Clio. What Clio does and what it is all about. Clio’s fascinating pricing model which includes aspects of freemium, self-serve vs sales assisted, and account growth through seat expansion . The most important SaaS metrics + leading indicators he considers as CFO. What he ...
Oct 14, 2020•33 min
Srikant Nayak , CFO at GroupBy I chat with Srikant about: His career journey starting in India and holding progressive roles in various companies in India and Dubai, before taking on his current gig at GroupBy. GroupBy — what the company does and what is it all about? Since joining GroupBy, Srikant has helped the company raise over $15M in venture capital and complete an acquisition. He shares his biggest learnings from raising venture capital and completing an acquisition. What factors he consi...
Sep 30, 2020•23 min
Darrell Cox , CFO at Vena I chat with Darrell about: His path to the CFO seat at Vena, with stops as the VP Finance at Freshbooks and various finance roles within telcos such as Rogers, Virgin Mobile and WIND. Vena Solutions — what the company does and what its all about. As a company, Vena helps finance leaders in organizations plan for the future through its FP&A software. To that end, Darrell shares how finance leaders can be ready to capitalize on opportunities navigating through a time ...
Apr 22, 2020•40 min
David Reid , CFO & COO of Boll & Branch It’s the first quarter of the new decade and as you know, we are in unprecedented times. The world continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. We all have a part to play to flatten the curve and slow the spread of this virus. I couldn’t think of a more appropriate guest and company to feature during this time. Joining me on this episode of the Backbone is David Reid, Chief Operating and Financial Officer at Boll & Branch, a direct-to-consumer bra...
Apr 01, 2020•32 min
Karthik Srinivasan , Director of Finance at Chargebee I chat with Karthik about: His career journey starting at Tata Consultancy Services after getting your CA in India, to becoming the Director of Finance at Chargebee. Chargebee — what the company does and what its all about. The benefits and challenges to offering customers various local currencies pricing options, in addition to monthly and annual plans and how do to take into account fluctuating foreign exchange risk from a cash flow perspec...
Mar 18, 2020•20 min
Brice Scheschuk , Managing Partner at Globalive Capital I chat with Brice about: His career journey from PwC to entrepreneurship to being a part of the founding team at WIND Mobile, where he served as the CFO, and now Globalive. His focus area at Globalive. The biggest takeaways and learnings as a finance leader and entrepreneur that he’s now leveraging as an investor, including things that he wishes he knew as a finance leader / entrepreneur. An inside look at WIND Mobile’s sale process to Shaw...
Mar 04, 2020•42 min
Johnathan Mirian , VP Finance at Justworks I chat with Johnathan about: His career journey from investment banking at Morgan Stanley to product management before taking on a finance operator role at Justworks when the company was just 20 people. JustWorks — what the company does and what is it all about. How he evolved as a finance leader from the first finance hire of a 20 person team to today where Justworks has grown to over 600 people, and raised more than $90M in venture capital from the li...
Feb 19, 2020•24 min
Khoi Le , VP Finance at Hopper I chat with Khoi about: His journey from RSM Richter in Montreal to progressive finance and operating roles at real estate and distribution companies, before making the plunge into tech at Hopper. Hopper — what company does and what its all about. His transition into his first finance operating role at a tech company and how it compares to other non-tech companies, including the challenges and opportunities specific to tech that he faces now. Going from his first 1...
Feb 05, 2020•33 min
Saeideh Fard , Chief Financial Officer at Tulip I chat with Saei about: Her journey into tech starting at PwC with stops at Sysomos, MarketWired, and Travel Edge prior to joining Tulip. Tulip — what the company does and what it’s all about. Tulip’s sales process the most indicative KPIs and metrics of the business. Best practises from a systems integration (or separation) perspective that people should be thinking about for M&A processes. The biggest misconception about the finance function ...
Jan 22, 2020•31 min
Trevor Young , Chief Financial Officer at Steam Whistle Brewing I chat with Trevor about: His journey from competing for a spot on the National rowing team for the Beijing Olympics to the Canadian Armed Forces to Management Consulting at McKinsey before making the jump into the CFO seat at Steam Whistle. Steam Whistle Brewing — what the company does and what it's all about. After inheriting the finance function, how he decided which systems to keep vs the ones to change in order to innovate as a...
Jan 08, 2020•26 min
Michelle Armstrong , Chief Operating Officer at Saje Natural Wellness I chat with Michelle about: Her journey from PwC to 10+ years at Lululemon in FP&A and merchandising roles prior to becoming the COO at Saje Natural Wellness. Saje — what the company does and what its all about. How she made the transition from a finance operating role to now being the COO at Saje and how does her background in accounting and finance helps her in her role. Tips and best practises of presenting financial da...
Nov 27, 2019•25 min
Jessica Katz , Director of Finance at Format I chat with Jessica about: Her journey into tech and finance from EY to Wave and DHX Media before taking on her current role at Format as the Director of Finance. Format — what the company does and what is it all about. The challenges and opportunities faced as a finance leader in a 100% bootstrapped company having raised no outside capital. Including managing financial reporting when you know there are no outside stakeholders, certain metrics that sh...
Nov 12, 2019•23 min
Mustafa Nafar , VP Finance at Modsy I chat with Mustafa about: His journey into tech and finance from the start of Mustafa’s career with Deloitte in India to progressive finance roles with Best Buy to Zynga, Sunrun and most recently Doordash before joining as the VP of Finance at Modsy. Modsy — what the company does and what it’s all about. His transition from large company tech companies down to startups. The biggest learnings for implementing and growing finance functions within companies havi...
Oct 30, 2019•25 min
Amy Wu , Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners I chat with Amy about: Her journey into tech starting as Associate at Insight Venture Partners, and then operating as the SVP of Finance and Operations at NewsCred to the CFO seat at Discovery Inc, where she spent the last 2 years prior to making the jump back to the venture side as a Partner at Lightspeed. About your investment focus area at Lightspeed. Not many CFOs go on to become Partners at venture firms. How her experience as an operator, par...
Oct 16, 2019•33 min
Amar Shrivastava , VP Finance at Clubhouse I chat with Amar about: His 15+ year journey within tech and finance. Clubhouse Software — what the company does and what is it all about. The key metrics and differences between a sales-driven SaaS company vs a marketing-driven SaaS company from a finance leader’s perspective. The biggest learnings from scaling finance functions (Amar took Schoology from less than 20 people to over 200 when he left!) that he’s now employing at Clubhouse. The importance...
Oct 02, 2019•25 min
Katie Sellers , Director of Finance at Mejuri I chat with Katie about: Her journey into tech after starting her career at EY and then you working on HP’s separation into 2 public companies in the Bay Area. From there Katie’s move back to Toronto to join Coinsquare as the Director of FP&A, before taking on her current role as the finance leader at Mejuri an emerging direct to consumer brand. Mejuri — what does the company do and what is it all about. The challenges of forecasting unpredictabl...
Sep 18, 2019•32 min
Shouvik Roy, Chief Financial Officer at Versapay (TSXV: VPY) On this episode of The Backbone, I chat with Shouvik about: His journey into tech after starting his career at EY. From there, Shouvik held various finance roles within retailers including Home Depot and Nike to automative companies like Linamar before taking the plunge into tech as the Director of Finance at Freshbooks, prior to Versapay. Versapay — what the company does and what its all about. What he identifies as specific challenge...
Sep 04, 2019•23 min
Alok Pandey , VP Finance & Corporate Development at AnchorFree On this episode of The Backbone , I chat with Alok about: His journey into tech after starting his career at JP Morgan as an Investment Banker, and then moving into growth stage investing at TCV to private equity firm Vector Capital. About AnchorFree — what company does and what is it all about. As the finance leader for a company serving both consumer and enterprise customers, what challenges does he face and what the benefits a...
Jun 26, 2019•34 min
