In this episode, Joseph Floyd from Emergence Capital joins CJ to dive into the venture capital firm’s latest benchmarking report, offering insights into the enterprise software space. Compiled from over 650 responses from Emergence Capital’s portfolio and additional seed firms, the report covers a range of companies from pre-seed to pre-IPO. Joe discusses key trends in AI adoption, highlighting the contrast between companies incorporating AI and those actually generating revenue from it. The con...
Sep 16, 2024•53 min
In this episode, CJ interviews Philip Brenckle, CFO of West Shore Home, a company that's revolutionizing the way that people are remodeling their homes. Phil shares insights on the home remodeling market, an unconsolidated industry with a total addressable market (TAM) of $500 billion. He explains how West Shore Home is growing its TAM by meeting customers where they are, before shedding light on the company’s model and its direct-to-consumer component. Phil dives into the role of credit in home...
Sep 12, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Amanda Whalen, CFO of Klaviyo, joins CJ in this episode for a deep dive into the roadshow, the IPO process, and ringing that bell. Amanda reflects on the company’s bold decision to go public last year, despite a challenging macroeconomic environment. She shares the factors that guided the management team's timing, the valuation criteria they used to determine the offering price, and how they prepared for it. Amanda provides insight into the IPO journey, discussing everything from choosing a bank...
Sep 09, 2024•52 min
After requests for another pricing episode, CJ sits down with returning guest Jason Kap, the founder and CEO of Blue Rocket, a long-tenured Microsoft leader, and an expert in pricing and packaging. Together, they take a deep dive into the evolution of software pricing, tracing its journey from the early days of buying hardware and software together to buying software separately, and all the way through the eras to the emergence of SaaS and today’s usage-based and hybrid models. Jason provides a ...
Sep 05, 2024•55 min
In this episode, CJ talks with Kingsley Afemikhe, CFO of Shield AI, a company pioneering the future of autonomous jets. Together, they dive deep into the defense tech industry, exploring the critical differences between autonomous vehicles and flight technology, and how innovative private tech companies like Shield AI are driving advancements in the sector. Kingsley provides an insider’s look into Shield AI’s business model, its customer base, and the intricate challenges of managing a hardware/...
Sep 02, 2024•50 min
In this bucket list interview, CJ speaks with Larry Roseman, the CFO of Thumbtack, who shares his deep understanding of running marketplace businesses at scale. They explore Thumbtack's business model and monetization strategy, discussing the customer acquisition cost for both service providers and homeowners. Larry explains why going broad rather than niche can be fundamental for marketplace success, offering a counterintuitive view to that of many marketplace experts. He also talks about the f...
Aug 26, 2024•54 min
In this episode, CJ sits down with Eric Newcomer, who runs “Newcomer," or newcomer.co, the largest independent media outlet focused on venture capital. They delve into the art of crafting fundraising announcements, particularly from the CFO’s angle when pitching a company’s raise to the media. The conversation explores the unique appeal of venture capitalists as a subject matter and some of the big stories and personalities that Eric has featured. The discussion also covers the fascinating trend...
Aug 22, 2024•1 hr 2 min
In this episode, CJ interviews Bryan Morris, CFO of Demandbase, for an in-depth discussion on the complexities of OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). As the planning season for 2025 kicks into gear, Bryan shares his insights on setting the right OKRs, aligning them across departments, and explaining why they often lose momentum. He discusses his approach to tracking OKRs, the tools he uses, and his thoughts on making midyear adjustments. Bryan also talks about the value of weekly written executiv...
Aug 19, 2024•54 min
In this mailbag edition, CJ introduces listeners to Run the Numbers’ first intern. Intern Charlie fills us in on what his internship entails and the nature of the early recruitment process for college internships these days. Then CJ answers questions submitted by listeners. He shares his thoughts on when to join a startup to maximize your equity outcome, where to pull cash from when you need to free up budget, what experience he believes is required to run a $100 million+ SaaS company, whether o...
Aug 15, 2024•42 min
Having listened to a number of Couchbase’s earning calls, the company’s CFO Greg Henry sits down with CJ to answer some in-depth questions, starting with the rationale behind Couchbase's non-standard fiscal year and the advantages of it. He then delves into his experience of transforming a traditional enterprise subscription model into a managed service consumption business. The conversation covers Couchbase's focus on Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) as their North Star metric and the art and sci...
Aug 12, 2024•52 min
In this episode, CJ talks to Jessica Lanier, CFO of Restaurant365 and the first CFO guest on the podcast who has firsthand experience as a founder. On top of this, every company she has worked for has been acquired, so she has a wealth of knowledge on all things M&A. She talks about what makes a great CEO-CFO relationship and why a good relationship with the CRO is also so important. She also explores the benefits of operating a company at scale and whether private and public companies requi...
Aug 08, 2024•59 min
In this solo episode, Run the Numbers host CJ Gustafson breaks down all the different ways software businesses make money. He does an overview of the different monetization models including subscription, consumption, hybrid, transaction-based, and advertising models. He then zooms in on subscription contracts and references the piece he wrote “The ‘Planet Fitness’ Era of SaaS is Over” to discuss professional services, examining the differences between product-led growth (PLG) and sales-led growt...
Aug 05, 2024•36 min
Today on the number one podcast for CFOs, CJ talks to Nicolette Turner, CFO of Headspace. Nicolette shares her unconventional journey into her role and how she first came to work for the company during the pandemic while she was seven months pregnant with her first child. She explains why CFOs should use their company’s products and why and how they should talk directly to customers. Nicolette then sheds light on Headspace’s fascinating and complex business model that includes facets of a B2B, B...
Aug 01, 2024•1 hr
In this solo episode, CJ does a deep dive into cash conversion cycles, telling listeners what he’s learned about them, sharing real-life tales from his career, and explaining how certain companies are excelling at theirs. CJ starts by breaking down how he got his company’s Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) down from 55 days to 37 days (a 33% improvement) and Days Payable Outstanding (DPO) up from 35 days to 47 days in the course of a year. Then he talks about how he achieved this through three big ch...
Jul 29, 2024•32 min
Simone Nardi, the CFO of Globalization Partners, one of the largest providers of Employer Of Record (EOR) services, joins CJ for a masterclass in expanding internationally. Simone explains the concept of an Employer of Record, how it handles employment-related tasks and obligations for companies going abroad, and how it differs from a Professional Employer Organization (PEO). Together they flesh out a framework for CEOs and CFOs looking to build teams internationally. They talk about everything ...
Jul 25, 2024•49 min
In this episode, Evan Fein, CFO of TextNow and Global Chairman of The F Suite, a professional group for CFOs, joins CJ for a deep dive into the complexities of being acquired. Evan introduces listeners to his company TextNow, and how it remains free while making money. He also covers important metrics for CFOs in telecom such as Average Revenue Per User and the importance of considering the time value of money. While we often hear from people on the buying side of M&A, Evan then sheds light ...
Jul 22, 2024•55 min
Jim Caci, CFO of AvePoint, a global leader in robust data management and data governance, joins CJ for this episode. He talks about the harrowing experience of transforming a company from perpetual licenses to SaaS, how the key metrics he tracked changed throughout this process (and what his top three key metrics are), what he needed to convey to members of the company about the basics of SaaS, and how paying sales reps changed with this shift. He also emphasizes the importance of understanding ...
Jul 18, 2024•46 min
In this episode, CJ interviews Dustin Pederson of Locus Robotics, as part of his series of interviews with CFOs from pre-IPO companies recorded live on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Dustin explains the Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) model, a subscription-based service, how it works, and how it makes money. He and CJ do a deep dive into business models that rely on supply chains, the unique challenges of managing inventory, and tactical tips for CFOs looking to optimize their cash conversi...
Jul 15, 2024•40 min
Continuing in the series of interviews with CFOs from pre-IPO companies recorded live from the New York Stock Exchange, in this episode, CJ is joined by Marcos Torres, CFO of Huntress. Marcos talks about his unusual career path and how he believes there are outsized prizes for people who take the path less traveled. He discusses the qualities of a good CFO such as critical thinking and adaptability, and how this relates to the survival of the fittest versus the survival of the strongest in Darwi...
Jul 11, 2024•47 min
In this special edition, live from the New York Stock Exchange, CJ interviews Paul Mulé, CFO of Arcadia, as the first in a series of episodes featuring CFOs from pre-IPO companies. Paul explains what inspired his leap from investment banker to operator after 14 years at JP Morgan Chase and emphasizes the importance of betting on oneself. He also provides a unique perspective on the scarcity of CFOs capable of guiding tech companies through an IPO. Paul delves into the evolution of Arcadia's busi...
Jul 08, 2024•42 min
In this episode, CJ interviews Alex Song, the VP of Finance and Capital Markets at Ramp who has also had a fascinating career in the world of investment. He explains how Ramp’s business model impacts liquidity, the unique balance sheet considerations of a payments company, and how credit card issuers approach risk management. He talks about the finance function as a trade-off between risk and return, and its job in brokering risk. He discusses how being in the payments flow lends itself to value...
Jul 04, 2024•56 min
Nick Chammas, CFO of Eight Sleep, joins CJ to discuss his career journey from working as a first-year analyst on Google's IPO to his current role as CFO of Eight Sleep. He shares anecdotes from the Google IPO process (including a memorable story about Eric Schmidt) and a wealth of knowledge that he gained throughout the years. He talks about what it was like being a banker versus an operator and offers a word of caution for startup operators working with investment bankers for the first time. He...
Jul 01, 2024•44 min
In this episode, CJ interviews Anna King, CFO of Mesh, a spend and travel management platform. They explore changes in the CFO tech stack in recent years and how automation and storytelling can greatly complement each other. Anna explains how she got to revenue recognition on a daily basis, the importance of connecting production data with financial data for better insights, and the advantages of automation for driving value. They discuss the future of physical credit cards, the enduring role of...
Jun 27, 2024•50 min
In this episode, CJ interviews Rob Goldenberg, the CFO of 6sense, a B2B predictive intelligence engine that uses AI, machine learning, and big data to help sales and marketing teams find the best accounts to target. Rob has experience in both high and low macro environments and talks about the tools and strategies he uses to handle these situations. He emphasizes the need for alignment in a company and in finance and accounting teams and shares his framework for achieving this. Rob also highligh...
Jun 24, 2024•51 min
Adam Ante is the CFO of Paycor, a publicly traded payroll provider. Not only did he scale the ranks of leadership quickly, but he took Paycor public in the first two years of his first role as a CFO. Today he joins CJ to discuss his career journey and share the wisdom he’s gained along the way. Inspired by the book Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, Adam explains how aggressively stepping into your fear can help you succeed in the world of finance. He talks about overcoming impos...
Jun 20, 2024•53 min
Today CJ is joined by Thomas Ream, the CFO of Workato, an intelligent automation platform that is heavily involved in AI. Thomas opens up about what it was like working in AI in the early days of the 90s. They discuss AI as a component of workflow and what it means to train AI models. He talks about the differences between working in hardware and software, the growing trend of hardware and software combinations, and the vast potential of quantum computing. Having worked for a social network prio...
Jun 17, 2024•52 min
In this episode, CJ interviews Chuck Fisher, CFO of Turo, the world’s largest peer-to-peer car rental marketplace, doing more than $800 million in revenue per year. Chuck breaks down the company’s business model, what separates it from traditional car rental companies, and how it differs from marketplaces like Airbnb and Uber. He explains how Turo helps people build micro businesses and sheds light on the company’s total addressable market and why it shouldn’t be compared to its offline analog. ...
Jun 13, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Rich Gotham, the president of the Boston Celtics, joins CJ to discuss the business side of one of the world’s best basketball teams and most recognizable sports brands. He explains the evolution of the Celtics' business model over the last decade, how the team diversifies its revenue streams to mitigate its dependence on in-game income, how they grow the team’s revenue given the finite number of seats at each game, and the role that digital technology and sponsorships play in this. He talks abou...
Jun 10, 2024•51 min
Kevin Kraus, the CFO of publicly traded technology company 8x8 is CJ’s guest for this episode. Having done over 14 M&A transactions in his career, he has a wealth of knowledge on the subject to share. Kevin explains the best practices for M&A in tech companies, touching on the customer diligence aspect of the process and giving valuable advice on how to approach the post-M&A integration process. He also talks about standing up deal desks to speed up sales, not slow them down, and wha...
Jun 06, 2024•57 min
In this episode, CJ is joined by Bill Zerella, the CFO of the publicly traded auto marketplace ACV Auctions and former CFO of Fitbit, Inc. to discuss hypergrowth and taking companies from the private to public markets at scale. Bill sheds light on his days at Fitbit and the friction he faced in managing a business in hypergrowth mode, as well as its impacts on company culture and managing employees. He explains the CFO’s role in understanding tech debt and his approach to forecasting R&D spe...
Jun 03, 2024•57 min
