Base10's 'Automation for the Real Economy' Thesis

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Jason Kong, General Partner at Base10 Ventures, to unpack the firm’s focus on “automation for the real economy” — software built for industries most tech investors overlook, but the world depends on. Jason breaks down what makes Series B investing uniquely hard, how he evaluates back-office and vertical SaaS opportunities, and where markets tip from niche to overcrowded. They also discuss Base10’s decision to donate 50% of profits to fund scholarships, plus a lightning round spanning fantasy football, shorting SaaS in 2022, and a venture take that might spark debate.

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SPONSORS:

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Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj

Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run

Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai

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LINKS:

Jason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonykong/

Base10 Partners: https://base10.vc/

CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/

Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com

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Scaling to $1B+ Revenue: From ServiceNow to Samsara | Dominic Phillips

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Preview and Intro

00:02:20 Sponsors — Metronome, RightRev, Rillet

00:06:02 Base10 Background

00:06:41 Automation for the Real Economy

00:09:27 Vertical vs. Horizontal Software

00:10:38 Cash Flow and Durability

00:11:19 Product-Market Fit and ROI

00:12:56 Growth Limits Selling to Tech

00:13:19 The Size of the Real Economy

00:14:16 Sponsors — Tabs, Abacum, Brex

00:18:50 Base10’s Giving Model

00:20:30 Access, Education, and Tech

00:21:53 Purpose and Founder Alignment

00:22:51 Radical Transparency

00:23:56 Portfolio Focus and Strategy

00:24:05 Investing Ahead of Consensus

00:26:29 ERP Adjacency as Alpha

00:28:58 Lessons From Hedge Funds

00:32:29 Public Markets Reality

00:34:05 Public vs. Private Investing

00:34:48 The Series B Sweet Spot

00:36:49 A Bifurcated Series B Market

00:38:56 Fast Series Bs and 2021 Vibes

00:42:16 What Series B Looks Like Now

00:44:36 Back Office Automation

00:46:02 ERP-Centric Workflows

00:48:33 Long-Ass Lightning Round

00:49:36 Shorting SaaS in 2022

00:50:16 Fantasy Football and Investing

00:52:57 Career Advice That Surprises

00:55:03 A Contrarian Venture Take

00:56:22 Credits

#RunTheNumbersPodcast #SeriesB #RealEconomy #VerticalSaaS #BackOfficeAutomation

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