Ad break

Rama Katkar has helped steer some of the most iconic companies in tech through moments of scale and transformation. Now CFO at Notion and formerly a finance leader at Instacart and Credit Karma, she joins CJ to unpack what it means to build a modern finance function inside a product-led growth company. They discuss how to design finance for velocity without losing discipline, the art of forecasting when virality drives your business, and why Notion’s path to profitability looks different from its peers. Rama also shares lessons from scaling Credit Karma through its $8.1B acquisition by Intuit, what she learned about IPO readiness at Instacart, and how finance leaders can balance ambition with realism in uncertain markets.

—

LINKS:

Rama Katkar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramakatkar/

Notion: https://www.notion.so/

CJ on X (@cjgustafson222): https://x.com/cjgustafson222

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

RELATED EPISODES:

“Let’s Just See What Breaks” — Intuit’s CFO on Being a Disruptor When You’re Already the Incumbent—

—

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Preview – Credit Karma, Instacart, and the Road to Notion

(00:01:14) Welcome & Episode Overview – Rama Katkar, CFO of Notion

(00:02:22) Sponsor – Fidelity Private Shares | Mercury | RightRev

(00:06:10) Interview Begins – From Dinner Conversations to Notion’s Pricing Evolution

(00:09:20) Early Launch of Notion AI and Add-On Pricing

(00:12:40) Community-Led Growth and Notion’s Viral Flywheel

(00:14:38) Sponsor – Tipalti | Aleph | Rillet

(00:18:39) Who Adopts Notion First? Product, Design, and Engineering

(00:20:32) Turning Free Users Into Paid Teams

(00:22:09) Why Notion Added an Enterprise Sales Motion

(00:26:29) The CFO’s Long Game: Balancing Free Users and Cost

(00:30:44) How Notion Experiments With AI Pricing

(00:32:42) Rama’s Three-Part Framework for Forecasting

(00:36:38) Why Notion Plans on a Six-Month Cadence

(00:40:56) Transition – From Forecasting to M&A: Credit Karma’s Wild Ride

(00:41:31) Selling Credit Karma During the Pandemic and DOJ Review

(00:44:04) Closing the Deal With Intuit

(00:49:47) Why the Org Chart Is the Most Important M&A Slide

(00:52:08) The Long-Ass Lightning Round

(00:56:45) Career Advice to Her Younger Self – Context Over Calculation

—

SPONSORS:

Fidelity Private Shares is the all-in-one equity management platform that keeps your cap table clean, your data room organized, and your equity story clear—so you never risk losing a fundraising round over messy records. Schedule a demo at https://www.fidelityprivateshares.com and mention Mostly Metrics to get 20% off.

Mercury is business banking built for builders, giving founders and finance pros a financial stack that actually works together. From sending wires to tracking balances and approving payments, Mercury makes it simple to scale without friction. Join the 200,000+ entrepreneurs who trust Mercury and apply online in minutes at https://www.mercury.com

RightRev automates the revenue recognition process from end to end, gives you real-time insights, and ensures ASC 606 / IFRS 15 compliance—all while closing books faster. For RevRec that auditors actually trust, visit https://www.rightrev.com and schedule a demo.

Tipalti automates the entire payables process—from onboarding suppliers to executing global payouts—helping finance teams save time, eliminate costly errors, and scale confidently across 200+ countries and 120 currencies. More than 5,000 businesses already trust Tipalti to manage payments with built-in security and tax compliance. Visit https://www.tipalti.com/runthenumbers to learn more.

Aleph automates 90% of manual, error-prone busywork, so you can focus on the strategic work you were hired to do. Minimize busywork and maximize impact with the power of a web app, the flexibility of spreadsheets, and the magic of AI. Get a personalised demo at https://www.getaleph.com/run

Rillet is the AI-native ERP modern finance teams are switching to because it’s faster, simpler, and 100% built for how teams operate today. See how fast your team can move. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/metrics

#CFOInsights #StartupFinance #NotionHQ #ProductLedGrowth #RunTheNumbersPodcast

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com