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 repeating it. The discussion delves into Zapier's unique approach to transparency, how this plays out, th...
Jan 09, 2025•57 min
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 question at the center of all questions, and the Vacation Rule for determining whether to build or bu...
Jan 06, 2025•1 hr 5 min
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 contributor and earn an invitation to various conversations instead of being seen as an umpire or “CF-n...
Jan 02, 2025•54 min
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 periods when things were weighted towards life or work and how this benefited him. He also desc...
Dec 26, 2024•50 min
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 mistake. Will talks about how the company went about revisiting its growth assumptions. He explains how ...
Dec 23, 2024•45 min
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, how the company maps their analysts to different teams, and where the costs of this should sit in ...
Dec 19, 2024•46 min
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 system consolidations. The conversation delves into the intricacies of managing 16 P&Ls, creati...
Dec 16, 2024•54 min
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 growth, the teams under his purview, and the cadence of the recurring meetings they have fo...
Dec 12, 2024•54 min
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 the evolution of share types as a company scales and how finance leaders should budget for equity com...
Dec 09, 2024•57 min
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 of doing them in the public eye, and how to communicate these processes to your customers, invest...
Dec 05, 2024•54 min
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 identify upsell opportunities, prevent churn, and enhance customer retention. The discussion dives i...
Dec 02, 2024•1 hr 4 min
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 venture with VICE Media, and his role in Dialogue's significant business transitions including being a...
Nov 28, 2024•48 min
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 value of getting your hands dirty in PE Ops. As the CFO of a rapidly expanding SaaS compan...
Nov 25, 2024•1 hr 4 min
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 data storage offering and its usage-based pricing model. He explores the company’s unique position a...
Nov 21, 2024•32 min
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 relying on green labels. Then Georgy explains the importance of risk management in this industry and som...
Nov 18, 2024•53 min
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 experiences they had along the way. He also delves into building the book for investors and the metric...
Nov 14, 2024•52 min
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 enhances value transfer and settlement processes. He highlights the differences in business models wit...
Nov 11, 2024•54 min
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 delves into TerraPay's business model, explaining how they monetize their payment infrastructure and ma...
Nov 07, 2024•48 min
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 diversified portfolios. He shares the framework HarbourVest uses to identify and support emerging fun...
Nov 04, 2024•51 min
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 partnerships in boosting both reach and revenue. She provides insight into the importance of retention fo...
Oct 28, 2024•51 min
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 delves into AI’s impact on ARR (annual recurring revenue), questioning its relevance in this new era and ...
Oct 24, 2024•55 min
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 involved. The conversation also covers the acquisition of Pixar by Disney in 2006 and his firsth...
Oct 21, 2024•55 min
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 forecasting for consumption-based versus SaaS models, including the application of deterministic and pro...
Oct 17, 2024•56 min
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 & Development), marketing, sales, customer success, and customer support. The podcast high...
Oct 14, 2024•1 hr 3 min
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 generates revenue. He sheds light on the company’s approach to credit underwriting and the significance of ...
Oct 10, 2024•1 hr 2 min
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 insights. They discuss trends in pricing, usage-based versus subscription models, and sector-specific per...
Oct 07, 2024•58 min
In this episode, CJ interviews Stephen Grist, a seasoned seven-time CFO, to discuss what a CFO should aim to accomplish in their first 100 days at a company. Stephen provides an extensive playbook. He covers assessing and shoring up a team, understanding cash drivers, and implementing necessary systems and processes. He also emphasizes the importance of evaluating potential exit strategies from the start and the need for strong FP&A support. The conversation dives into how to approach your f...
Oct 03, 2024•52 min
In this episode, CJ interviews Anthony “Tony” Boor, Executive Vice President and CFO of Blackbaud, who shares the unique path he took from working at a motorcycle shop in New Mexico to becoming a CFO. Tony reflects on his first management experiences and the lessons learned as he navigated his early career. The conversation dives into the evolving role of CFOs, particularly as they take on more GM responsibilities. Tony offers insights into Blackbaud's business model, its revenue layer cake stra...
Sep 26, 2024•59 min
Daniel Kang, VP of finance at Mercury, joins CJ for a dive deep into the nuances of annual planning. Dan talks about why if annual planning feels like a finance exercise, it is destined to fail and will feel like pulling teeth. He describes how to use this exercise to lead a broader strategic discussion about a company's direction for a process that is more impactful and less tedious. Dan also highlights that if you’re searching for big ideas during the annual planning process, there may be unde...
Sep 23, 2024•58 min
In this episode, CJ sits down with Dr. Julie Gurner, the author behind the Substack Ultra Successful, to explore how top CEOs, CFOs, and entrepreneurs manage their ambition, goals, and self-talk. They examine if being hard on yourself necessary for success and Dr. Gurner shares helpful reframes that can be used to overcome negative self-talk. The conversation delves into the concept of “haunting agitation,” a term she uses to describe the hunger and ambition driving high performers. Building on ...
Sep 19, 2024•1 hr 3 min
